Westie needs food

[Liz]

I usually post int he raw feeding section but I have friends who are not quite ready to feed raw but have an adorable Westie who has allergies. It seems to be grain allergies. She gets bald spots, red skin, constant scratching and brown streaks in her fur along her spine and mustache. It has been too long since I have really researched kibble. What would be a good, grain free, $40 or so per bag, limited ingredient kibble. Oh, pup is about 2 years old and doesn't seem to have issues with any proteins or even veg or berry in foods it is just the grain that makes her fall apart. She was on Nature's Domain for about 3 months but has loose stools (pudding) and recurring tummy problems which is why they are looking to change. Any advise would be appreciated and I will pass on the info tot he owners. Thank you all.

[Unosmom]

earthborn holistic and nutrisource grain free are around $40 for a large bag. Possibly taste of the wild, depending where she buys it, it generally ranges from $43-50 a bag.

[Scarlett_O']

Are they here locally Liz??

Ive found the best price for TotW is here in Enumclaw at Country Farm and Feed off of Auburn/Enumclaw between the Yellow Beak and the Sales Pavilion!
(You can also call them for prices, and they WILL price match with competitors if they are locally priced!)

I think they also have Canidae's grain free along with a few of the other decently priced higher end brands...

[wolfsnaps88]

Is this a Natural Balance hating forum? I never see it mentioned here? They have limited ingredient diets specifically for dogs with allergies. Just throwing that out there :)

[Scarlett_O']

OH...Liz, I would also suggest having them keep him away from any/all cooked/processed chicken as well....our Basset use to get NASTY goobers, stains, etc from chicken food/treats!

Is this a Natural Balance hating forum? I never see it mentioned here? They have limited ingredient diets specifically for dogs with allergies. Just throwing that out there :)

I wouldnt say the whole forum hates NB....but I can say...I would MAYBE feed it to the chickens.....but wouldnt let any dog under my "care" touch it with a ten foot tongue!

[mythbuster]

I usually post int he raw feeding section but I have friends who are not quite ready to feed raw but have an adorable Westie who has allergies. It seems to be grain allergies. She gets bald spots, red skin, constant scratching and brown streaks in her fur along her spine and mustache. It has been too long since I have really researched kibble. What would be a good, grain free, $40 or so per bag, limited ingredient kibble. Oh, pup is about 2 years old and doesn't seem to have issues with any proteins or even veg or berry in foods it is just the grain that makes her fall apart. She was on Nature's Domain for about 3 months but has loose stools (pudding) and recurring tummy problems which is why they are looking to change. Any advise would be appreciated and I will pass on the info tot he owners. Thank you all.

What makes you think it's an allergy to grains? And is there concurrent atopy going on? (Westie's are the poster child for environmental allergies)

[Liz]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Yes they are in this area, Tacoma actually. They adore this dog but have crazy schedules. They are planning or starting a family in a year or so and are trying to get set up so she can stay home and raise said children. The dog will go to raw at that time. They have spent almost a year and a small fortune doing allergy tests on this dog. They really don't like the prescription diets and the dog doesn't either. She didn't test positive for any enviornmental allergies just the grains, several of them actually. I don't know exactly what tests were run but it has been going on the better part of a year. I feel bad for them - they researched breeders with excellent lines and no allergy history and ended up with an allergic pup anyway.

[mythbuster]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Yes they are in this area, Tacoma actually. They adore this dog but have crazy schedules. They are planning or starting a family in a year or so and are trying to get set up so she can stay home and raise said children. The dog will go to raw at that time. They have spent almost a year and a small fortune doing allergy tests on this dog. They really don't like the prescription diets and the dog doesn't either. She didn't test positive for any enviornmental allergies just the grains, several of them actually. I don't know exactly what tests were run but it has been going on the better part of a year. I feel bad for them - they researched breeders with excellent lines and no allergy history and ended up with an allergic pup anyway.

If they did serum allergy testing to determine grain allergies they wasted their money :( the only way to confirm a food allergy is to do an elimination trial and once the clinical signs are gone to a challenge with the suspected allergen. Basically testing 'positive' on a blood test simply means the animal has been exposed to that protein in the past, and likely had an inflammatory process going on at the time (which by the sounds of it, this dog is a walking inflammatory response.....). Best thing to do right now would be an elimination diet trial, find out what foods the dog is actually allergic to, and then choose a longer term diet based on the results.

[Liz]

Many tests have been run and elimination diet trials, and they were told grains. They are exhausted from jumping through these hoops. I will let them no of these grain free options and hopefully post she is doing well in a month or so. Thank you so much for all your input. If all else fails to help this little one I will again offer to package raw food for them until they are able to do it themselves, they are very nice people who I believe just don't want to put anyone out. She did do well for a time on Nature's Domain so we shall see how she does on one of these. Thanks again.I appreciate being able to access your knowledge on kibble/canned foods.

[frogdog]

If they did serum allergy testing to determine grain allergies they wasted their money :( the only way to confirm a food allergy is to do an elimination trial and once the clinical signs are gone to a challenge with the suspected allergen. Basically testing 'positive' on a blood test simply means the animal has been exposed to that protein in the past, and likely had an inflammatory process going on at the time (which by the sounds of it, this dog is a walking inflammatory response.....). Best thing to do right now would be an elimination diet trial, find out what foods the dog is actually allergic to, and then choose a longer term diet based on the results.

May I ask...where did you receive your formal training?
I have all faith in...Dermatology - Allergy Focus :: North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine