May 24th, 2011
These are the kinds of questions that pop into my head at 3 am, when I’m flipping and flopping my way through another bad night’s sleep. Strange. I know. But, I wondered about the big kibble, the small kibble, the shearing kibble, the specially shaped kibble, and decided I’d at least ask if it mattered or was simply hype. You be the judge.
Dog Dental Health Matters
The statistics are staggering, with 80% of dogs (who are not getting good dental care) suffering from some kind of dental disease by the time they reach their third birthday. Since I’m fairly certain MOST people DO NOT brush their dog’s teeth every day or at all, it isn’t a surprise that companies are trying to help with products aimed at canine dental health.
The first time I heard about kibble shape mattering in a dog’s dental health was when Hill’s Pet Nutrition came out with their “dental diet.” The kibble, which was much larger than usual, shears off in slices as the dog chews. This biting, shearing action is supposed to help keep teeth clean.
Normal Kibble vs. The X-Factor
So, I was surprised that most dog food kibble continued to be the usual round or disk shape for many, may years to come. Now, Pedigree has introduced a patented (not kidding) x-shaped kibble designed to clean a dog’s teeth while he eats.
I’m told the Pedigree folks studied “oral biometrics,” including how much force with which a dog can bite down as well as how wide he can open his mouth, etc. The looked at the geometry and physics of all this and designed an x-shaped food meant to fit better into a dog’s mouth and help out with some scraping while the dog eats.
What Do You Think?
Is this hype? Pseudo-science? Or a helpful way to keep dogs’ teeth healthier?
I tend to give the dog food makers credit on this one because they really do a LOT of research before making a big change. That’s expensive.
Tags: dog food, dog food shape, dog kibble, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Pedigree
Posted in Dog Food Basics, Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | 6 Comments »
Specialty Dog Foods Not So Special
May 17th, 2011
Hype reigns in many consumer product markets, with companies trying to convince us there is a need that their product fills. The dog food market is no exception. The wonks among us bristle at the marketing messages pet owners accept as gospel, including me at times. So, it’s interesting to learn that veterinary nutrition researchers from Tufts University found that the nutritional content of so-called “senior dog food” varied widely. In other words, these specialty food probably aren’t all that special.
Just because there is gray on your dog's face, that doesn't mean you should automatically change to a so-called "senior dog food."
We’ve talked before about the flaws in the logic that say you need to change your dog’s food ONLY because he is getting older. Personally, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to switch foods. My big dog, Ginko, turned 11 years old May 13, and he continues to eat and do well on the same food as our younger dog, Lilly (the border collie, who is the canine heroine of my other blog Champion of My Heart).
Senior Dog Food: What We Think, What Researchers Know
In addition to discrepancies between what pet owners thought was in senior dog foods and what really is in senior dog foods, Tufts researches found a variety of actual nutritional content in dog foods targeting older dogs. For example, the senior dog foods studied featured many differences depending upon brand:
- Calories: 246 to 408 calories per cup
- Protein: 4.8 to 13.1 grams of protein per 100 kcal
- Fat: 2.4 to 6.3 grams of fat per 100 kcal
- Sodium: 33 to 412 mg of sodium per 100 kcal (important for dogs with heart disease)
- Phosphorus: 3x difference in phosphorus content (important for dogs with kidney disease)
“If an owner, for example, had a senior dog with heart disease, they might be inclined to feed them a senior food, thinking that it had less sodium,” says Lisa M. Freemann, DVM, PhD, a professor at Tuft’s veterinary school and a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. “Instead, they might replace a diet that has a perfectly acceptable amount of sodium for one that is considerably higher.”
Not All Senior Dogs Need a Senior Dog Food
“The decision to buy a certain type of food for your aging dog is an emotional one: You want to extend her life and ensure she’s healthy well into her twilight years, ” Freeman says. “However, not all older dogs require a senior diet, and if you do decide to change to a senior food, talk to your veterinarian, because these foods are not all the same. It’s important to select one that is right for each dog.”
***
The full study published in the International Journal for Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine, Vol 9, No 1.
