Wheat And Pets...

[Guest Viola]

My little Sheba had allergies last summer, that's when I did the elimination diet on her. Doing an elimination diet didn't help at all. Turned out the allergies were pollen related and they disappeared by the end of summer. Dogs who are allergic to pollen and molds, show it in their skin rather than the usual symptoms that humans get. Sheba had licked and chewed herself raw.

[CeliacMe]

IAMS has several lines of dog foods (I use the "Chunks" in the green bag) They use rice meal as a filler instead of wheat. I had my dog (Brutus the Boxer) on a raw BARF diet, but all was lost when I sent him to my parents' house for the weekend. I had made him raw meat loaf, raw veggie puree with plain yogurt and chicken wings for the weekend. The meatloaf was yummy, his favorite, it had egg and yogurt added and of course BARF supplements. Well, my dad decides that Brutus wants cooked meatloaf and chicken gizzard soup with rice instead. So, upon returning home with Brutus I thought all was well until later on in the week- I found him rummaging through the trash. I was thinking "he seemes hungry." So I put the trash away in the cans in the garage and went to gardening. I found a pile of chicken leg quarters in a bush that he was supposed to have eaten, chicken wings too (raw of course) and I suppose all he ate all week was his meatloaf and veggie puree. So, he must have been very hungry. I tried to feed him his usual dinner, and supervised to ensure that he ate, he didn't. I ran to walgreens and got the IAMS because that was all they had that seemed decent and I was desperate for him to eat something. He loved it. He's been eating it ever since. I felt bad until the vet told me that her dog ate the same thing and she had a similar problem with him not wanting to eat BARF. After being gluten-free, I checked the bag out of curiosity and realized that they used rice instead of wheat. Which made a lot of sense because he hadn't been gassy as he was when he was a puppy eating NUTRO.

[frenchiemama]

My little Sheba had allergies last summer, that's when I did the elimination diet on her. Doing an elimination diet didn't help at all. Turned out the allergies were pollen related and they disappeared by the end of summer. Dogs who are allergic to pollen and molds, show it in their skin rather than the usual symptoms that humans get. Sheba had licked and chewed herself raw.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One of my dogs is allergic to grass (among other things) and it makes her have terrible skin problems.

[Guest Viola]

We had a horse allergic to grass ... well, it's what's in the grass. White clover!! Those pretty little white clover that you see in almost any field of grass, a lot of lawns that don't use a herbacide and anywhere that's mowed. I suspect that Sheba's feet licking allergy comes from there, because she quit as soon as the clover quit flowering.

Anyway ... our horse had a rash all the way up her legs and along her belly because she would lay down that way. It really was a problem trying to keep her comfortable. So, keep an eye out for those pretty little flowers.

[frenchiemama]

We had a horse allergic to grass ... well, it's what's in the grass. White clover!! Those pretty little white clover that you see in almost any field of grass, a lot of lawns that don't use a herbacide and anywhere that's mowed.  I suspect that Sheba's feet licking allergy comes from there, because she quit as soon as the clover quit flowering.

Anyway ... our horse had a rash all the way up her legs and along her belly because she would lay down that way. It really was a problem trying to keep her comfortable.  So, keep an eye out for those pretty little flowers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well that's interesting. I just assumed it was grass, because she gets hives on her little legs and belly, and her sides if she is out laying in the yard. You can pretty much see where her body contacts the lawn because of the hives. We do have those clovers all over, I wonder if that's it. I should treat the lawn next year and see if it makes a difference.

[Guest Viola]

If you have a small lawn that you can treat, it would really be worth a try. Sheba has access to over two acres, so it's not feasable to treat it all. We have 6 acres in all, but she is blocked off from some of it. We don't want her going too far out of sight, as bear, coyute and cougar are so common here.

[frenchiemama]

We live in town, and our lot is 75x150. It would be wonderful if something like that could stop poor little Baby Girl's itching. She's so miserable in the summer and I hate having to give her medication every day.

[Guest Viola]

Give it a try and let me know how it goes next summer. I know white clover is a very common allergan in animals. It was our old vet (since retired ) that told us about it when we had the horses, and since then a fellow out at the coast that owns a Shiba Inu (prone to allergies) with foot and belly problems found out by elemination that it was the white clover causing his dogs problems. He treated his lawn and watched carefully when he walked the dog, there was a big improvement.

So ... good luck with that! I hope it solves your little Girl's problems.