4mickey2 41 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 So, many dogs develop food intolerances or allergies to food. My dogs always scratch around their muzzles, faces, necks. But, one in particular scratches a lot more. He scratches so bad that he creates scabs and he rips out hair. His muzzle was so short he looks like a poodle not a bichon. i have tried cooking for them, changing to different foods. I tried different shampoos and just wasn't able to figure him out. I was frustrated and ready to take him in to a dermatologist at a vet. I had it down to the groomer. Every time they come home they scratch more than normal. It would take us weeks to get Barkley calmed down and his scabs healed. Then it was time to go in again. I gave her shampoo to use. She would use it for 3 or 4 times and it wouldn't help. He is never this bad when i bathe him. A few years back we were fighting ear infections with him. I had read Dr Becker noted that oatmeal shampoo can feed a yeast infection. We got rid of the oatmeal shampoo -- the ear infections cleared up and we haven't had an issue with those since. But, he was still scratching... About 2 months ago I gave up and started grooming him myself. He scratches a little but, his hair is coming in around his muzzle and his head is nice full. BUT... he also has an issue with food sometimes. I read that they tend to have issues with the common food-chicken, lamb, etc. So, once in a while I would try venison, bison, fish. They would all turn their nose up to it after a meal or two. I would make them eat it but wouldn't buy it again. Probably a month ago I bought the venison. Same thing happened. Fine I got lamb and mixed it in about 75% lamb to 25% bison. They eat it. Good. I won't buy it again. BUT... why is he still scratching and they all turn their noses up to the food. Poor Barkley he would go a full day without eating and his belly would just be gurgling. SOOOO.. I made an appt, a few weeks before the appt I cancelled. I don't want to put him through bloodwork, skin patches and a restricted diet for months. Slowly bringing foods back into his diet. Starting cost is $300 then it goes up as tests are done. I had a friend go through this and her final cost was around $600. I watch posts from Dr Karen Becker and Dr Jean Dodds. Dr Dodds is with hemopet and they do a food intollerance test. You can do it at home or go to the vet. hmmmm.. this got my interest. What is it? The dog can't eat for 3 hours before doing the rope. Its a simple rope that you hold in the dogs mouth for 2 minutes to get enough saliva on it. Then it is put into a tube and you send it in. Simple, yes. Does it work? What if I don't get him to put enough saliva on it? It is $250, will I be wasting money? So, I emailed hemopet and they assured me that if there isn't enough saliva on the rope they would send me another. Ohhhh good. Alright I'm in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 So, I got the kit a few weeks ago and sent it in before Christmas. I held the rope in Barkleys mouth and he just sat there. I thought for sure he didn't get any saliva on it. lol He wouldn't move. I had to keep moving it around to try to get him to put his tongue on it. This is the kit. I signed up on line so I didn't have to fill in everything on the sheet. I emailed and asked about that. I had to label his tube so, it didn't get lost. These were the directions. So, I got the rope out of his mouth after 2.5 minutes. I trimmed it to fit in the tube. It says your hands aren't going to contaminate it. I tried to not touch it too much. Put it in the tube and took it the post office the next day. The saliva on the rope is good for 30 days. How can it be-I don't know but, it worked. Then I waited. It took about 2 weeks for the results. In the meantime he is improving but, we still are picky eating. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 i will post his results when I can get on the other computer. Mine doesn't like pdfs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 i can't figure out how to get it here-so, i have to copy and paste the results of his allergy test. Test Requested Result Case Specific General Range UnitsBeef Salivary IgA 7.300 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLBeef Salivary IgM 9.500 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLChicken Salivary IgA 8.361 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLChicken Salivary IgM 9.384 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLCorn Salivary IgA 10.966 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLCorn Salivary IgM 9.683 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLDuck Salivary IgA 10.159 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLDuck Salivary IgM 9.738 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLLamb Salivary IgA 9.278 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLLamb Salivary IgM 9.459 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLMilk Salivary IgA 9.293 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLMilk Salivary IgM 10.109 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLPork IgA 7.700 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLPork IgM 10.550 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLSoy Salivary IgA 9.603 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLSoy Salivary IgM 9.974 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLTurkey Salivary IgA 10.780 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLTurkey Salivary IgM 10.671 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLVenison Salivary IgA 10.290 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLVenison Salivary IgM 11.155 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLWheat Salivary IgA 10.854 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLWheat Salivary IgM 10.199 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLWhite Fish Salivary IgA 11.460 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLWhite Fish Salivary IgM 10.700 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLBarley Salivary IgA 11.500 Borderline Reaction; Avoid< 10 U/mL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Test Requested Result Case Specific General Range UnitsBarley Salivary IgM 10.350 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLEgg Salivary IgA 8.750 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLEgg Salivary IgM 7.350 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLLentil Salivary IgA 9.780 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLLentil Salivary IgM 10.157 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLMillet Salivary IgA 9.325 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLMillet Salivary IgM 9.681 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLOatmeal Salivary IgA 10.800 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLOatmeal Salivary IgM 10.150 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLPeanut Salivary IgA 10.008 