Out of the blue, my 10 year old hound has developed quite the rash on his underside which the vet feels certain is some sort of allergy, but that he can't identify. We've tried antibiotics and medicated shampoo, and even a cortisone shot a month ago to try and cool his skin. I've taken everything away from him except his dog food for well over 60 days trying to eliminate anything (i.e. dog biscuits, other treats, etc) that might have triggered this reaction, with no success. So I've decided with the vet to change his dog food. Its really the only thing I have left to try. I've been hesitant to make a change since he's been on the same food (Earthborn Holistic) for most of his adult life (almost 10 years) without issues.

So here's my question. For those of you with dogs who have skin or allergy issues, what dog food do you feed? I'm less worried about cost than I am in resolving this issue given how miserable he's been, but I would like to find something that isn't a nightmare to source.

Any input would be greatly appreciated by both Lou and me.

Try Costco/Kirkland grain free for low cost. Higher end is Acana and Orijen.

We use Hollywood Feed now instead of Chewy for cheaper home delivery.

On the belly sounds like he is laying in something. Did you change laundry detergents?

Just went through this with my beagle.

The vet sold us some food ($70/bag) with hydrolyzed protein. Essentially the proteins have been broken down into their amino acids. Also prescribed some Aloquel (sp) and an antifungal. Additionally, a special shampoo to be used at least twice a week.

You can feed your dog NOTHING else to see if the diet is the problem; no biscuits, scraps, nothing. My dog would go two days without eating as she must have hated the food, but along with the meds, seemed to be working. Since an itchy dog is better than one that has been starved to death, we introduced some chicken stock to the food. Still no problems.

After the food ran out, we continued the Aloquel with store-bought food. Still no problems. After the meds ran out, the bad itching came back.

The initial visit with food, meds, and special shampoo (I will get the name if you need) cost nearly $500. Now, I am an animal lover, but I just don't have that kind of cash to spend on the dog. I think the meds and the shampoo helped more than the food.

Just my two cents. Worth a try if your vet is willing.

ETA: I did have conversations with Jeff Yarchin, forum pet shop owner and very knowledgeable. He mentioned cutting out chicken (maybe other poultry) based foods could help. Maybe try that in addition?

I had an older dog with issues who responded well with Origen. He was on this the last couple years o& his life. YMMV.

https://www.orijen.ca/foods/dog-food/

Have you tried an allergy panel? It's a bit of a pain, but it is really the only way to identify the allergy. Your vet should be able to do it or refer you to a specialist. It is not terribly expensive, but it takes a while and you have to be very strict with the dogs diet according to the instructions.

From what you describe, there is no particular reason to think it is a food allergy. If it is an allergy at all, it could be environmental.

There is no point in switching foods if you don't know what the allergy is - you could be switching to a food with the same allergen in it or it might not be a food allergy at all. A food switch that worked for one dog might not work for yours unless the allergy was the same.

I have several allergy dogs. I use Earthborn foods. Of course you have to figure out the allergen.
https://www.earthbornholisticp...om/dog-food-formulas

Try Benadryl 1mg/lb for symptoms. The Kirkland Lamb and Rice works well for my Shar-Pei mix.
Temaril-P once a day has kept her from getting too itchy. Nothing else has worked.

Bruce

When I first adopted my then 1 year old Doberman/Rottweiler. I was feeding him IAMS and within a few months his skin became super dry and had dandruff......tons of it.....if you rubbed his back flakes and flakes would come off. I tried a teaspoon of olive oil in his food every day, that helped but didn't cure it, this went on for 6 months. At the advice of my Vet I switched him to Science Diet, the dandruff went away in a week and have never had the issue since, he is now 9.....he was eating the Science Diet Advanced fitness up until 2 years ago, now he is eating the Science Diet Adult light dog food.

Allergy panels are reasonable for environmental allergies but are not predictive for food allergies. The gold standard is a trial of either a hydolyzed protein diet or a real novel protein dit. That means the pet store “limited ingredient “ diets are NOT going to meet the standard. Your pup gets no other protein ( no treats, people food, chews, etc) for at least 4 and up to 12 weeks. If he’s better, you rechallenge with the original food. Signs come back ? There the diagnosis. That’s the best way. Yeah it’s a pain, but in the long run it’s cheaper and easier. Hydolyzed is usually best in the diagnosis stage, and can be long term or you can try ( systematically) other foods and see what is tolerated. Email me if you need clarification

I've had a dog with allergies for 8 years. We did testing and shots for 2-3 years and changed to a limited ingredient diet with "novel" protein sources. The testing showed both food allergies and contact allergies.

I don't know if the shots helped, and we didn't complete the entire course, due to her improvements. She doesn't do well digestion-wise on some or most grains and just seems to have a sensitive/inefficient digestive system.