Tags: dog food resesarch, fat, potassium, protein, senior dog food, senior dog food research, sodium, specialty dog food, Tufts Univeristy
Posted in Dog Food Basics, Dog Food Debates, Dog Food News, Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | Comments Off
Pet Food Ethics: Global Food Issues
April 12th, 2011
As the story of Patrick, the young pit bull in New Jersey found at the bottom of a high-rise building trash chute on the brink of death from lack of food and water, spread from pet lover to pet lover via social media around the world. So, did the criticisms of those of us who have chosen to support animal welfare causes.
I watched it happen a little on Facebook. I saw some pretty nasty notes posted in response to YouTube videos of Patrick’s recovery. I heard sobering data on rampant malnutrition around the world and even hunger in the United States from the veterinary nutritionist I interviewed.
The crux of the argument goes like this. People are suffering more, every day, around the globe. So, when pet lovers rally around causes like Patrick’s or other animals who are abused and neglected in every community, those who staunchly consider human needs first, look at pet lovers a little sideways.
I can see their point, and … at the same time … here I am firmly rooted in the animal welfare camp that says our pets didn’t choose to be here, but if we’re going to have them in our lives, we should do our best (whatever we consider that to be) to make their lives healthy and full and happy.
I suspect I’m not alone, but I decided to ask a few questions to find out.
Please take this three-question survey about the ethics of pet food. I’ll keep it open through midnight, Friday, April 29, 2011. And, I’ll report back in May on the results … though, I believe, I checked the option where you can view the results yourself after taking the survey.
Pet Food Ethics Survey
Tags: animal welfare, cat food, dog food, famine, global hunger, human welfare, human-grade pet food, malnutrition, pet food, starvation, world hunger
Posted in Dog Food Debates, K9 Health, K9 News, K9 Nutrition | 21 Comments »
Feeding Patrick: Recovery from Extreme Malnutrition
April 5th, 2011
If you love dogs and are online at all, you’ve likely heard about a young pit bull, dubbed “Patrick,” who was found right before St. Patrick’s Day 2011 in a garbage bag at the bottom of a high-rise building trash chute in New Jersey.
Skin and bones, literally, with what doctors estimate to be only hours to live, Patrick clearly suffered from an extreme case of malnutrition. How does a pup come back from that?
While I had heard about Patrick’s case, until about a week ago, I’d only seen the photos of him already well into his recovery. The photos of him the day he was found are graphic and upsetting beyond all measure, so I will not post them openly here. However, if you want to understand the full scope of this case, you can view this photo of Patrick on day one of his new life.
Questions About Feeding Patrick
I wondered how on earth you go about feeding a dog like this in a way that supports his recovery but does not cause additional troubles. So, on March 31, I put a call and an email into Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Trinton Falls, New Jersey, to ask. The veterinary team there has been providing round-the-clock care to Patrick since he was found. Many, many thanks to them.
They post updates to their GSVS Pet Hospital Facebook Page, and they even post videos to a special Patrick YouTube Channel, where you can see him eating, cuddling with his toys, getting various diagnostic tests and even a bath. Word has it that he likes to chase the ball, but I’ve not see video of that yet. I’m sure it’s darling.
Alas, amid caring for Patrick and the many other animals in need at the veterinary hospital and (I’m sure) amid the MANY media requests coming in, I did not hear back from Garden State Veterinary Specialists about my request for an interview about Patrick’s diet.
Honestly, I assumed that would be the case. I know how hectic all of this must be.
So, I also put a call into Tony Buffington, DVM, PhD, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and professor at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. He called me back right away, and we had a nice chat about cases of extreme malnutrition in general.
So, while I cannot tell you exactly how Patrick is being fed and what he is being fed, I can explain how cases like this typically go.
Starvation: Back from the Brink
I asked Buffington about starvation and how you bring a dog back from the brink.
“Just as a real pedantic point,” Buffington says, “Starvation means food deprivation to death, so in that case, you don’t have worry about bringing them back.”
