The "Allergy Hit list"

I am just reading a book called natural remedies for dgos and in it, they have hit list of ingredients that can cause allergies, a few I am quite surprised at, what are your thoughts

1. beef and beef by products
2. milk
3. yeast and yeast containing food such as brewers yeast
4. corn and corn oil
5. pork
6. turkey
7. eggs especially egg whites
7. fish and fish oils
8. wheat and wheat byproducts
9 wheat and wheatby products
10 soybeans
11 chicken
12 lamb and rice

it basicly says these are the major food allergy offenders
now nowadays

 

Any protein containing ingredient makes a good allergen. Basically, the most popular ingredients will be the major offenders at any given time. In other words, if lots of manufactures started creating "rabbit & oats" formulas you can bet that those 2 ingredients would eventually make the list too. Lamb & rice diets were originally created (lamb & rice were novel ingredients a while back) specifically for dogs with food allergies to the more common ingredients. Now you can see that most manufactures have a "lamb & rice" formula. More dogs eat these ingredients, therefore allergens to them are seen more often.
Thats my 2cents.

 

nern, thats what it said about lamb and rice, because it is so common, its now considered an allergen

 

I have read that when you keep a dog on the same protein for long periods of time they can develop allergies to it. Working where I work, I have to say I agree. Peoples dogs come up allergic to something, they change to another protein, it works so they stick with it. After a time the dog starts reacting to that too.
I strongly believe that it's important to rotate the protein in your dogs food. For that matter the whole ingredient list. If you ate the same exact ingredient list day after day for your whole life and that list was lacking something you needed you would never get it. Dogs require more amino acids than we as humans do, not all proteins have all the amino acids needed...if you never rotate they never get all those they need.
This is tough for people when their dogs are sensitive, they feel the need to stick with that one thing that worked.
Daily we have people come in with dogs in misery. They are usually feeding grocery store foods with alot of corn and wheat in them. When they switch to a food without most return to health. Evo has become a very popular food lately, we can't keep it on the shelves. I'm still sticking with raw!

 

Yes, rotating foods is supposed to be good. I have heard this is better than buying a couple brands and mixing them, which I have heard some people like to do. Instead, select 3-4 foods you like and rotate them every few months.

Or, as Maisey said, just feed raw!! Many dogs that have allergies - even an allergy to chicken - can eat it raw without any problems.

 

yea, they did mention rotating food every few months. I am surprised and fish oils is on the list

 

I'm not sure where the idea originally came from that dogs' stomachs are "sensitive" and you need to pick one food and ONLY feed them that food for the rest of their lives. The sensitivity comes from that food being the only one they are ever asked to digest! I mean, I can eat chicken one day and beef the next and nothing but veggies the next day and I can digest everything just fine!

My dogs seem to have stomachs of steel, but not all do. I switched both of them cold turkey from kibble to raw, without a hitch. I had also switched Nala from one brand of kibble to another (before we discovered raw) without doing all that mixing stuff. She was a puppy, so I don't know if that makes any difference.

 

I had no problem switching jake to raw, I keep trying to change wylies kibble, but it upsets her tummy, she gets sick, and I do very slowly, it doenst matter she has a very nervous one, she loves on her purina pro plan so I add nzymes to her food to make up the difference of not being on a good food. I think they are too rich for her.

 

I used to think switching a dogs food was good but after what happened to Duncan I will stick with what makes him happy and healthy.

Adding Brewers Yeast to the food has made Pepsi ill so that had to stop. She got the runs so bad poor girl would't even sleep in the house. Dowser eats anything and everything.

 

I think it helps if you start doing it when they are pups. Perhaps an adult dog already set in their ways has a harder time adjusting?

 

I used to rotate brands but can't much anymore because most brands seem to bother Natalie's anal glands. I rotate between the Timberwolf formulas ocassionally this way there is still some variety.

 

Even rotating amongst Timberwolfs formulas you are managing to offer your dog different ingredient lists with different proteins. They offer Fish(Ocean Blue), elk and salmon, bison, chicken, venison and lamb. I don't know the amino acids for all those protein sources but it's a good bet if you rotate them she will get what she needs over time. My dogs love the bison best =)
People get hung up in trying to balance the diet in EVERY MEAL. I used to. But if you think about it..in the wild a dog would not be getting that..it's a more natural approach to try and balance it over time. It's not just what they could catch or find that day...it's seasonal too. What they ate in the winter would differ from what was available in the spring or summer.