How do you know when your dog is allergic to their food?

[Rachel]

Hi everyone!

I've been feeding Sophie Canidae for almost as long as i've had her (2 years) she came from the spca eating IAMS so we took her off that immediately. I did my research and thought Canidae was the best choice and was available at the feed store down the street. She also gets 1/3 of a can of Merrick wet food in the morning so that she will happily go into the basement where we keep her when we leave for work.

Well now.... SOPHIE STINKS!!!! and I'm not talking dog smell, I'm talking dog smell x10 and it's kinda yeasty smelling (my best guess as to what the smell is) It's the worst in the morning when she wakes up and streches or even when she gets up from a nap. She has also been licking the top of her paws but they don't look red or irritated or anything. This as been going on for a couple of months and it seems to be getting worse. Oh yeah and her poops are just fine.

I know that Canidae is a very rich food with more then one source of protein. Do you think I should switch her to something milder?

PLEASE I NEED HELP! I'm sick of spraying her bed with Fabrize every time she gets up! 

 

[Kermit]

Aw that sux! I'm sorry you are having such problems with Sophie! I went through heck with Connor trying to find a food that agreed with him. When he is on a food he can't tolerate, he loses his hair and gets acne all over his body, as well as having diarrhea and being stinky (and gassy!).

I FINALLY found a food designed for senstitive dogs, and it is the best thing EVER!!!!!!!! CALIFORNIA NATURAL CHICKEN AND RICE!!!!! I swear by it. Connor grew back all of his hair!!!!! IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!!! And now he doesn't have a single zit. His poops are perfect. He has zero doggie odor. I should be the new spokewoman for this dog food!!!
You can go to Natura's website which I think is just natura.com, and that's what they recommend if you have a sensitive dog. There are only minimal ingredients in this formula and I guess all I can really say is it has made a huge difference in Connor. I used to not be able to bring him out in public because it looked like I didn't take care of him! And now he's beautiful!!! YAY!!!

Hope that helps.

[newflvr]

Have you had her checked out by the vet?  I would think the yeasty smell might be just that...a yeast infection.  Once you know for sure that she's okay, then maybe try another brand of a premium food with a different protein source. 

She needs to smell like a sweet girly-girl so she can get lots of hugs!  Good luck!!

[patrick]

Some breeds also just carry a smell like basset hounds PHEW do they stink!!

[Angeleyes]

Unfortunately I'm a self proclaimed expert on allergies- LOL!

Sadly, I've been through A LOT with Maximus in regards to allergies- took us a year to diagnose, and LOTS of money in vet bills.  Then it was ME to diagnosed it from my own research (and members/friends on forums).  I pretty much learned everything there is to know about food and environmental allergies.

This is my story about what happened with Maximus: http://www.iheartpaws.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1315

This is more recent:
http://www.iheartpaws.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1719

And this is what the outcome was:http://www.iheartpaws.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1906

There are more links explaining (instead of me retyping everything) what I went through, but basically I had to go on homecooked because Maximus was SO allergic he almost died from allergies!!!

However, I doubt this is the case for you. There are a lot of tell-tale signs with allergies, both food and environmental.  I do believe, from what you've written that it's a problem with the food.  Though a yeast infection (as suggested) won't go away on it's own.  If you're sure it's not that and that the smell is more than a "Sleep" smell, I'd try changing the food to something with simple ingredients.  Perhaps one protien, one grain etc. 

Canidae is a good food, but Maximus did horrible on the best of kibbles so is now on a home cooked diet (with NO grains or glutens).  It really depends on the individual dog.

I'm so sorry you're having these problems, I can certainly sympathize!!!  If nothing else, I hope Maximus and my experiences can help others.

[Rachel]

Doghealer - I'm glad that the chicken and rice worked for you!  I will definitely have to look into that. Sophie has the zits too.  They are around her muzzle and always bust open and bleed.  They don't seem to bother her though.  The vet thought she might be allergic to her plastic bowls so we switched to metal.  They also gave us some stong antibiotics.  The zits went away for a little while but now they're back so I guess it wasen't the bowls.

Pat - It definitely could be that she is just stinky!  I wouldn't put it past her!  But it is weird that is has gotten worse within the last couple of month...   

Newflvr - We have a vet appt. coming up in Jan. so I will definitely be talking to her also. And I plan on calling them this week.  Thanks!

Angeleyes - Thank you so much for sharing your story!  I am reading through the links right now.  I am so sorry you had to go through so much with your boy!

Thank you everyone! You guys are the best.

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

Sorry for the troubles one thing I noticed is you say you spray the bed with Fabrese, could be an allergy to that as well. Most likely the food but did things start getting worse when you started spraying the Bed?

[Angeleyes]

VERY true.  Maximus is so allergic to Febreeze that I once sprayed it on the couch and his butt went raw.  The hair fell out and it bothered him for about a month (had to put cortizone on it).  Took 8 months for the hair folicles to heal, turn to normal from red/brown and for the hair to grow back!

They say it's pet safe, I say nonsense. 

[Rachel]

Thanks for pointing that out.  We only recently started spraying her bed so it hasen't gotten any worse doing that. It's also the bed that is in our room so I spray it in the morning when she gets up but then she doesn't lay back down on it till that evening.

But since you never know I will stop doing that and see what happens.

Thanks!