So, we agreed to use “extreme malnutrition” to describe Patrick’s current medical state.
Buffington admits he hasn’t seen a case like this in 20-30 years, but the one he remembers most involved 120 dogs — just like Patrick — brought in all at once to a rescue group near the University of California – Davis, where he did his graduate work. “It’s a long story,” he says. “But, honestly, those dogs all did fine except for like one or two of them that essentially died the day they were found.”
The main worry, Buffington says, is that people often assume that the best dog food in a case like this is super high in protein. That can be a mistake … at least in the first few days.
“Sometimes people think, ‘Oh, they’ve lost so much protein, we’ve got to feed them puppy food or a high-protein diet,’” Buffington says. “And, you don’t want to do that for two or three days because the enzymes that get rid of the waste products of protein metabolism adapt down so that the animal can conserve its own protein mass, so you want to feed a 15% protein diet instead of a 50%. Obviously +/- a little bit.”
Extreme Malnutrition: Ramping Up the Dog’s Diet
For a dog like Patrick, Buffington says, you typically start by calculating the basal energy needs. In other words, how many calories does the dog need each day to maintain his body? For a young dog of this size (about 20 pounds when he was found), that’s about 400 calories as a minimum.
But, you cannot just start packing a dog like Patrick with food. “The first day, I would probably feed him a couple of hundred calories. I would break it out over the period of the day,” Buffington explains. “I would feed him a relatively digestible and not-too-high-in-protein diet, just to be on the safe side.”
Essentially, Buffington says, you ramp up the amount of food over several days:
- 50% on day one
- 75% on day two
- 100% on day three
“Within two or three days, you can feed them anything because that’s all the time it takes for the enzymes to adapt up,” Buffington says. “After the third day, you can feed as tolerance allows.”
Extreme Malnutrition: Recovery Outcomes
Like many following Patrick’s story, I worry every day that I’ll get online and find that he has suddenly died. However, Buffington says at this stage that’s “highly unlikely.”
He explains that the critical nutrition period in a puppy’s life begins to close around six or seven months of age. (Patrick is estimated to be about 1 year old.)
“And, he hasn’t been starved for six or seven months, or he would be dead,” Buffington says. “He looks like … I don’t know how long he was without food. Maybe four to six weeks, something like that. That’s about what a dog could tolerate.”
Buffington and I talk about the videos of Patrick eating and that he is showing more playful behaviors, and Buffington encourages me with, “See, he is going to be fine.”
Extreme Malnutrition: Long-Term Effects
Buffington calls long-term organ damage or other lingering health problems in a case like Patrick’s “not likely.”
He points to a study published in 1979 that found some subtle changes in heart function measures following significant weight loss from protein calorie malnutrition.
Researchers found that, “Although animals re-fed ordinary diets following acute weight loss restored normal concentrations of myocardial glycogen, cardiac abnormalities persisted for more than one month following refeeding. These results suggest that the adverse effects of semistarvation on LV function cannot be completely reversed by short-term refeeding.”
In other words, after a month on a normal diet, the dogs in the study persisted in having some heart function issues. After one year, as Buffington recalls, researchers found that the dogs had made a full recovery. “It took almost a year for all of the subtleties they were looking at to come back, but it had no effect clinically on the dogs,” he explains.
These heart concerns are likely why you’ll see veterinarians performing an echocardiogram on Patrick in one of last week’s YouTube video posts.
How You Can Honor Patrick
Changing Animal Abuse & Neglect Laws: Beyond sharing Patrick’s story via social media, some people are working on lobbying for better animal cruelty laws — not just in New Jersey, but in all states — because even if convicted on all counts, Patrick’s owner, who has been charged with the crimes against him, could only receive six months in jail, a $1,000 fine or community service as punishment. And, considering the egregious nature of this case, that doesn’t seem like enough to many people. Search for “The Patrick Movement” + your state to find a local group.
Adopt a Dog: Only one lucky person will get to provide Patrick with a forever home … once he is fully recovered, but you can honor Patrick by adopting another dog in need from a shelter or rescue group in your hometown.
