New food for Jax

Cbrugs · Dec 1, 2015

So I was going to wait a little bit longer before I posted this and hopefully I don't jinx myself now, but after trying A LOT of different kibbles and proteins, a few weeks ago I decided to give raw a try because Jax's itching and paw licking was getting to be out of control. I couldn't help to think that just maybe something in the kibble was making him itch (fruit, starch, dust mites???). As a vegetarian, feeding raw was the very, very last resort. I didn't want to deal with raw meat. Period. However, I always said if no kibble worked for him, I would try raw. I decided to take the plunge and I went for it. And guess what, after only being on raw for a 2 1/2 weeks, Jax's itching and paw licking has significantly decreased! I never thought this day would come. And while he will always have environmental allergies and probably have *some* itching and paw licking, the progress made on raw is beyond awesome and I couldn't be happier! And while Jax has always loved food, he loves raw even more so he is happy too.

Just wanted to share my good news and hopefully he continues to do well and I didn't jinx us!

:dance6:

eeturk · Dec 1, 2015

Ah yay congrats!!! We couldn't believe the difference it made for Hudson. It doesn't seem like it's possible to help as drastically as it does! I know it's so gross but I always just tell myself it's worth it!

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WeeDex · Dec 2, 2015

That's brilliant! Feeding is just too stressful when allergies are involved! I'm obsessed with it!

I had to take Dexter off raw until we got a grasp on his allergies, but I'm really keen to get him back on it asap as his toilet habits were sooooo much better eating raw than they are now, and I could tell he just enjoyed it a lot more.

Good on you for managing to stomach it!! :happydance:

Squishy Walnuts · Dec 2, 2015

That's fantastic! It must be so hard finding food for Frenchies with allergies.

MaplesMommy · Dec 2, 2015

So happy for you & Jax!

Jakeyjake · Dec 2, 2015

That's great news! Are you sourcing the raw yourself or are you using a dog food brand? I would love to get to that point with both of mine.
I don't eat meat and it grosses me out too, but I just recently started Jake on Sojos grain free premix, which is dehydrated and then I just add the protein, which is salmon. I really just want to get them off of kibble. He really likes it, but so far no improvement in licking, sucking his feet in the morning before the next dose of Apoquel kicks in.

Cbrugs · Dec 2, 2015

Jakeyjake said:
That's great news! Are you sourcing the raw yourself or are you using a dog food brand? I would love to get to that point with both of mine.
I don't eat meat and it grosses me out too, but I just recently started Jake on Sojos grain free premix, which is dehydrated and then I just add the protein, which is salmon. I really just want to get them off of kibble. He really likes it, but so far no improvement in licking, sucking his feet in the morning before the next dose of Apoquel kicks in.

I started noticing an improvement much quicker than I thought I would. Jax is on Apoquel as well so I know all about the itching/paw licking before the next dose kicks in. Jax is also on bi-weekly allergy shots and I have no idea if they are working because of the Apoquel, but because he has improved so much, after he is on the raw for a month or so, I plan on doing the shots every 3 weeks and then once a month and see what happens. If all goes well, maybe he won't need them anymore.

I wanted to start with buffalo as the protein as I knew Jax could handle it. So I ordered some buffalo patties on line that are already ground up with the meat/bone/organ. I also ordered a case of canned green buffalo tripe from Amazon to mix into each meal to cut down on the amount of meat he was to get each day to be more cost efficient. I am also mixing in quinoa. Based on his weight, I am feeding him 5 ounces twice a day consisting of 1 ounce of quinoa, 2 ounces of tripe and 2 ounces of meat. I bought some little tupperware containers and measured each meal out and I did a week's worth of meals and put them in the freezer and then pull them out a day ahead to defrost. I then found out you should rotate between at least 3 different proteins when feeding raw so after 2 weeks of buffalo, I decided to try chicken (which he is on right now). I didn't want to spend a ton of money buying meat in bulk online without knowing whether or not he can tolerate the protein so I was told about a brand called Vital Essentials and found a store near my house which sells it. They have patties and niblets, all with the meat/bone/organ. I bought a 3 lb bag of chicken niblets which is enough for a week and a half and then this weekend I am going to get either the duck or rabbit. Once I figure out 3 or 4 proteins he can tolerate, I plan on ordering in bulk online from either Reel Raw or Raw Feeding Miami. Mixing in the tripe and quinoa is definitely making feeding raw more cost efficient for me.

