Advice Greatly Appreciated

[ZeldasMom]

Hi all - I'm new here and not sure I'm even posting this the right way lol. So, I have an 11 month old English Bulldog girl named Zelda. She is the best. But she's itchy. Not terrible but noticeable. She's currently getting Cytopoint shots monthly and we have been trying different foods. I'd like to get her off the shots and stop her itchies. Right now she's shaking her head a bit and just has stared licking her paws. I don't want this to get worse, So I'm thinking it's time to switch her food. She's currently on Purina Pro Salmon (please no hate, her vet said to try)
When I brought her home from the breeder she was on Blue Buffalo chicken. I switched her to Purina chicken because I had heard of all of Blue Buffalos recalls. So her Vet had mentioned that her ears looked a little gunky at one appt and we switched to Purina Pro Lamb. Ears didn't clear up and we are on Salmon now.
We also had a stent of the hydrolyzed Purina and it was horrible. I could never fully switch her because it gave her the worst poops. So after reading and researching, I'm wanting to get her on a limited ingredient food with grain.
Also don't want to go broke.
What protein would you start at? She's done chicken, lamb and salmon.
She's almost out of food so it will be a perfect time.
I've read in here that Fromm is highly reccommended.. but that seems really expensive.
Obviously I'll do whatever needs done. Please no food shaming - people can get really mean when it comes to this, I love my girl and just want to give her the best life possible.
Thanks in advance for you help.
* Also want to add - she takes Simpirica Trio monthly
and we bathe her in Duoxo about every 2 weeks.
She also loves shredded cheese lol - it's the only thing I can bribe her with . So I need suggestions on treats too. She loves watermelon but it's out of season now. She gets no other "human food" that what I've listed.

 

[cefe13]

Hi and welcome! If those proteins don't work, perhaps you could try game meat (venison, wild boar, etc)? Castor has done well on lamb, game meet and now, perhaps surprisingly, chicken. When he was younger he had loose stools and was a little red here and there, and then he was mostly on beef. I have no idea if he was allergic or not. I thought so at the time but now he gets the occasional food scrap (beef, fish, pork) and no problem. International food brands we have found good include Acana, Orijen, and Canagan (but Canagan is perhaps not available in the US; it's a UK brand). Single protein and as few ingredients as possible is often the way to go. Good food is quite expensive, but if it works well it saves a lot of worry and vet visits!

 

[ZeldasMom]

Thank you so much! I'm willing to pay more, of course, if needed and looking through all the foods today, it looks like that will be the case.
I was going to edit my post and say that the chicken caused her to have crystals in her urine. Or at least they could've happened from her food. I know she does have environmental allergies too. So I'm not too sure it's even food or all food related.
I've been looking at limited ingredient game meat foods today and think I'll try one of those.
Castor is adorable!!

 

[Cbrugs]

Welcome! I would definitely start by switching her to a better quality food and a single protein one as well. We normally recommend Acana, Fromm, Zignature, Open Farm. Some others that might be less expensive and people have had luck with are Taste of the Wild and Nature's Variety. But definitely get her off the Purina.

 

[ZeldasMom]

Thanks - I was actually just looking at Acana's Duck and Pumpkin.
I feel horrible for feeding her crappy food - and listening to the Vet.
Thanks again for the recommendations

 

[1Chumly]

With regards to the cost of food, and I certainly understand that aspect, keep in mind that with a better food, you don't have to feed as much as there are no fillers and therefore, the bag lasts longer. I have found that in the scheme of things, the cost works out to be the same. I feed Zignature as it is limited ingredients, with none of the usual allergens. They have many proteins to choose from. Check it out on Chewy and compare to what you are feeding now. Good luck!

 

[ZeldasMom]

Thank you! I've begun switching her to Acana - fingers crossed

 

[helsonwheels]

Thank you! I've begun switching her to Acana - fingers crossed

Definitely you will see an improvement. Anything that made by Purina, Royal Canin, Science Hill, or what Walmart carries, avoid with a 10’ pole.

Like mentioned you pay more but feed less. Your pup’s issue is a weak immune system n the gut flora is completely whacked out. You need to rebuild it. Start with Acana Duck easier to digest n once done buy another protein they make. Like rotate the bags. Acana makes, Duck, fish, beef, lamb, pork... you will be able to monitor IF any allergies like that eliminate that protein. To build the immune system and gut, feed raw organs, muscle.... Grocery store liver or beef heart etc. cut in small pieces and put them in a ziploc lock freezer bag. Freeze them like that you’ll always have them on hand. 1/4 cup per day as a topper. BUT stick to Duck for a good 2 weeks first. Then add a topper. BABY STEPS!!! As you’re starting over.

