[77Dinaartickire]

Riddler had little bumps with scabs on him so I took him to the vet, after some testing and ruled mange out it is determined that he probably has food alergies,

does any one have any advice on what to feed him, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg

[Beragagnu]

You usually want to feed single protein dog foods (limited ingredients).... which usually costs an arm and a leg.
You want to avoid grains (corn, wheat, rice, etc), soy, and other fillers.
You also want to avoid common meat proteins like chicken, pork and beef.

California Natural (we feed the venison formula and pay roughly $70 for a 30lb bag)
http://www.californianaturalpet.com/

Natural Balance (we feed the venison formula again and mix this with the CA Natural to make it go farther.. we pay $55 for a 30lb bag)
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog...s/allergy.html


Also just remember that most dogs that have allergies have both environmental and food allergies... not just food.

[77Dinaartickire]

Thank you very much, I will look for both of these foods. I did boil some venison and used the broth to flavor the food I am using which is Purina dog chow. The vet had me only take him off of the canned dog food for now we go back next week and we are going to talk about diets.

[Beragagnu]

Purina is a crappy food.

Here is a site where you can look at the quality of foods
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

And here is a link after searching for Purina Dog Chow
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...t=1843&cat=all

Look at the ingredients and read what it has to say about them. You'll eventually become really good at reading labels and realizing which ingredients are good and which are bad.

[77Dinaartickire]

This is my first time to own a dog, and I thought Purina was a good food, I will look at the sites for sure. Thank you for the advice.

Do pits have different requirements than other dogs?

[Beragagnu]

It's alright. I had no idea that Pedigree was a crappy food when I first got my girl as a pup until she started to become itchy and rubbing her face.

As for pit type dogs needing different requirements than other dogs.... yes they do.

-Just keep in mind that most have dog aggression as they were bred to fight other dogs.
Dog aggression is simply aggression towards other dogs... it does not mean they will show human aggression.
-They usually also have prey drive, like many other breeds, and could chase and possibly kill animals smaller than themselves such as cats.
--This means they need to be on leash and supervised near all other animals, but especially when near other dogs. Do not go to dog parks. Say you have another dog and they are getting along fine now... one day they possibly will not and you must be ready and willing to keep them separate from then on out. Most people crate and rotate their dogs that don't get along.

-Also, most are great escape artist... and for the safety of other pets in your area, it's best to have proper containment. For example, our dog can hop 6ft fences no problem. Some peoples dogs can climb trees like cats. Some peoples dogs dig their way out. An outdoor kennel with the top covered, a tie out, a zip line, etc. will help with containing your dog. You do not want your dog to be a neighborhood nuisance.

-Remember they have a bad reputation. People will look at your dog differently... will treat your dog differently... will be afraid of your dog for no reason... and some people will make rude comments. Try to keep your dog in a positive light at all times.

-Socialization with adults and kids!!!!!

[Les Allen]

I do not know why someone stated feeding chicken, beef, and pork base protein. This is incorrect! Those proteins are perfectly fine to feed. In addition, chicken protein is the most commonly used in good kibble today.

I agree that grains should be avoided. That said, rice is a digestible grain and should be considered the lesser of the grain evils lol If choosing between white and brown rice, choose white. Brown rice has a chemical that reduced the dog's ability to absorb another nutrient (that escapes my mind at the moment).

Avoid ingredients that say by-product, gluten, meat and bone meal, corn, wheat, etc. Sorry, I am doing this from memory and I just woke up. lol

When reading the ingredient list, remember that ingredients are sorted in order of quantity in kibble. The first ingredient will be the base protein.

Remember that "chicken meal" is better than "chicken" in the ingredient list (same with other animal proteins).

An animal fat is better than an oil. This is the ingredient that will "glue" the kibble together.

Good luck in raising a healthy dog.

[Alkanyadela]

Why is chicken meal better than chicken?

[yahyynzer]

Why is chicken meal better than chicken?

Chicken meal is the meat after the water has been removed, so it's actually a higher concentration of meat than just chicken which is mainly water.

[h0ldem]

How did your vet determine that your dog's skin problems are caused by food allergies? Only a small percentage of skin problems are actually food-related. People like to assume that if it's not mange, it's automatically the food.

While I agree that Purina is an awful food to feed and you should feed some higher quality stuff, I think you also need to look at the environmental stuff your dog is around. It could be detergent on his bedding or the cleaner you use on floors, it could be something in the air, it could be anything really and automatically assuming that it's food-related doesn't really help anyone.

If you really want a better idea of your dog's allergens, pay for an allergy panel to be done. Otherwise you're just using trial and error to attempt to guess at what could be bothering your dog.

[77Dinaartickire]

Riddlers, daddy has had the testing done and has several allergies corn, and wheat are two of them. So my vet is just starting with food allergies for now if it doesn't help we will have to look further.

I didn't realize what was wrong with him when the bumps came up, I thought it was little bite marks or fingernail marks from our new dog. So I waited too long and a couple of them got infected so he is on anti biotics and he is clearing up now. So I don't really know if it is from taking him off of the food he is on or the anti biotics.

But if it doesn't get better I will definately look into allergy testing.

Thanks for the reply

[Beragagnu]

I do not know why someone stated feeding chicken, beef, and pork base protein. This is incorrect! Those proteins are perfectly fine to feed. In addition, chicken protein is the most commonly used in good kibble today.

Yes, they are perfectly fine to feed.
But when you suspect food allergies you want to start feeding a single protein food that the dog hasn't had before.... most dogs have had chicken, beef and pork whether in their food or treats.