There have been many foods over the years, as the target seems to move regarding what she digests well. It has been quite an oddessy, but her allergies are under control and she digests her meals pretty well. Currently I'm feeding her the following 3:

California Natural Adult Limited Ingredient Grain Free Kangaroo & Red Lentils (dry food)

California Natural Adult Limited Ingredient Herring & Sweet Potato Recipe (dry food)

Zignature Catfish Limited Ingredient Formula Grain-Free Canned Dog Food

I feed the 3 different foods to achieve nutritional variety. Mornings are 50/50 of the 2 dry foods, and evenings are usually 25/25 of dry and 50 percent wet food.

I've noticed the Herring formula absorbs a lot of water, and creates a fair amount of air bubbles in water, so I try to never make a whole meal from just that food.

All that being said, for starters you just need to feed one limited-ingredient food and see if things improve over the course of several weeks, assuming there aren't digestive issues. I'd suggest the Kangaroo formula.

EDIT TO ADD: Part of the trick, as I understand it, is to make sure the protein is something your dog nor it's recent ancestors have been fed. Examples of novel proteins: bison, kangaroo, duck, herring, etc. Don't fall for lamb and rice as a great allergy formula, as that's been in wide use for many years.

Science Diet Sensitive Stomach Sensitive Skin cleared up our youngest lab's allergies within a few days.

our lab was always having something going on..be it loosing hair.. itching.. ear problems.. we switched to raw-boost by instinct and shes be trouble free for like 2 yrs.. its costly.. about 70.00 for a 23 lb bag..but it worked for her

This is not the easiest or least expensive but it saved my old dogs life.

Wish I'd change to this 5 years ago.

The ancestral diet of dog I believe I read is in the range of 45 - 55 protein and around 30 fat.

Last year this time our 13.5 yr old beagle mix was on her last legs. Little energy and her arthritis was really hobbling her.

Starting then I switched to different dry which helped.

What really helped was using cooked lean hamburger 40 - 50 by volume of her 3/4 cup twice a day feed the balance is dry dog food.

I would say major change in her mood and energy level. She was really close to having to be put down being so hobbled by arthritis and just no energy. Also her anal gland issue have for now gone from 6 -8 week required evacuation. Last check empty.

Apparently some people believe gland over production is a related to grain based food allergy.

So go to lean meat at least 40% by volume. I get ground lean at sams/costco and feed it with every meal. BIG Difference in dogs function for us. We stumbled upon this through trial and error.

Our well regarded vet was no help on this. Her eyes were still clear and had a positive attitude but was out of gas and in pain obviously. She still take arthritis meds and has for years. In June she'll be 15

Victor Dog Food has several non grain varieties,and the price is not bad at all.

Here is a sight that I recently found informative.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

My bassett has the same thing, will go from a white clean belly to bright pink and then she scratches the heck out of herself until she created sores, this would happen overnight.

This was treated with steroids for a while, allergy tests came back negative, changing food did nothing to solve the problem, we eliminated chicken and have have her on Costco brand grain free food for a long time.

As DLC444 stated we do the exact same thing, I asked the vet to try Apoquel and she prescribed it, the damn stuff works wonders for stopping the itching and scratching. Its nothing short of a miracle and my dog has gone from being miserable, lethargic, unhappy to the happy hound again.

We also use an antifungal pill Ketoconazole for a short period, and an allergy tablet called Hydroxyzine combined with a medicinal shampoo to be used at least twice a week. We also add fish oil to her food to help with the coat and skin,

This came up a couple of years ago without notice, as a pup fine then bam, constant allergic reaction, we went through Food changes, steroids, etc nothing worked.

Apoquel has been nothing short of a miracle for our hound, you will start out with it daily then reduce it to every other day, twice a week, weekly, then as needed. It isn't cheap but it works.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: HRK,

Little Pippi had skin rash problems, food allergy.

The vet put her on Royal Canine Veterinary Diet. This stuff comes in both canned (moist) and dry, in bags.

Royal Canine has many variations. The variation that our vet told us to used is sold by prescription only. We took the prescription and went shopping. It turns out that PetSmart is the only supplier we could find in the area that carries this stuff, and interestingly, PetSmart's price for it was significantly higher than the vet sold it for, so we continued getting it from the vet.

If you're curious, since you're not that far from us, the vet we use is Sheeler Road Animal Hospital. On the west side of Apopka, Sheeler Road, between U.S. 441 and S.R. 436. Just a few minutes from the Apopka location of Shoot Straight, if you have a multi-purpose trip.

My bloodhound had terrible allergies and after doing a skin panel they determined it was to grains and grass. After trying all the limited ingredient diets mentioned, we settled on Natural Balance Duck and Potato. He was on it for the rest of his life and never had a problem again. My 2 labs now are on Natural Balance and I am very pleased with their food. Just need to find the right food that works for your pup!

Orijen is one of the best dry dog foods available. About 4 years ago I got a Dutch Shepherd puppy and began feeding Orijen (I did a lot of research first). We also had a 10 year old cockapoo that we had been feeding just regular Purina dog food. He was what we thought just acting like an old tired dog. After getting the puppy we started giving the cockapoo Orijen also, and have been since. He is 14 now and you wouldn't think he is the same dog. Lots of energy and "tries" to keep up with the dutch shepherd.

Royal Canine has formulated foods for dogs that might help