BubbaLeroy

I been doing a lot of reading on skin problems, and I would like to try a new dry food/kibble for Bogie to see if his current food could be what's causing his skin issues. I been searching the internet for fish or venison based, no soy, no chicken, no corn, no wheat , etc. Many brands are out there so I'm hoping some of you could share what they are using for their Bassets with allergies or sensitive skin issues. Thanks!!

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Barney'spal

There's alot of good ones out there but Mikey has convinced me that it's all trial and error...what works for one dog may not for another...in other words, buy small bags until you find the right one.

Annie714

I think Barney'spal has it right. It just kind of depends on the dog.

Annie has drastically improved since starting her on a no corn, no wheat, no soy kibble. It's called Rotations, available via mail only. I am pretty sure that if she were on a completely grain free food she would be even better! If I could afford it, I'd try her on Taste of The Wild kibble. It's grain free, has probiotics in it, good ingredients, etc. Natural Balance has a few Limited Ingredient varieties also, including venison and fish based.

But like above, maybe get a small bag of something, transition to the different food slowly and see how he does.

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Kirska

I recently switched our dogs to Blue Buffalo Basics Salmon and Potato and have been pretty happy with it. Only complaint is the fish breath.

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Desiree_D

Funny you should post this today, I was going to ask the same question for the same reasons. Rosie has skins issues, the vet repeatedly says it is allergies and will put her on steroids. I have concerns with counting to use them over and over (it's fine when needed, but not every time her skin is red). They eat Royal Canin now and I just ran out this morning. I will buy a small bag of that and a small bag of something else to see if I find something that works.

Mikey T

[quote]have concerns with counting to use them over and over (it's fine when needed, but not every time her skin is red). [/quote}

one need to jeep in mind the incidence food allergier is nuch over stated as marketeting hype for manufacture. on 10-15 oif allergies in dogs are related to food. However using a food elimination is often suggested as a first step to determining allergiy causes because it cheaper than skin or blood test for the more coomon atopic allergies. Even if the agllergy symptoms are not season does not rule out atopy because the allern could be household mold , dust et vs seanals like pollen etc.

A exclusion diet is just tht it need to be a single 1 protein source and 1 carbohydrate source that the dog never had before. Food allergies are to proteind but most of the common charbosources contain protiend as well like grains and potatoes. henve while the limit and exclusion on them that is the first step/ Take a look at all the food the dog has had and is currently eating and look at the content write them down know you need a food that has one major protein and carb sources that the dog has not eaten before that will limit the long list very drastical You will often find that the Fish or salmon food also contains other meat based proteins as welll that is nao good. Sam for carb potaoe and rice etc.

It is not about gertain foods being bad like grains because they are not it just happens they are a very coomon ingredient in dog food so it is likely the dog has been exposed to them and Dogs that are prone to allergies. only develop allergies to protein source they have been exposed to regularly.

Why this is important is first buy using an eclusion doet you can see if the dog responds it thakes up to 12 week but if that is the case it does not prove a food allergy as many think. The skin getting petter could be coincidental Ie atopy that the dog is no longer exposed to. To prove a food allergy the the dog is put back on his old food to see what happen if the allergies come back than a food allergy is likely. Swich back to the exclusion diet until skin clears up and protien and grains can be added one at a time to find what the dog is actual allergic too. THis is important because it allow you to reintroduce variety into the diet. Again dog that are prone to food allergies are liekly to develop and allergy to the protein they are exposd to the most. Often what happen is that a person finds a food the dog responds to for a year or two then they become allergic to that and have to look for a different one all over again. THere is a school of though not proven that by feed a variety of proteins regualrly not any one reach the threahold of exposure so the dog doe not develop and allergy in the first place.

For a no fus no muss search for an exclusionary diet purina and Royal canine both make true hypoallergenic foods , the do require a perscription and are quite expensive but you do not have to find tha magical novel protein and carbohydrate source

Mikey T

an aternative to steriod is cyclosporin. it Reduces inmune system responce to allergin but uses differen mechanisms than steriods and there are fewer lon term health risks but the big surpressed immune system risk remains.

Soundtrack

If it were me I would use a homemade elimination diet, so I know exactly what is in it. Limited ingredients (one protein, maybe one starch). The problem with a commercial test diet is that it may not be the actual food ingredients he is allergic to, but one or more of the additives.

The one that I used in the past was prescribed by the vet: 2 parts potatoes, 2 parts sweet potatoes, 1 part turnip/rutabaga and a bit of olive oil. It's not nutritious enough for a long-term diet, but it did help determine that Webster's skin issues were primarily diet-related. Once we knew that we could start adding ingredients one at a time to see whether he reacted to them or not (chicken would make him turn bright red within 24 hours).

Now that I know more about nutrition I'd lean more toward the animal protein side with something he'd never had before (ie fish - I used to buy bags of frozen sardines, smelts or other small fish for him and feed them whole), instead of all that starch, which itself can be inflammatory (although potato tends not to be as inflammatory as grains, and sweet potatoes or turnip are even better).

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Desiree_D

I bought Natural Reserve (I think). We will see how it goes. It was kind of expensive but I am used to paying for Royal Canin, it was $1 more.

dhatt

i"ve had my guys on Wellness. . .the single protein with white fish and potato. Joey's coat is gorgeous. He's so shiny that more than once my husband has asked, "How did Joey get wet?"

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