If, like me, you’ve reached your dogs-in-the house limit, there are many other ways you can help dogs in Patrick’s honor:
Volunteer or provide foster homes to animals in need through your local animal shelter or rescue group. While not every case of animal abuse or neglect gets as much attention as Patrick has, there are many animals in need near you.
Make a cash donation to your local animal shelter or rescue group in Patrick’s honor. (Donations poured in right away to cover Patrick’s medical care and to support the humane society responsible for him.)
Make a food donation to your local animal shelter or rescue group in Patrick’s honor.
Make a food donation — people food and dog food — to your local community food bank in Patrick’s honor because more than 52 million families in the U.S. live in “food insecure” households and likely go to bed hungry every night.
Tags: animal abuse, animal neglect, Associated Humane Societies, Garden State Veterinary Specialists, malnutrition, New Jersey, Patrick, pit bull puppy, starvation
Posted in Dog Food News, Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 News, K9 Nutrition | 8 Comments »
November 17th, 2010
Whether we’re looking at ourselves or our dogs, it’s hard NOT to think about weight in relative terms … as in … “At least my dog and I are thinner than … (insert comparison here).”
This may make us feel better about ourselves or our dogs, but it isn’t all that useful health-wise. What really matters, you see, is how our dog’s weight compares to their own, individual ideal weight.
Take My Lilly, For Example
When we first began learning canine agility, a trainer met us on the agility field and immediately told me that Lilly needed to drop 3 pounds. No hello. No nice to meet you. Just … “That dog needs to lose 3 pounds.”
At the time, I thought my darling Border Collie girl looked darn good at about 39 pounds, so I must have shot the trainer a “look” because she glanced at me over her sunglasses, which she slid down her nose, and said, “This is agility. Not conformation.”
What she meant is this … while indeed 39 pounds and just under 20 inches at the withers put Lilly dead on the border collie breed standard as judged at typical “dog shows,” she needed to be lighter to train/compete in agility.
I dropped Lilly to 35-36 pounds and have kept her there the best I can. The sport is hard enough on a dog’s body, without excess weight.
All of our agility friends keep their dogs leaner than most too, so for me … “normal” weight dogs look “fat.”
Ideal Dog Weight – How It Feels
Once in a while I weigh myself on our home scale, then I weigh myself while holding Lilly, and subtract to get an estimate of her weight. I also regularly feel her sides to make sure I can still feel her ribs. I mean really feel them.
Assigning a dog what veterinarians call a “body condition score” is about both:
- How a dog looks from above and from the side
- How a dog feels under your hands
Some veterinary practices use a 5-point scale, with three being ideal. Others use a more detailed 9-point scale, with five being ideal.
A big part of all this depends on how EASILY you can feel your dogs ribs. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but do you know how it’s supposed to feel?
What does your fist have to do with your dog's ideal weight?
Well, I recently learned a trick from a veterinarian named Ken Lambrecht, who is the founding owner and medical director at Westside Family Pet Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. Here is how it works:
- Make a fist with one hand.
- Use the first two fingers on your other hand to feel across the back of your hand as you bump, bump, bump over the bones just below your knuckles.
That’s how your dog’s ribs should feel. Pretty neat, huh?
Ideal Dog Weight – An Estimate
If you’re more of a numbers person, ask your veterinarian to look up in your dog’s chart how much he weighed at age 1 … because that’s likely his ideal adult weight.
While it’s not a perfect measure, Lambrecht says this estimate of a dog’s ideal weight is pretty darn close for most dogs.
Tags: body condition score, dog fitness, ideal weight, rib check
Posted in Dog Food Basics, Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
September 8th, 2010
I have NEVER had a dog develop bloat. With a big lab-greyhound mix in the house, with the high-risk bloat physique (deep, narrow chest), I’m so grateful. Yet, I recently learned that one of my dog food feeding habits may increase the risk for bloat by a whopping 320%. Yikes!
What is Bloat?
Canine bloat (also called gastric dilatation-volvulus or GVD) is a painful condition that can be deadly if not treated (sometimes with emergency surgery) in 1-2 hours.
