I have been trying to get Chewy's allergies under control. His eyes are constantly red and watery and losing hair around his eyes. He's also losing hair on the back of his hind legs and on the side of one of his front legs. The meds the vet gave me didn't really help so we're going back to vet this Monday. Wish us luck!
That is terrible, I am so sorry to hear that. I have been fighting to get Bella's allergies under control too, it is not easy. Let us know what the vet says and until then I will be praying for him. Good Luck!
Just a question, but are they sure its allergies??? Have they checked him for mange? Usually when a dog has mange the first place they lose hair is around their eyes and on their legs. If a vet is quick to just jump and say allergies i'd find a new vet. I hope Chewy is ok.
I'll remember to ask about mange, I have been wondering that myself. I like my vet although I prefer the woman over the man that saw Chewy last. I'll let everyone know how it goes!
Another problem that I've found with foods like Purina is that they use ingredients that really have no description... like animal fat and animal digest. With these, any animal parts can be included... which in turn can cause allergies/health problems (Here is a definition for both):
Animal Fat
AAFCO: Obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative".
Note that the animal source is not specified and is not required to originate from "slaughtered" animals. The rendered animals can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc. roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on.
Animal Digest
AAFCO: A material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind or flavor(s), it must correspond thereto.
A cooked-down broth made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. The animals used can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc. roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on.
I have three with food allergies and one with other allergies. Funny side note, my worst boy is Manny, and his name WAS Chewy before I adopted him. LOL What you are describing doesn't really sound like food allergies to me. It sounds more like mange to be honest. And if not that, some kind of contact allergy that he is actually touching. Carpet cleaners, the carpet itself, pollen falling out of houseplants, dust, dust mites, etc. The hair loss would *normally* start more on hot little pink feet if it was a food allergy. I could be all wrong, but I would see about a mange scraping and allergy testing. Does he ever vomit? I have one allergic to red dye in food and he heaves like a champ if he gets anything he shouldn't. We use Purina ONE Sensitive Systems now and everyone is right as rain. I used all kinds of "premium" foods and there was always one or two dogs that still didn't do well. Our local shelter got a lot of really expensive food before we found one that worked for everyone! LOL
There isn't one food that is best for dogs... it is mainly about which food works best for your dog. I would recommend a holistic food with human grade ingredients. I use Timberwolf Organics for my chis, and I am very happy with it. There are many different varieties of formulas (from bison to chicken) and these foods work well for my dogs since Rylie has food allergies (we have to stay away from chicken).
Other foods I would recommend are Canidae, Wellness(sold at Petsupermarket now), Natural Balance (at Petco), Solid Gold (at Petco), Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, California Naturals (made by Natura), and there are many more. Most of these are sold in dog bakeries... some are found at petstores like Petco (like I listed). If you only have access to Petsmart, I would recommend Nutro Ultra or Blue Buffalo.
Most "premium" vet recommended foods have non premium ingredients, and you are actually paying more for the food. My mom fed her toy poodle Pro Plan for years... and she suffered from itchy hot spots, watery eyes and tear stains. My mom switched her food to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, and all of these problems have since cleared up. My mom also finds herself giving Daisy less baths, and her health problems have gotten better (the vet gave her a "few months" left to live about a year and a half ago).
The only store that I go to for pet food is Pet Supplies "Plus" which has several options but a couple of the ones you mentioned I have never heard of. I'll have to look next time I'm in there at the different foods they have. Mostly it's the main brand foods.
If you go to http://www.naturapet.com , they have a store locator... usually if a store carries their brands, they will carry other similar petfoods as well (and you can always call the listed stores and see which brands they carry).
Also, most of these companies will ship food. I know Timberwolf Organics does shipping.