# How do you know if your dog has an allergy, intolerance, etc?



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Just wondering.

We finished our bag of Acana Chicken & Burbank Potato and while he did good on the formula, the whole bag his poops were way bigger, and a lot of softer (not disgusting, or runny, or anything, but big & soft, lol).

Almost immediately upon beginning Acana Lamb & Apple, the poops are formed again, and a lot harder and smaller and less frequent. He also is the same on Acana Duck & pear. So even though he loved the chicken formula taste, we'll probably just rotate between the other two for now, and maybe throw in grainfree Grasslands in.

Do you think it's chicken, or something else? He doesn't really eat a lot of chicken come to think about it... well in dog kibble. I do give him chicken breast if we've made some, etc.

I've also found that foods with barley and flaxseed seem to give him more eye boogers, and softer poop.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

My girls have an intolerance to chicken.
They get nasty, nasty eye boogers on any food with chicken in it. 

I have read that of all dogs that have food allergies/intolerances, 70% of them have an intolerance to chicken.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Jacksons Mom said:


> Just wondering.
> 
> We finished our bag of Acana Chicken & Burbank Potato and while he did good on the formula, the whole bag his poops were way bigger, and a lot of softer (not disgusting, or runny, or anything, but big & soft, lol).
> 
> ...


That doesn't sound like an allergy to me; more like a difference in the way his system handles the ingredients in those particular foods. Especially if you give him chicken on its own with no problem.

We found out Zio was allergic to beef when had actual diarrhea from hamburger or any other beef.

FWIW,


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

You might find this link helpful. It outlines some of the symptoms to look for. 

Dog with Dog Food Allergy : Diagnosis & Natural Treatment


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

My Brittany has been on mostly grain free, with proteins of chicken, turkey, beef and fish. She has frequent (3-6 times a day) poops; some are mushier than others but mostly soft. I give up!


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## kaliberknl (May 9, 2012)

Has she been checked for Giardia?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I know what Uno has a sensitivity, he gets upset stomach, wont eat or only eats grass, gets eye discharge and foul breath, sometimes itching.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

SubMariner said:


> That doesn't sound like an allergy to me; more like a difference in the way his system handles the ingredients in those particular foods. Especially if you give him chicken on its own with no problem.
> 
> We found out Zio was allergic to beef when had actual diarrhea from hamburger or any other beef.
> 
> FWIW,


Diarrhea isn't a sign of an allergy, but an intolerance. I know with people, intolerances can be more or less severe with different people, so while Zio may be quite intolerant to beef, another dog might just have softer stools. If Jackson has had chicken before with no problem, I'd be looking at another ingredient causing it.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

kaliberknl said:


> Has she been checked for Giardia?


I'm not sure if you're speaking to me or not. If yes, no she has not. She,s been like this for the 1.5 yrs we've had her. I don't know how to explain it but if the weather is not good and they only go to the kennel which has stones in it. If she poops in there and i put her in the grass yard, there's a good chance she'll poop again. I may have been misleading, her poops are formed but not firm; they're formed but soft. She's also a very sensitive, nervous dog. UPS came the other day, when i came back in she had pooped in the diningroom.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Caty M said:


> Diarrhea isn't a sign of an allergy, but an intolerance. I know with people, intolerances can be more or less severe with different people, so while Zio may be quite intolerant to beef, another dog might just have softer stools. If Jackson has had chicken before with no problem, I'd be looking at another ingredient causing it.


He eats the lamb with awesome results, and they don't seem much different to me. Maybe the deboned flounder in the chicken one? Hmmm.... I dunno, I mean it's not a big deal. It wasn't like he had diarrhea or anything, just softer bigger and more poop, LOL

lamb:
Lamb meal, deboned lamb, steel-cut oats, peas, whole apples, whole potato, sunflower oil, oat flakes, lamb liver, sun-cured alfalfa, whole pears, algae meal (source of DHA, EPA), pea fiber, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender, rosemary.

chicken & burbank potato: 
Chicken meal, deboned chicken, whole potato, steel-cut oats, peas, whole egg, deboned flounder, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken fat, oat flakes, chicken liver, chicken liver oil, herring oil, pea fiber, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender, rosemary.


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## kaliberknl (May 9, 2012)

Giardia has become ubiquitous. Although difficult to diagnose, it is easy to treat and results are dramatic. It can also infect people so if a household dog is positive, the water supply should be checked. The easiest test for vets is to send a stool sample to a lab to find antibodies to it. Best wishes!


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Marie, maybe trying her on a round of probiotics/enzymes would help?


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Meg, she is on a digestive enzyme byWholistic Pet. I don't know if it's possible for frequent pooping to be behavioral but it sort of seems like it. If she had giardia, wouldn't she have diarrhea? If she doesn't go into the yard, she poops less.


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## Dana (Oct 27, 2009)

There is a test called Nutriscan that can test for food allergies and/or sensitivities. I am considering doing it for my dog that has the sensitive stomach. I posted about it on May 8th, will bump the post up.

Dana


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## ChiMomma88 (Jan 27, 2012)

Yup sounds like an intolerance or maybe allergy to chicken. He probably has problems digesting it. My boyfriend’s Lab can’t digest chicken and had the same problem with runny poops, so he put her on grain-free Alpha. Natural Balance makes it and they have a fish formula with trout and salmon. It also has digestive enzymes in it specifically for digestion, and he won’t feed her anything else now. I watched her last week and she only did 3 poops a day and they were not hard to pick up from the backyard. I’m actually thinking of putting my own dogs on this formula. They’re not allergic to anything but I like the idea of the probiotics in the dog food.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> You might find this link helpful. It outlines some of the symptoms to look for.
> 
> Dog with Dog Food Allergy : Diagnosis & Natural Treatment


See, this is exactly what my dogs had and I never knew the difference. 

Snorkels has an intolerance to pretty much everything in every dry dog food. Puking and stomach upset mostly. I tried every protein on her but emu I think.

Rebel had an allergy to chicken. Big time - even if it wasn't the main ingredient. His were ear infections and itchy skin. Then it started happening on lamb and rice formulas. His last dry food was salmon and his ears blew up like cauliflowers.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

xellil said:


> See, this is exactly what my dogs had and I never knew the difference.
> 
> Snorkels has an intolerance to pretty much everything in every dry dog food. Puking and stomach upset mostly. I tried every protein on her but emu I think.
> 
> Rebel had an allergy to chicken. Big time - even if it wasn't the main ingredient. His were ear infections and itchy skin. Then it started happening on lamb and rice formulas. His last dry food was salmon and his ears blew up like cauliflowers.


That had to be super-frustrating. Glad you're in a better place health-wise with them now.

With one of my dogs, if I stay away from grains he is fine. With my other dog, if I avoid chicken she does well. Feeding grain-free fish-based formulas with some home-cooking has them both doing well for the time being.


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