# What really IS a food intolerance? Please help!



## jewels (Jan 3, 2011)

Ok, I feel like I'm a bit slow, but I need to go over this with the experts (that means you). :smile: I'm pretty sure my dog has food intolerances. My vet says he's allergic to something in his food, but after all the reading I've done and the help of those of you who have responded to some of my earlier posts in the Nutrition section, I think it is more accurate to say he is intolerant rather than allergic. Here's the background info...

9 year old standard poodle with chronic and excessive gas for over a year, probably closer to two years. 

He has had several fecals run to check for parasites, all came back clean. It has been several months since the last test however. 

I have not had his anal glands checked but plan to do so soon. He doesn't scoot or lick or anything, but it was suggested by someone here that anal glands should be considered and it's a good idea to check that out.

He has been on a probiotic for several months (first FortiFlora from the vet and most recently Fastrack, which his breeder uses and recommended). I have not tried enzymes yet but am open to doing so.

He eats from an elevated feeder.

Someone on Dogfoodadvisor recommended I consider the fiber content in his food as something that could cause gas (too high or too low for his needs). What do you think?

He has no other symptoms besides the gas (sometimes accompanied by gurgling stomach) but that symptom alone is a doozy. He can clear the room every 5 minutes! He doesn't seem to have any true "allergy" symptoms... no itching or licking or sores or hair loss or ear infections or vomiting or anything. He does have occasional diarrhea, but it's not frequent or consistent. If he gets in to another dog's food (like when we visit my mom) or finds something on the kitchen floor that one of my kids dropped then he gets the runs, but I've assumed that is due to a sudden change in food. Who knows.

He's always been a picky eater. He's never loved kibble. He's been fed kibble only (with a rare treat of canned) until 1-2 months ago when I stopped kibble entirely and have been feeding him strictly canned food because it seemed to help reduce the gas dramatically. He LOVES the canned. I don't know if it's just the taste difference or if he wasn't excited about kibble because it wasn't making his tummy happy all these years. He has literally seemed the picture of health for 7 plus years though until the gas started.

Before the gas started (first 7 years of his life) he was fed Nutro Natural Choice, Nutro Ultra, Canidae, Innova, Natural Balance Ultra Premium, and Blue Buffalo. He seemed to do fine on all of them but would eat some better than others. The main protein source was chicken, but he's also been on lamb formulas. He was on the Nutro Ultra, and had been for probably almost two years, when the gas started.

Since the gas started I have tried all of the Natural Balance LID formulas as well as Pinnacle Duck and Potato, and Trout and Sweet Potato (most recently). I started giving him canned (also the Pinnacle Duck and Potato or Trout and Sweet Potato) while on the Pinnacle kibble. I noticed that his gas was reduced somewhat on the canned versions. So 1-2 months ago I dropped all kibble and started experimenting with canned foods. I noticed that anything with chicken still produced gas, as did beef, venison, and bison. Duck was so-so and some fish formulas seemed better than others. Turkey and certain fish formulas seemed the best. The last couple weeks I've been feeding a rotation every few days between Core Salmon, Whitefish and Herring (with Wellness 95% Salmon added) and Merrick's Thanksgiving Day (with Wellness 95% Turkey added). There has been great improvement in the gaseous output! 

A few days ago I began wondering if the fish part of the rotation was starting to bother him, but I figured I was being paranoid. Yesterday I decided I wasn't. He was definitely gassy again. This morning I gave him a can of the Core fish formula and a can of the Wellness 95% Salmon. He ate the Wellness salmon and left the Core. That's a first. 

I would like to understand what food intolerances are a little better. What causes them? What do you do about them? Can they be stopped or reversed? How? Does protein or carbs or fat % have anything to do with it? Does fiber? Probiotics or enzymes? Can he really be intolerant to everything? Is there anything else I'm missing??? It seems that everything I can find to read just skims the surface about food intolerances and focuses more on food allergies. 

I apologize for the length of this post. :redface: I'm desperate and I'm trying to give you all the info possible in case there are some clues that I'm not picking up on. Thanks so much for any and all help! I really need it!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

jewels said:


> I would like to understand what food intolerances are a little better.


Food alergies typically cause skin & coat problems. Itches, splotches, etc. Food intolerance is a digestive problem. It means that the dog is having problem digesting one or more items in his diet. The symptoms of this can be anything from chronic vomiting, diarrhea, or gas. Because we are talking about dogs, I am using them, but these same things apply to all living beings.



> What causes them?


Could be a zillion different things. Could be caused by a faulty pancreas, stomach, liver, or intestines. Could be that the "good" digestive bacteria in the gut either are underpopulated or just plain ole weak. Could be other things that are beyond the scope of my small amount of knowledge.



> What do you do about them?


Honestly, I would put them on a diet of appropriate foods. That would be a diet of raw meat, bones, and organs ONLY. Dogs digestive systems were never designed to eat highly processed food or carbs. Most of the dogs who visit the vet have problems caused by an improper diet. People just fail to understand how much damage they are doing to thier dogs by feeding highly processed, high carb, cereal diets to their carnivore dogs.



> Can they be stopped or reversed?


Yes, absolutely.



> How?


By feeding a proper diet.



> Does protein or carbs or fat % have anything to do with it?


Yes, definately. Dogs should not be fed carbs. Their bodies were not designed to handle carbs.



> Does fiber?


No



> Probiotics or enzymes?


Probiotics, usually not. Dogs usually have all the probiotics they need in their body. These are generally self regulating things.

Enzymes, yes ... dogs don't produce an adequate amount of enzymes to digest carbs. When carbs are eaten, they cause problems in the digestive system which is not designed to handle them. Amylase is the main enzyme to digest plant matter and dogs produce very little of it.



> Can he really be intolerant to everything?


I guess it's possible but I doubt it. I think eliminating carbs from the diet will probably take care of the problem.



> Is there anything else I'm missing??? It seems that everything I can find to read just skims the surface about food intolerances and focuses more on food allergies.


I think its because if you concentrate on intolerances, you can't help but come to the conclusion that commercial dog food must be eliminated from the diet. I'm not afraid to say that.


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## ralphroberts (Jan 3, 2011)

An allergy is a response by the immune system to a protein (the protein in flea saliva, a plant protein (corn gluten) pollen etc. All allergies are protein allergies.) The immune system mistakenly identifies the protein as an "invader" and creates antibodies to fight it. An allergy takes years to develop. An intolerance is a response of the digestive system. The digestive system does not produce the enzymes necessary to digest the food. Lactose intolerant people do not have lactase, the enzyme needed to digest milk. Most conditions called allergies are actually intolerances. Enzymes usually help with intolerances. Plain yogurt helps with gas. Also charcoal biscuits - Mother hubbard makes one called "Char-Tar." Or you can add activated charcoal to the food. The most common food allergies are corn, wheat, soy, yeast, chicken, beef, eggs and dairy products. Even dogs that are allergic to other dairy products can usually tolerate yogurt. Find a food with none of the most common allergens. Canned food is usually tolerated better than kibble because it is processed less and therefore, fewer of the digestive enzymes, as well as the nutrients are destroyed. Raw is even better. I would avoid the Nutro. They use corn gluten, wheat and soy as well as menadione. Canidae, Natural Balance, Innova and Blue Buffalo are all excellent foods.


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