- 25% of the time it’s caused by the stomach filling with gas, which essentially shuts off both ends and keeps all the air in.
- 75% of the time the stomach actually flips over, trapping the air/gas.
Sadly, 30% of dogs who develop bloat die or have to be euthanized. It it most common in large/giant breed dogs.
Water + Dog Food = Big Risk
I honestly don’t remember where I “learned” that putting water on a dog’s dry kibble before feeding was a good idea. I can only imagine that it’s something a veterinarian told me way back in 1990 when I got my first dog as an adult.
I always thought:
- It lowered the risk of choking.
- It slowed down eating so that they gulped less air.
- It make sure the dogs got enough water.
- It kept them from drinking a bunch of water afterward and plumping up the kibble already in the stomach, which seemed to me like a tummy-ache waiting to happen.
I’m wrong about most of that, it seems.
Here is how I found out:
Check out this off-the-cuff guest post Laura Bennett from Embrace Pet Insurance asked me to write, after she got a question about dog food and bloat. It began as a private email and became a blog post. I’m talking dog mom to dog mom and suggest my water thing, among other ideas. I found out via comments about this big bloat study. (Thanks to Christie Keith for the correction.)
Canine Bloat Research & Risk Factors
Researchers at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine wrote this paper, which summarizes risk and mitigating factors of canine bloat. And, one key finding?
“Dogs fed dry foods containing citric acid and were moistened prior to feeding had a 320% higher risk for developing bloat.”
The study uncovered these bloat risk factors as well:
- Deep, narrow chest, especially in large and giant breed dogs
- Lean physique (While no one recommends keeping your dog fat on purpose, they simply found that the abdomen fat kept the stomach from flipping.)
- Age, especially in large breeds (risk goes up 20% each year after age 5)
- Having a first-degree relative (parent, sibling) who developed bloat (63% greater risk)
- Being fearful, nervous, aggressive or stressed (Some dogs get bloat after being kenneled or a long car ride.)
- Sex (slightly more male dogs developed bloat)
Diet-Related Risk Factors
Researchers also found that some diet-related choices were associated with bloat. These include:
- Feeding dry food only
- Feeding one big meal per day
- Feeding a dry food with fat in the first four ingredients (170% higher risk for bloat)
They also found: “Conversely, feeding a dry food containing a rendered meat-and-bone meal decreased risk by 53% in comparison to the overall risk for the dogs in the study. Mixing table food or canned food into dry food also decreased the risk of bloat.”
The Raised Bowl Thing
I’m sure you’ve heard, seen, or even used raised food and water bowls (again, especially for big dogs). The idea is that these tools keep dogs from gulping as much air as they eat or drink.
Wrong again.
The study showed that higher food and water bowls “actually increased risk by 110%.”
No Correlations
While I still think it’s a good idea NOT to let dogs run around too much right after they eat … if for no other reason than to avoid them barfing, the researchers found NO correlations to these theories about bloat risk factors:
- Exercise before or after eating (Most dogs bloat in the middle of the night with an empty stomach, full of gas.)
- Vaccinations
- Brand of dog food consumed
- Timing or volume of water intake before or after eating
More Changes @ Our House
So, we’ve already discussed the results of dog food changes at my house. I’ve already switched kibble once, then twice when my eldest dog showed weird food intolerance symptoms.
And, now … I have to break the habit of putting water on their food?
I suppose if I added a little canned food instead of water, that would cover me.
All this makes me wonder … What other mistakes do even smart pet parents make? That may just be next week’s topic, if you’d like to add your well-intentioned boo-boos in the comments below.
Tags: bloat, canine bloat, dog food, gastric dilatation-volvulus, GVD, risk factors for bloat
Posted in Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | 11 Comments »
Dog Allergy Basics: Dog Food Allergies
June 23rd, 2010
Once upon a time, I felt terrible about my eldest dog needing surgery on both his knees at age 3. He just had another knee surgery earlier this month, after nearly 7 years relatively pain-free. That’s my orthopedic sob story.
