A discussion of my dog’s path to freedom from allergies…
Orli
Good afternoon faithful customers!
I received my FIFTH call in TWO days from new clients about skin allergies, food allergies, etc. I want you all to know that I truly understand. My dog, Orli has food and environmental allergies. I am not a veterinarian, but I do know that many veterinarians choose to tackle allergies with steroids, antibiotics and crappy kibble. I played that game for over a year and we never got anywhere. When I finally started tweaking her diet is when we started seeing real progress.
Let’s start from the beginning. After some skin eruptions on her ears and tail would not go away after sulphur dips, ivermectin, permytherins, etc, I finally gave in and had the tip of her right ear lasered off because it just would not heal. Simultaneously, her vet at that time drew blood for an allergy test. The company who did the test is called AlerChek and this test has helped us immensely. Here is her allergy list, broken down into things that I CAN control (food) and things that I cannot (environmental):
Food:
Wheat (duh, most dogs can’t handle wheat)
Potato (not as common, this does not include sweet potato or yam)
Penicillium (this is on both lists, because some types of this fungus are used in cheese production)
Fusarium (on both lists, due to it’s association with Barley)
Botrytis (on both lists, because it is a common grey mold, so I must be careful to use only the freshest fruits and veggies for her snacks!
Others:
English Plaintain
Kochia
Fleas ( There are many ways to deal with fleas that don’t require pesticides)
Mix Dust Mites
Penicillium
Fusarium
Botrytis
Canary Grass
Brome Grass
Red Mulberry
Although that list sounded pretty intimidating at first, I did tons of research and decided that a commerical raw diet with grain free treats was the way to go. I chose commercial, because I am a vegetarian and the thought of grinding chicken meat and parts was just too much for my emotions. So, I started her out on Nature’s Variety which was sold at the dog store where I used to work. Within 3 weeks, her skin had cleared up!
We then moved on to Primal, which is one of my favorites! They are always organic, always hormone/antibiotic free and easy to use! I started with their patties and nuggets, then moved on to my current system of using Primal Grinds, which I will outline later in the post.
Two years ago, when this all began, raw diets were very taboo. My logic for using such an unpopular system of feeding was that it was the only way for me to have control over every ingredient. My reason for approaching this with diet? I believe that the immune system is the most important system in the body. Think of your dog’s (or yours, for that matter) immune system as an army of mean little soldiers whose sole purpose is to protect you from outside forces. When we give our dogs too many vaccines, not enough exercise or mental stimuli, we are weakening the immune system considerably. There are only so many soldiers in this little army, so why make them fight unnecessary things like Wheat, Corn, Soy, Ethoxyquin (common in Hill’s Science Diet Foods)? Why do we do this when the little soldiers could be battling more serious things like cell changes (cancer!), bacteria, viruses and other environmental issues?
My favorite way of putting it is this: Let’s LIBERATE our dog’s immune systems! Let the Immunity Army do it’s job! Don’t bog them down with junk food and too many antibiotics! A liberated immune system means that when your dog is confronted with something out of your control, like hereditary based cancers he or she will be ready to fight. The dog’s system won’t be so busy trying to digest junky fillers that it can’t fight cancer or handle chemo-therapy or surgery. When you feed higher end foods, you are liberating the army to do its job. I hope you will consider upgrading your dog’s food. Remember your local pet supply stores are going to know alot more about these foods than the big box stores. A store that will put California Natural next to Iams clearly has no idea what they are doing.
Now, here is a breakdown of Orli’s diet. Please note that her diet varies greatly depending on the season and availability of certain veggies. I will post her “winter” diet now and update the post this spring with ideas for going local for your dog’s sake!
Orli
Orli’s Winter Diet: (Per day/divided between two meals)
1 Pound of Primal Turkey Grind (includes muscle, organ and ground bone)
1 cup lightly steamed and pureed sweet potato with carrots, kale and 1/8 tsp organic blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup Monzie’s Organic Muesli (see older posts for more info)
4000mg Small Body Fish Oils
1000mg Borage Oil
1 Hip and Joint Supplement ( I use just about anything for this, but my favorite is Nupro Joint)
1/2 tsp Enzyme/probiotic blend
Several times a week, she gets Primal Marrow Bones. These are antibiotic/hormone free beef or buffalo and she really loves them! Also, when I am very busy I use the Primal Patties, which are pre-mixed with vegetables, oils, etc., so they are VERY convenient. I use all positive reinforcement for her ongoing training, so she gets lots of treats! My favorites are:
Carnivore Crunch
Primal Heart Chows
A Dog’s Life Quattro Formaggio
Mulligan’s Stew Sticks
Cheese Please
A quick note on “raw food fear”:
Many people fear salmonella and e.coli when they first hear of raw food. While these are both a danger to humans, they are not as dangerous to carnivores like dogs and cats. The two companies that I carry are very responsible with their production and use safety techniques to lower the risk. In fact Stella & Chewy’s guarantees against contamination! I will also warn you that many raw dog food “purists” will tell you that dogs should eat chicken necks, etc with little to no vegetable or fruit content. On one hand, this sounds great. But, our modern domestic dog may not be able to transition to such a different way of eating. I also feel that the evidence is to the contrary as it relates to vegetable/fruit content. When properly prepared, dogs and cats can definitely absorb wonderful nutrients!
Thank you so much for tolerating this long post. It is so important to me to let you know that I’m truly invested in helping your dogs and cats find true balance and health.
This post is dedicated to Simone… Orli and I loved meeting you tonight!
The Loyal Biscuit Co. Blog 