 

[ZeldasMom]

Thank you so much!! So we're on the Duck and Pumpkin now and it's going great. She wouldn't eat it mixed with her old food, so I had to switch her faster than I had planned. Good thing she really likes the duck though. Her stools are looking good too.
I was wondering what I could do to get her system stronger. So thanks for those tips
She'll be a year old next month. Are there any supplements you recommend? I've seen NuVet listed on many sites - is this something I should be looking into as well?
Allergies are horrible for me right now and hers seem to line up with when mine are bad - so I'm leaning towards more environmental than anything.
But just having her on a good foods gives me peace. Also I was looking forward to trying some of the proteins she's already had before but just being better quality food - thinking it will make a big difference.
My goal is to get her off the Cytopoint shots and just manage with Benedryl as needed.
I just want her body happy and to give her the best life.
Thanks for your help

 

[Manydogs]

[MENTION=19922]ZeldasMom[/MENTION] I feed my dogs Taste of the Wild Pacific Salmon-it is grain free. Since I have 5 dogs, that is the best I can afford for them, but they all do great on it. I also give them all NuPro supplement for Joint and Immunity Support. They also get (according to their size,) one or two tablespoons of yogurt as a "snack" before bedtime.Sardines once a week. They all have had no problems or allergies. You giving her a bath every 2 weeks could possibly be drying out her skin, and causing her to be itchy. Unless she REALLY needs a bath that often, I would stop bathing her so often.It IS your decision, though. Thank you [MENTION=16619]Cbrugs[/MENTION] for mentioning T.O.T.W., as everyone always recommends Acana,Fromm, Zignature, etc. and they are too expensive for me,having 5. I feel what I feed is the best I can do for them, but I feel guilty that I can't afford the BETTER food. as I know you all recommend it.

 

[Cbrugs]

[MENTION=19922]ZeldasMom[/MENTION] I feed my dogs Taste of the Wild Pacific Salmon-it is grain free. Since I have 5 dogs, that is the best I can afford for them, but they all do great on it. I also give them all NuPro supplement for Joint and Immunity Support. They also get (according to their size,) one or two tablespoons of yogurt as a "snack" before bedtime.Sardines once a week. They all have had no problems or allergies. You giving her a bath every 2 weeks could possibly be drying out her skin, and causing her to be itchy. Unless she REALLY needs a bath that often, I would stop bathing her so often.It IS your decision, though. Thank you [MENTION=16619]Cbrugs[/MENTION] for mentioning T.O.T.W., as everyone always recommends Acana,Fromm, Zignature, etc. and they are too expensive for me,having 5. I feel what I feed is the best I can do for them, but I feel guilty that I can't afford the BETTER food. as I know you all recommend it.

You are the reason I recommend it! I know not everyone can afford the "best" so we need to be able to suggest alternatives that people have good luck feeding. TOTW is one of the kibbles Jax used to have before I ultimately switched him to raw. While there are some brands I would never recommend, I am also a believer of feed what works for you and your dogs!

 

[ZeldasMom]

What kind of yogurt do you use? I was starting to wonder if Zeldas issue were yeast related and if that could help.
And 2 weeks in just the average, sometimes it's longer, but it's when she stinks. We let her go as long as we can in between baths.
I totally understand about the food. I was in some FB groups and people can get really nasty when it comes to the food issue. I just want to find something she can eat - regardless the price - and not be itchy (if it's even from the food) I really think it's environmental though.
I chose the Acana with grains. I've been reading as much as I can about that whole issue as well. It seems to the the "hot topic" right now. I've read about Taurine and asked our Vet - she said the heart problems from grain free weren't just from lack of Taurine. So idk - I'm trying to learn as much as possible.
There's so much information and opinions - but don't ever feel bad for loving your animals - period. Fed is best!! Just like with humans lol

 

[Cbrugs]

What kind of yogurt do you use? I was starting to wonder if Zeldas issue were yeast related and if that could help.
And 2 weeks in just the average, sometimes it's longer, but it's when she stinks. We let her go as long as we can in between baths.
I totally understand about the food. I was in some FB groups and people can get really nasty when it comes to the food issue. I just want to find something she can eat - regardless the price - and not be itchy (if it's even from the food) I really think it's environmental though.
I chose the Acana with grains. I've been reading as much as I can about that whole issue as well. It seems to the the "hot topic" right now. I've read about Taurine and asked our Vet - she said the heart problems from grain free weren't just from lack of Taurine. So idk - I'm trying to learn as much as possible.
There's so much information and opinions - but don't ever feel bad for loving your animals - period. Fed is best!! Just like with humans lol

An article was just released a couple days ago that the FDA found no evidence of grain free foods causing DCM.

Also depends on what kind of shampoo you are using. Jax, my Frenchie, has really bad environmental allergies and I used to give him a bath every week with a chlorhexidine shampoo which does not dry the skin out. He gets Cytopoint injections now so he doesn't need a bath every week.

 

[ZeldasMom]

Oh ok - I'll have to check that out. Thanks.
And I'm using the Douxo Calm Shampoo on her. She also gets Cytopoint - it helps some but this month seems to be worse and nothing had changed before I changed her food.

My main goal was to always prevent her issues from getting worse. So she's not scratchiing herself raw or anything - no hot spots - but I want to keep it that way. So I figured the food route would be best. My hopes were to get her off the shots - but if it's truly envt. allergies then I might not be able to.

What are your thoughts on the allergy tests - food and environmental. Our vet made it seem like there wasn't a truly accurate test for food allergies besides process of elimination.