I thought I was going to be grossed out by the raw meat but I am not. I will say be careful when looking at the online stores because I have stumbled upon things I don't want to see (heads, feet. body parts...ugh). I know some people will buy the meat/bones/organs separately and then grind it themselves or give whole body parts but that just isn't for me...I'll stick to having the work already done for me and pay the extra money for the patties/grinds.

And I want to give [MENTION=380]KimB3384[/MENTION] and [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] a shout out because they helped me with the transition over to raw and answered all of my bazillion annoying questions.

Nokio0615 · Dec 2, 2015

Quick question - what are the key difference between what you see for food allergies and environmental allergies? I changed Kobe's food about three times from Wellness, to Wellness grain free, to Merrick's Grain free to now Royal Canin's Hydrolized Protein that was recommended by the vet. The vet has placed him on Temiral P and has workd in the past but now it's not working as much. Kobe get's bumps on his back under his fur then start spreading. He doesn't really scratch or lick his paws either. Does Jax get bumps under his fur?

Cbrugs · Dec 2, 2015

Nokio0615 said:
Quick question - what are the key difference between what you see for food allergies and environmental allergies? I changed Kobe's food about three times from Wellness, to Wellness grain free, to Merrick's Grain free to now Royal Canin's Hydrolized Protein that was recommended by the vet. The vet has placed him on Temiral P and has workd in the past but now it's not working as much. Kobe get's bumps on his back under his fur then start spreading. He doesn't really scratch or lick his paws either. Does Jax get bumps under his fur?

Jax was constantly scratching himself, especially under his pits, to the point of bleeding and licking his paws. He was on Temiral P for awhile but then I heard it is not a good for long term use since it is a steroid. I then took him to the dermatologist and he was tested for environmental allergies and it came back he is allergic to practically everything green outside (grass, trees, weeds, shrubs, etc.) and dust mites. He started on the Apoquel and allergy shots. He immediately improved but then was getting itchy again so I switched his food to a turkey kibble. He immediately broke out in sores and scabs all over his underside. I put him back on a venison kibble and the sores went away so I knew he was allergic to turkey. He did fine for awhile and then was getting itchy again and licking his paws so I wanted to try a kibble that had no peas in it and started him on a buffalo kibble that was grain, potato and pea free. Still constantly itching and licking so that is when I decided to try the raw food and he has significantly improved. I do not know if dust mites in the kibble were causing the issues or if it was some other ingredient like a fruit or vegetable. But having taken all those extra ingredients out of the equation, he is doing so much better. He never got bumps under his fur though but that sounds like hives.

There are environmental allergies, contact allergies, food allergies and food intolerance. It might be hard to know exactly what kind of allergy you are dealing with unless you do an allergy test or process of elimination. A lot of the symptoms are the same for each allergy. [MENTION=600]Jakeyjake[/MENTION] deals with allergies with both of her Frenchies so she might be able to chime in as well.

Here is a link to an article from this site about allergies - http://frenchbulldognews.com/content/32-french-bulldog-allergy-treatments-prevention.html

Jakeyjake · Dec 2, 2015

Jake gets red in the arm pits, chest, inner thighs and licks his paws. He also got hives periodically. Allergy testing indicated he had allergies, to grasses, dust mites, weeds, etc. so we started him on allergy shots. It helped a little as he no longer was getting hives, but after about 1 1/2 years he was still miserable licking and scratching. I did the Nutriscan to check for food intolerances/sensitivities and it was recommended that he avoid, pork, potatoes, peanuts and corn. The allergies just continued to plague him year round so that is when we thought it was best to try the Apoquel. It helps tremendously.
Stella started showing signs of allergies quite young. I want to say around 4 or 5 months old, which is never good and means the allergies will be quite severe according to my vet. She was scratching herself on her rib cage raw. She got secondary infections and ear infections. We tried antihistamines which did not work and when she was a year old we put her on cyclosporine. She is on a pretty low dose (she could be on 40 mg. for her weight and we have her on 30 mg.) but she still scratches some and has to wear a shirt. She was allergy tested also but nothing really showed up. She also did the Nutriscan and no results there either.
So as [MENTION=188]Cbrugs[/MENTION] has said, it is difficult to determine if your dog is suffering from food or environmental allergies. If he doesn't show improvement on the food he is on then I think the next step would be allergy testing. Good luck!