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLPeanut Salivary IgM 9.651 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLPotato Salivary IgA 10.323 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLPotato Salivary IgM 10.147 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLQuinoa Salivary IgA 10.600 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLQuinoa Salivary IgM 9.439 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLRabbit Salivary IgA 12.750 Intermediate reaction,Avoid< 10 U/mLRabbit Salivary IgM 8.850 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLRice Salivary IgA 9.950 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLRice Salivary IgM 9.450 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLSalmon Salivary IgA 9.188 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLSalmon Salivary IgM 8.875 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mLSweet Potato IgA 10.271 Weak Reaction < 10 U/mLSweet Potato IgM 8.815 Negative Reaction < 10 U/mL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Nutriscan Interpretation (see www.nutriscan.org for more details)Pet should avoid food or treats containing ingredient(s) showing results of 11.5 or greater. Recommendrechecking salivary food sensitivity or intolerance levels every 6 -12 months. Jean Degree of reactivity <10 U/mL indicates a normal food antigen tolerance level =negative result. 10-11.4 U/mL indicates a weak reaction; clinical significance unclear 11.5-11.9 U/mL indicates a borderline reaction 12-12.9 U/mL indicates an intermediate reaction 13-14.9 U/mL indicates a medium reaction >/= 15 U/mL indicates a strong reaction Differences between antibodies to IgA and IgM: Antibodies to IgA measure the secretory immunity from body secretions (tears, saliva, feces, urogenitaltract). They act as a mechanical barrier or the “first line of defense” to help protect the bowel from invasionby foreign substances, infectious agents, chemicals, and certain foods that it cannot or poorly tolerate.Antibodies to IgM measure the body’s primary immune response to a recent exposure within the last 6 months or so (e.g. to a certain food ingredient). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 so, basically anything that he got 10-11.4 -- he had a weak reaction to. oatmeal, sweet potato, whitefish, venison, quinoa, barley, turkey this is a simple test and fast results. now i am informed on what he has issues with. we removed the bison/venison food from his diet and are only feeding him lamb and he has been great. Barkley wasn't having major issues just persistent. now, i feel we are getting somewhere with him. other than barley i have made most of these for the dogs. the oatmeal---well, we were grooming him with oatmeal shampoo. if you have a dog with the itchies-i recommend this test. dr dodds is well known as is hemopet. just thought i would share one pups issues in hopes of helping another. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 It's great that they can give you such specific results! The list of allergens doesn't look terrible as far as finding enough *other* stuff to feed - that's good news at least! And the oatmeal now makes perfect sense. Interesting considering that usually people use oatmeal *because* of allergies, and it turns out in this case that's part of the problem. dr dodds is well known as is hemopet. just thought i would share one pups issues in hopes of helping another. We do annual bloodwork on our dogs and send it out to Hemopet. It's always super thorough and has helped us identify some issues we needed to address before they became big problems. Thanks for sharing this, Cheryl! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dalspot ... Karen 21 Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'm interested to see if the dietary change makes a difference. My dog pretty suddenly developed an allergy about 4 years ago now I think it's been. Tried all kinds of different foods, none made a difference. Even a home-made raw diet. I chalk it up to grass. If the ground is snow-covered and stays that way she will get better, but not fully. What I find is an *immense* help to to wipe her feet with baby wipes every time she comes in from outside. She will take her hind foot and actually try and scratch the front foot with it! Makes a hell of a noise in the fifth wheel in the middle of the night. She's on Temaril-P for now. I hate giving it, but decided quality of life is better than quantity in the long run. She's 14 1/2 btw. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Karen, did you ever try a full elimination diet to see if it's a particular grain or protein or possibly more than one? While most of the food allergies I've seen in friend's dogs are grain or gluten related, I do know some dogs on raw diets that are allergic to particular proteins (like chicken). If the ground is snow-covered and stays that way she will get better, but not fully. Sounds like there may be a combination of allergies going on. I know dogs that have a combination of food allergies and environmental allergies like pollen, grasses, etc., and are better when the environmental stuff doesn't come into play - like in the winter. Their owners have found what you have, that wiping their feet during those times of years helps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4mickey2 41 Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I'll tell you what: I change Barkleys diet every 2 months. Trying all the different food that others recommended. Quinoa, Duck, Venison, Buffalo, Fish. I made him food and nothing helped. I tried shampoos of all different kinds. After watching one of Dr Beckers vidoes I learned that oatmeal shampoo can be bad if its a yeast infection. I had the groomer stop using oatmeal--which is recommended for itchy dogs. Much better-but not great. Bichon Bubbles and a bath at home calmed him the best. But, it never went away. I even gave the groomer "my" shampoo and he'd come home scratching. The saliva test was so easy. Yeah, it was $250 but, a vet going over all their testing and food elimination diet would be long and even more costly. This test took out all guesses. All the food that people recommend for itchy dogs-were making him itch. Everything I cooked for him was causing an issue for him. He is great now! He has hair growing on his muzzle again and doesn't scratch 1/4 of what he did. I stopped feeding him anything that had showed a slight reaction and of course no food that shows anything higher. I am also grooming him at home-myself. Not the best looking Bichon but, he is so much more comfortable and even smiles again. :) Personally I would spend the money and do this test. You can do it at home, its easy and has fast results. You might be surprised. Dr Dodds was interviewed by Dr Becker and here is the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcjDMv985l8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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