Question by Heather: Are loose stools a symptom of allergy during a food trial (for dogs)?
My cocker spaniel suffers from food allergies. Her symptoms were dermatitis, ear infections and facial swelling which progressively got worse and recently landed her in the ER. We recently began a food trial in the following way:
She got homecooked chicken ONLY for almost a week, including some ground bone meal from the same chicken.
Once that went well, she got cooked white rice added to this for about a week.
When that went well, I added lamb (cooked).
When that went well, I added tomato.
The reason I did these particular foods, in this order, was that I purchased a bag of Wellness SImple with exactly those 5 ingredients in it, and I was thinking those foods would be less likely to cause a reaction as she has eaten them before as whole foods.
So, now we are mixing the Wellness Simple with cooked chicken and rice everyday and that’s what she’s eating. When I added the Wellness Simple, she began having very loose stools 3-4 times daily, which is unusual. I allowed it over a week to see if her system adjusted to it but it is not changing.
SO…is this another allergy symptom (perhaps to one of the vitamins?)?
Should i reduce the amount of food Im giving her?
Should I try to add canned pumpkin to see if that helps?
Is one of the ingredients the problem and therefor I need to scrap this and start over? (and if that’s the case, how the heck do I determine which ingredients to use? THe plain, whole foods seemed just fine but isn’t really enough for a long term, well balanced diet)
I realize raw food is an option but I’ll flat out tell you that I wont be doing that. I am a very busy mom of 3 with more than one dog, and I simply do not have the time or money to put into that. Im very willing to try other foods but I dont know WHAT the offender is, here! Everything was fine until I added the kibble!
Best answer:
Answer by Kirsten
I don’t know if this is worth anything to you, but I’m allergic to tomatoes in one form and not another. Raw tomatoes cause a rash, but I tolerate tomato soup and tomato sauce well. I might be biased, but it’s the tomato I’d suspect.
Have you tried other low allergen prepared formulas? You might try “Taste of the Wild” which is completely grain free, but nutritionally complete. It’s usually the grains they’re allergic to.
Usually with allergy exclusion diets you’re focusing on protein/carb combinations. You now know she can handle chicken and lamb and rice. Try some other kibble formulas using those items. There are other brands that offer low-allergen formulas. You’ll tend to do best with the ones that are “natural” and have fewer preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.
BTW, diarrhea is not an allergy symptom but an intolerance symptom, so this is probably unrelated to the allergy (itchiness and skin issues) that caused you to start this journey. In short, your dog has more than one food item causing problems.
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