# Are Goldens prone to allergy problems?



## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

We've had 2 golden retrievers that both have had problems with allergies. Hunter our Golden that passed away 2 years ago, would had hot spots all the time, and Nova our Golden that we have now has ear allergies, and she had a hot spot on her leg back in December. She also itches her chin, and muzzle alot. THe reason why I'm asking is because we've had other breeds of dogs, that don't seem to have any problems.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I think Goldens are more prone to hot spots and other itchies. I had two that were very problematic until I switched them to a raw diet


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

I have some chicken breast in the freezer, and I biught a whole cut up chicken tis morning, but I'm going to have to kinda "stock" up before I start feedign raw so that it won't be so expensive to start all at once. Plus I need to feed some kibble, for when we go out of town, and the inlaws feed the dogs. I'm sure they won't get the reason why I'm feeding them raw meat.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I've had a Labrador, a Chow, and a Samoyed in the past that were prone to skin problems so I'm not sure if Goldens have more problems or if there are just more Goldens' in the world. My current puppy is a Chow/Husky (might be some Golden in there too from the way he destroys stuff in the yard) and he will chew his feet and scratch his face if I give him any food with a lot of grains in it. He's fine if he sticks to a grain free product though.


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

chowder said:


> I've had a Labrador, a Chow, and a Samoyed in the past that were prone to skin problems so I'm not sure if Goldens have more problems or if there are just more Goldens' in the world. My current puppy is a Chow/Husky (might be some Golden in there too from the way he destroys stuff in the yard) and he will chew his feet and scratch his face if I give him any food with a lot of grains in it. He's fine if he sticks to a grain free product though.


What are you feeding him?


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

He eats Orijen puppy and even though he is about 75 pounds, he only eats 2 cups a day so it's not too expensive to feed him. He gets a little bit of canned in the AM for variety but that varies , usually something like Back to Basic or Wellness, or people meat. I've just gotten him a bag of Evo grain free dog treats and he LOVES them. There are quite a few grain free treats out there that I can use for training him so it's really not a problem keeping him totally grain free unless he sneaks his sisters food. She's a 12 year old Lhasa and can't eat the Orijen because she is allergic to Salmon so she gets Innova senior.


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

chowder said:


> He eats Orijen puppy and even though he is about 75 pounds, he only eats 2 cups a day so it's not too expensive to feed him. He gets a little bit of canned in the AM for variety but that varies , usually something like Back to Basic or Wellness, or people meat. I've just gotten him a bag of Evo grain free dog treats and he LOVES them. There are quite a few grain free treats out there that I can use for training him so it's really not a problem keeping him totally grain free unless he sneaks his sisters food. She's a 12 year old Lhasa and can't eat the Orijen because she is allergic to Salmon so she gets Innova senior.


Thanks, I'll have to look into some of those. The bad thing is none of the "good" foods are available here, so I have to order. And the shipping can kill ya! The best thing we have is Chicken Soup, which I have been feeding, mixed with the green bag purina, just to help stretch a little. I bought a bag of Diamond naturals this morning. Going to give that a try.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Just remember that a dog can have a allergy to a certain food whether or not it is grain free or not, My Leo is allergic to beef in kibble form but since I've switched my dogs to a raw diet he can eat beef in the raw form. It's not uncommon for that to happen, so your golden may have allergies to certain foods or grains. So you might have to investigate a little. Good luck!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Abby's mom said:


> Thanks, I'll have to look into some of those. The bad thing is none of the "good" foods are available here, so I have to order. And the shipping can kill ya! The best thing we have is Chicken Soup, which I have been feeding, mixed with the green bag purina, just to help stretch a little. I bought a bag of Diamond naturals this morning. Going to give that a try.


I can't get the Orijen locally either so I order it from Petfooddirect.com. I usually wait for a 22% off coupon in the email from them and once I use that it ends up paying all the cost of the shipping plus taking some off the cost of the food. It's $61 for a 30 pound bag and you can figure the shipping will be free with the coupon and maybe another $5 off the total. I'll do a big order maybe every three months and my UPS guy hates me!


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

whiteleo said:


> Just remember that a dog can have a allergy to a certain food whether or not it is grain free or not, My Leo is allergic to beef in kibble form but since I've switched my dogs to a raw diet he can eat beef in the raw form. It's not uncommon for that to happen, so your golden may have allergies to certain foods or grains. So you might have to investigate a little. Good luck!


Thanks I'll keep that in mind.


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

chowder said:


> I can't get the Orijen locally either so I order it from Petfooddirect.com. I usually wait for a 22% off coupon in the email from them and once I use that it ends up paying all the cost of the shipping plus taking some off the cost of the food. It's $61 for a 30 pound bag and you can figure the shipping will be free with the coupon and maybe another $5 off the total. I'll do a big order maybe every three months and my UPS guy hates me!


I get emails from PFD and usually just delete them, I guess I better quit doing that! lol


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

chowder said:


> usually something like Back to Basic or Wellness, or people meat.


Where do you get people meat? :biggrin:


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Abby's mom said:


> Thanks, I'll have to look into some of those. The bad thing is none of the "good" foods are available here, so I have to order. And the shipping can kill ya! The best thing we have is Chicken Soup, which I have been feeding, mixed with the green bag purina, just to help stretch a little. I bought a bag of Diamond naturals this morning. Going to give that a try.


I think we just found your problem! I've heard that corn is a huge causer of the itches and the hot spots especially. If you continue feeding a corn-/grain-based food like that, you're bound to keep the hot spots coming. Try cutting out the Purina (which is garbage, pig food, btw) and see if they do any better. You might notice they eat less too.


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

RawFedDogs said:


> Where do you get people meat? :biggrin:


lololol! From people of course!!


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## Abby's mom (Mar 30, 2009)

rannmiller said:


> I think we just found your problem! I've heard that corn is a huge causer of the itches and the hot spots especially. If you continue feeding a corn-/grain-based food like that, you're bound to keep the hot spots coming. Try cutting out the Purina (which is garbage, pig food, btw) and see if they do any better. You might notice they eat less too.


Well, I'm sure it is, because I was just feedign Purina, and thats when she got the hot spot, but I thought it'd be ok if I mixed, but I guess not. So I will cut that out. I'm about out of the CS, adn Purina mix, so I will be getting her on the Diamond Naturals, and see how that goes.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> Where do you get people meat? :biggrin:


Nosey neighbors (We do live in the south you know!):smile:


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