Puppies and Allergies

[Mrs. K]

I have been doing a lot of reading of older posts in the forum regarding allergies, and almost everything pertains to older dogs, not puppies, so far as I can see. They say that for an allergy to develop, the dog must be exposed to the allergen for a year. I have a 5 and a half month old Australian Labradoodle, and he's been with us since he was 9 weeks old. Ever since we brought him home, he's been a scratcher. The vet said that it was nothing to worry about, since his skin looked clear, and just to give him Benadryl as needed. The problem seemed to go away for a couple of months, but now it's back full-force. Indy scratches and bites himself constantly. However, what's strange is that his skin is not red, scabby, or irritated-looking and we don't see any bald spots. He doesn't have fleas or ticks. I do, however, find small tufts of hair around the house, particularly in places where he sleeps. That just started this week. His nose is always very dry, but it drips/runs quite often. My question is: do you think this is an allergy issue OR when the adult coat starts to come in can all of these symptoms occur? I was thinking perhaps with the new hair growing in he could get itchy, but that wouldn't explain the runny nose. Please let me know what you think, especially if you've experienced similar symptoms with your pup! Thank you!

[Diane Hinson]

I have 2 doodles and my 3.5 year old started scratching at a young age. With our vet's encouragement, we took her off puppy chow and switched her to Natural Balance Venison Formula, which has no chicken or beef in it, which many dogs evidently are allergic to. The results were dramatic and we have kept her on that formula. We had trouble finding it for a while when there was the big problem with food recall a while back, and she started the scratching again. Thankfully, it is available again (e.g. at Petco). We also have to be careful with dog treats because so many of those have chicken fat or base in them. But, as long as we keep her on only venison for meat, she is good! Our puppy is now also on the Venison formula. They both love it, so it might be worth a try. Our doodle particularly had a problem with itchy ears, so I don't know if it will affect skin, too.

[Mrs. K]

The sweet potato and venison formula? We got a free sample of that at PetCo during Indy's socialization class. It is worth a try...either that or Wellness Simple Solutions...those are my two top picks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Most likely, the culprits in the Puppy Chow were the corn or wheat; those are the most common food allergens, followed by soy, then beef, then chicken. As long as she's doing well, it doesn't really matter, but it would help you to know exactly what food she has a problem with if you should have to switch again. It is very likely that she would do just fine with a formula that contained chicken, if it were a higher quality food with no corn, wheat, or soy. This is why, when doing food elimination trials to determine a food allergy, you have to eliminate one ingredient at a time from the dog's diet, and not just change brands.