Homecooking for allergies

[tinshee]

I don't post here often... I joined when I rescued my dog Brandy. Last April we rescued a second boxer, Max.

Max is a very itchy dog! We've been to the vet twice. Yesterday, the vet looked at his rashy face and red toes and said that seemed to indicate a food allergy.

I've been feeding Max Solid Gold Barking at the Moon for the last three or four months because it's grain free, but it hasn't made a difference. Our vet suggested a science diet or a purina hypoallergenic dog food, but it is expensive AND I looked at the ingredients and... they don't seem to have anything "good" in them.

So I was thinking it might be beneficial to do a home cooked diet that I can regulate and possibly identify to what he is and isn't allergic.

Has anyone done something like this? I'd love any ideas as to what to make and also anything I need to remember in terms of making sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs.

I know it can take 6-12 weeks to determine if an allergy diet is working for a dog.... so this could be a LONG process. But poor Max is so itchy that he will scratch himself until he bleeds so I think it would be worth it.

Thanks!

 

[tianthai]

First you might have to try to find out what your dog is allergic to. I found out that mine is allergic to yeast. It took quite a long time to find out and very time-consuming. I feed my dog Timberwolf (rotate every bag with different kind of meat) and home cooked food. Right now it is like 30% Timberwolf and 70% home cooked. I stop buying treats for him as I cannot control the ingredients so I bought a dehydrator and make some dried fish, dried beef, dried lamb for his snack. I give him fruits everyday. Since I stop buying treats my dog does practically much better, he does not have any skin itching.
My home cooked meal is always made with carrot, parsley, garlic, celery (all in the blender) then I add meat such as lamb, chicken, beef. Once or twice a week I give him fish. All meat is cooked but the veggies are fresh.
Good luck!

 

[Jan]

You might find it easier to find out what she is allergic to, if you feed her a raw natural diet, because it is easier to feed just one food item. Ideally you want to look for a food that she hasn't had before and feed it exclusively for a month to six weeks. If the allergies get worse, then you stop it an try something else. Once you have found something that works, then you can gradually start adding in different foods, one thing at a time, so that you can easily figure out if the new food is causing a problem.

You could also have her allergy tested, but it's pretty expensive. You can buy a lot a good food for the price of an allergy testing.

Good luck!