Yet, I once spent a weekend in Palm Springs, California, with the top veterinary dermatologists and veterinary allergists from the around world. The things they shared about their work snapped me right out of it because I learned:
- How hard dog allergies are to diagnose
- How hard certain dog allergies can be to treat
- What role LIFE-LONG management plays in canine comfort
Suddenly, those surgeries, even with recovery periods stretching many months, didn’t seem so bad.
So, let me say this … If your pet suffers from any kind of allergy, you have my unequivocal sympathy. Really.
The Proteins Do It
It’s the proteins, kids. The proteins that usually lead to dog food sensitivity or dog food allergies in our canine pals. This includes proteins that come from plant sources and even things we think of as carbohydrates.
In very simple terms, it takes a BIG molecule to trigger a dog’s immune system to overreact. That’s all an allergy is really. It’s a normally helpful body system that goes overboard.
And, proteins are big enough to get the Let’s-Make-the-Immune-System-Freakout job done.
Most Common Allergy-Causing Proteins
- Beef
- Dairy products, like milk
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Corn
- Wheat
- Soybean
Dog Food Allergy Symptoms
Remember, since these allergens get absorbed in digestion, symptoms include:
- Gas
- Bloating
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Itchy paws, skin, ears
Some in the dog training world also believe that dog food allergies or sensitivities can lead to fear and aggression issues in certain dogs.
Food Elimination Trials
If veterinarians suspect a food allergy, they’ll likely recommend food elimination trials or a bigger food switch — lasting at least 8 weeks — that cuts out all of the most common dog food allergens.
Everyone in the family or in your dog circle needs to be on board with this. No sneaking Fido forbidden snacks. No cheating.
Often this means using a food with a “novel” protein. In other words, a protein your dog has never been exposed to before. Things like rabbit, duck, and kangaroo are used as novel proteins.
Lamb actually was once used as a novel protein until it made it’s way into mainstream dog foods.
You can make novel protein food at home, or you can buy it from places like K9Cuisine.com (this blog’s sponsor) or through veterinary channels.
There is another option, though. Veterinarians can prescribe diets that use “hydrolysate” proteins, which are essentially common sources of protein (like chicken), but the protein has been broken up into such tiny pieces that the dog’s body no longer sees it as an allergen.
Proving Feeding Trial Results
If a dog does NOT improve on the new strict diet, then doctors rule out food allergies.
If a dog does improve, then veterinarians will usually recommend “challenging” the patient with the previously fed diet to see if symptoms return.
Adding Foods Back In
Because it’s usually more than one protein causing the issue, it can be hard to figure out which ones might be OK.
BUT, once a dog is doing well on a new diet, you can carefully reintroduce certain kinds of food or treats in two- or three-week intervals to see how well the dog tolerates them.
You may find that your dog isn’t as stuck in food and treat choices as I’m sure it first feels when the dog food allergy diagnosis is first made.
What Worked For You?
Have you been through this dog food allergy process? What foods or treats ended up working well for your dog? We’d love to know.
Shout Out Any Cautions Too!
For example, Karen from the OPDogBlog posted a comment to Dog Allergy Basics: 3 Common Triggers that explained how a dog food formula change threw her dog for a loop that’s taken months to unravel. Her advice? Check every label, every time.
Tags: allergy symptoms, animal protein, dog, dog allergies, dog food, dog food allergies, Dog Food Dish, food sensitivity, hydrolysate, K9Cuisine.com, novel protein, plant protein
Posted in Dog Allergies, Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | 2 Comments »
June 16th, 2010
Just as some dog breeds show a propensity for deafness, heart trouble, or certain kinds of cancer, some also sometimes develop allergies more than others. Here is a quick recap of which dog breeds are more likely to develop different kinds of allergies.
Breeds Prone to Atopy (environmental allergies)
Veterinarians classify atopy as a genetically predisposed inflammatory and itchy skin disease. Researchers have found that atopic dogs have defects in the outermost layers of their skin that allow for the increased uptake of these proteins through the skin.
