How Long Would It Take To See Results When Switching To A Better Food If A Dog Had Food Allergies?
My moms great dane has had loose stools recently, has always had a ton of eye “buggers” and red ears (not ear infections but very red and raw looking). I have been telling her to try switching from kibbles n bits to a better quality food and today she switched to Canidae ALS. I know that if these things were food related they would not immediatly correct themselves but what is a reasonable amount of time that if they were food related they should correct themselves?
I personally noticed a reduction in the eye buggers when I changed food last year but is this something food related or could I have just changed when the seasons changed?
Thank you.
Tagged with: Allergies • Better • Food • Long • Results • Switching • Take • When • Would
Filed under: Food Allergies In Dogs
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Usually they say to give it at least 6wk to 12wk to see changes & for the old food to leave the system. I saw within a few days on my dog that I switched to grain-free. She had started having skin issues & large pieces of dandruff & dandruff stopped immediately. It took a week for hair started growing back better but over a month before her skin started looking noticeable better & stopped completely licking. It all depends on the dog & the food. Often you might have to try different foods before you find the right one for your dog.
If the dog has food allergies, you generally want to feed a special food with no grains or meat for a few weeks to clean out the system and then gradually add in meats and some grains to see what the dog can tolerate.
Just switching to a better quality food will show improvement in several weeks if it is a corn allergy. I have fostered dogs and notice it takes awhile to show but it does.
Have you taken the dog to the Vet about the ear problems? They may or may not be related to the poor quality food.http://www.dogfoodproject.com/
I hope she changed the food gradually or the dogs stomach will be very upset and you may want to avoid kibble with corn as an ingrediant cuz they can be allergic to corn i did a report on jack russells i know you have a great dane but i imagine that it would kinda be the same eating habits and cheese is too rich and can upset their stomachs!
Well hopefully she didn’t just start with the new food but is gradually mixing the new with the old. If she just switches, the dog will really have diarrhea. I’d say you should give it at least a month before you see any change.
As far as the eye discharge, make sure it is not a yellow or greenish color because this is an indication of an eye infection and your should take the dog to the vet for some ointment to use to clear it up.
Great that you are switching. When I feed my dogs any food with fillers such as grains, rice, potatoes, etc. they get diarrhea that same day and when switched back to a filler free food like Now, Go or Orijen, by the end of the day their poops are normal! It’s tough to afford the super expensive foods sometimes, that’s why they don’t always get it but you definately get what you pay for!
It depends on the individual dog, the dog’s health and how sensitive they are to food allergens. Some dogs will see improvement immediately….some dogs may take a bit longer, but I’d say within a week or two you should start to see some improvements like shinier coat, less redness in the ears and such. It can take months though to see the full effect…..but expect some difference in a week or so.
With quality of life it’ll be almost immediately.
With allergens, it will take until the last meal has been used up and passed through the body to see any improvement.
Canidae ALS is a fantastic food, and when I made the switch I saw results within the first two weeks.
Kibbles and Bits is a REALLY poor quality dog food, so its good that she made the change.
)
When I bring foster dogs home, and put them on my food, I usually see a difference in their condition in about two weeks.
And a bigger difference in a month
it could take a a few weeks, also it could be anything, chicken,beef, grass! you can get a skin scraping at your vet to pinpoint it if the food change does not work, it’s kind of pricey but would really help the dane ( i love great danes!)
i have switched food only 2x in 7 years and within both times i noticed a mild difference in a week and it got better over the course of the first month. little things like the texture or shine on the coat should show up in as early as a week
I have one dog that has reactions to any commercial foods at all. Even meat with preservatives sets her off and processed training treats can make her ears go red within 12 hours.
The ONLY way that we can keep her happy and not itchy is to feed a diet of raw meat, meaty bones and offal. NO cooked foods, grains, vegetables, dairy or processed crap in a bag.
Many people start on an elimination type diet and feed only one thing for about 3 or 4 weeks. Then start adding one new food a week – this way you can see what is causing issues. In a few months you should have a happy, healthy dog that is eating about 2/3 meat and muscle (like heart) and the rest a combination of meaty bones and organs form a wide variety of sources. My animals eat chicken, pork, lamb, beef, fish, eggs and kangaroo – both meat and organs. The only bones they don’t get are large weight bearing bones like beef shins or knuckles.
BTW this costs me less than commercial food used to.
** add ** The allergy testing checks for reactions to cooked proteins. The structure of raw protein is totally different so it is better to use an elimination diet than to just wipe out a whole protein source unnecessarily.
As a general rule I say a month is enough to see a change.
At about 6 months you can see a complete transformation.
When I got my dog (a rescue) her coat was absolutely terrible. After a month of having her (on good food, of course) there was definite sign of improvement and she stopped chewing on her feet. It took about 3 months for her “doggy” smell to disappear. (so that was about how long it took for all the toxins to really be cleaned out of her system) After 6 months she had completely lost her “garbage coat” and it had been replaced with a beautiful soft coat. (she actually changed color a little bit, even)