# Reaction to Alfalfa - possible sensitivity?



## Tinkerbellz (Oct 1, 2010)

Hello All - (long post & questions ahead!)

I recently adopted a Maltese mix named Dexter (2-3 years old). From the very first day of feeding him, he's had no signs of having stomach issues nor being a picky eater. I've fed him three different brands and at the fourth brand, we encountered a problem for the very first time. There's are the foods he's had so far:

1) Avoderm Natural Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Formula Adult Dog Food - (contains dried Alfalfa meal) 

2) Castor and Pollux: Natural ULTRAMIX Lamb & Rice

3) Taste of the Wild Pet Foods: TOTW Wetlands Canine Formula

4) Merrick: Before Grain Buffalo Formula (contains Alfalfa)

I was going to purchase another bag of TOTW but I saw another brand - Merrick: Before Grain Buffalo Formula and decided to try Dexter on that one. Before I introduced each new food, I made sure to slowly add little by little over a week so it wouldn't upset his stomach. So that night (Dec. 16th), I mixed a little Merrick with TOTW for Dexter's dinner and he ate it all. He made a normal bowel movement during his nighttime walk and then bedtime. He sleeps in his bed downstairs with me in my room.

The next morning, I woke up at 5:00 A.M. for work and went upstairs and found the most lovely surprise. There was multiple loose stool droppings all over the carpet in the living room. Prior to this incident, Dexter only had 2/3 accidents in the house (he's very well housebroken). The rest of the day, his bowel movements were very mushy and wet. We immediately stopped giving him kibble and he had plain steamed chicken. The next few days were filled with the watch and wait approach. I believe by the 3rd day, he was somewhat back to normal and I started feeding him Wellness Core Grain-Free Dog Food - ORIGINAL Formula. So far, he has been fine with this brand and his stool is normal. 

Here are my concerns. I don't know if the buffalo meal was too rich for him or if he had a sensitivity to the Alfalfa in it. But if he was reacting to the Alfalfa, wouldn't he have had reactions to Avoderm since that contains alfalfa as well? I would like to have him try Acana or Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free but majority of the premium line dog foods contain Alfalfa. He did have some samples of TOTW Wild High Prairie Canine Formula (again no reaction). I thought bison and buffalo meal were similar? 

I would've just rotated between the TOTW formulas - but he was making 2-3 bowel movements a day and they were less than stellar sometimes. He makes 1-2 now on Wellness. Anyways, I was wondering if any of you had an idea of what to do or tell me if I'm over analyzing this too much. Thanks for reading this super long post and all of the knowledge this forum has given me. 

Sincerely, 
Dexter's Mommy


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