- Retriever breeds (Goldens, Labs)
- Terrier breeds (Westies, Fox terriers, Yorkies, Carin, Scottish, Boston)
- Dalmatians
- Boxers
- Chinese Shar Pei
- Cocker Spaniels
- Miniature Schnauzers
- Chihuahuas
- Lhasa Apsos
- Shih Tzus
- Irish Setters
- Shiba Inus
Breeds Prone to Food Allergies
The connection between actual breed and dog food sensitivity or dog food allergy is less clear than with atopy. However, prevalence suggests that these breeds may be more prone:
- Cocker Spaniels
- Shar Peis
- Poodles
- West Highland Terriers
- Wheaton Terriers
- Boxers
- Dachshunds
- German Shepherd Dogs
- Golden Retrievers
***
Many thanks to Rod Rosychuk, a board certified veterinary dermatologist and associate professor at the veterinary teaching hospital at Colorado State University, for compiling these lists.
Tags: atopy, dog breeds, dog food allergy, environmental allergy, veterinary dermatology
Posted in Dog Allergies, Dog Health, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | 1 Comment »
Dog Allergy Basics: Dermatology CSI
June 9th, 2010
Since dog allergies often manifest as itching and skin issues, pet parents turn to veterinary dermatologists for help uncovering the mysteries that may or may not be allergy related.
An Itch By Any Other Name
Rod Rosychuk, a board certified veterinary dermatologist and associate professor at the veterinary teaching hospital at Colorado State University, tells Dog Food Dish that unraveling the symptoms is “truly Dematology: CSI.”
“When presented with an itchy dog, we first have to recognize that there are things that can make dogs itchy that are not allergies (for example, bacterial infections, mite infestations),” he says.
Other Dog Allergy Hints or Indicators
Veterinarians, be they dermatologists or otherwise, look at a number of factors to help them figure out what’s what. This includes:
Breed – since some have a genetic propensity to develop atopy
Age of itchy onset – since food allergies show up in dogs a year old or less, while atopy usually emerges between 1-3 years of age and gets worse over time
Seasonality – since fleas and pollens tend to be worse in certain areas at certain times of year
Nature and location of skin problems and coat changes – since different kinds of allergies show up in different locations:
- Flea allergies = rump, back of thighs, groin areas
- Atopy or food sensitivity = face, ears, feet, armpits, flanks, private regions
Ruling Things In or Out
Often veterinarians must try various treatments as a test for symptom relief to figure out what’s going on. For example, if the doctor suspects flea allergies, and the dog responds well and improves after flea therapy begins, then the diagnosis is confirmed.
If symptoms continue, however, even after flea control, then the search for a cause continues and may include:
- Food trials lasting at least 8 weeks to test (We’ll talk MUCH more about food sensitivities and allergies in the coming weeks.)
- Bathing remedies aimed at getting pollens and other irritants off the dog’s coat
- More detailed “skin prick” tests or even blood tests looking for allergen-specific antibodies (IgE), especially if atopy is indicated
No Easy, Fast Answers
Slogging through the various tests and suspicions takes patience, and lots of it. It’s easy to get antsy when your dog is suffering, but if you seem to be facing a possible atopy or allergy diagnosis, try to hang in there with as much grace and ease as you can muster.
Chime In!
Do you have a dog allergy victory or scary tale to share? Let us know!
Tags: allergies, dog, dog allergies, dog food, dog food allergy, food allergies, itching, veterinary dermatology
Posted in Dog Allergies, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | 9 Comments »
A professional writer based in Colorado, Roxanne Hawn doesn't just love dogs. She deep-down requires them in life. Something inside her genes, perhaps? That's why it's such a joy to write about all things canine. Roxanne began writing about pets in 1995, when she worked for the American Animal Hospital Association and later for the American Humane Association. During this period in her career, Roxanne served on the board of directors for the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (a coalition of animal welfare groups). Roxanne also volunteered for many years at an animal shelter, where she witnessed firsthand what happens when the human-animal bond breaks or never forms.
