Hey folks. What do you feed your guys who have skin food allergies? Thank you.

First, are you sure it is skin food allergies? Because I thought so for a long time until I found out it was a systemic yeast infection. There is a short thread below about it. And, if it is a food allergy, the answer will be different from each person depending on the food. What is your dog allergic to?

I do know that she has a food allergy. We'll be going to the vet Monday. Just putting this out their for some suggestions. I appreciate your response.

Ok, but you would get better responses if you would state what her food allergy is. For instance, if she is allergic to chicken, they people who have dogs that are allergic to chicken can give you educated responses. As it is now, no one can respond correctly, because they may be recommending a food that she is allergic to.

She is getting Purina One.

I don't know what her food allergy is. She is getting Purina One, chicken and rice.

Then how do you KNOW it is a food allergy??

I don't. Read my original post.

I shouldn't have posted she has a food allergy. I think my brain was up my butt when I wrote that reply. I assumed, which was wrong on my part. Maybe I was hoping for a food allergy which might make dx. and treatment easier. Sorry about that.

What are her symptoms?

Nasty ear stuff going on. I have treated it with over the counter and old time remedies. If its chronic, I want to nip it in the bud. I read the article about getting a thyroid done. Apparently this can be miss diagnosed. And, its scary if it is systemic. I plan on breeding her and don't want problems down the road. Even if I don't breed her, I don't want her to be miserable. Her symptoms are, gunky ears, no smell, no scratching , you would never no there is a problem. She has swollen skin in one ear with black spots and heat.

Is she yellow? Because on yellows, it is easy to see the blackening of the skin from the dead yeast filtering out through the skin. I cannot even begin to try to diagnose you dog, but I can tell you not to expect a SYI diagnosis from your vet. I have rarely heard of a vet diagnosing that. But, I tried the SYI protocol on the Dane lady's site, and after 6 months my dog it absolutely perfect. I have been diligent, and she has not had one thing she should not. I thought she had allergies, but she did not. I have been told that breeding her is not an issue. I am still trying to decide if that is true or not.

Forgive me what is a SYI?

She is yellow.

Systemic Yeast Infection. Do you see any darkening of her skin, especially around the pelvic region and between her nipples?

Just in her one ear.

I use Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin, which contains Salmon.

Thank you.

Clean her ears well, regularly and choose a food with no corn, wheat or soy products in it. Read the label carefully.

Through trial and error and a little luck we figured out one of our yellows is allergic to beef. Changed her food initially and no real change, noticed that every time she had a tartar buster her ears flared up and she started chewing her feet. Stopped the tartar busters, treated the ears and made sure she didn't have any beef based diets and all has been well for a long time. Right now she's on PPP.

So basically - giving people blanket directives like - avoid corn, wheat etc isn't appropriate for all dogs. Not all dogs are allergic to carbohydrate sources

I would first find out what she has in her ears. She may have a particular bacteria in there that needs very special meds. My girl has had pseudomonas (sp?)in her ears and e.coli, from another dog licking her ears. It can take many weeks and flushings to get rid of. Some meds are topical and some (given at the same time) are oral. You should probably have a culture done.

Also, on the food, we had a bitch once that we thought could have food allergies, so we switched to venison and duck food, only to find out later (after she refused to eat it) that she was actually more allergic to grasses, but also slightly more allergic to duck!