Dog Food Allergies or just plain bad food?
My dog would get sick every day. Pet food can cause pet allergies. After $1200.00 dollars in examination, x-rays and drugs, they all told me that it was probably a food allergy because they couldn't find anything wrong in the blood work or examination. They sent me home with a special diet of "Duck and potatoes", "Venison and potatoes" and finally "Salmon and potatoes" for allergies. Nothing worked so they switched me to a hypoallergenic pet food at an exorbitant price. Still my boy would loose his appetite, refuse to eat and vomit bile.
I was at my wits end so I finally went to see a vet in San Mateo who told me he had Colitis along with a food allergy. We kept him on the anti-allergy formula but added bran to his diet. He improved and started eating more, gained weight and looked happier. West Highland White Terriers with food allergy like these are all too common. We hope we can give you some hints on how to keep your West Highland White Terriers or any other pet with food allergies in tip top form.
Find out what happened to Spooky because of food allergies
I did more research on commercial pet food and was startled to learn just what is in most all of the popular pet foods sold in markets and pet shops.
If you think your pet is suffering from , please read the article on the ingredients in commercial dog food. It may surprise you that there are so many chemicals and known carcinogens in pet food. Most of our family pets are just that, family. We wouldn't feed unhealthy food to our family. So why do we buy into this multi-million dollar industry that produces extruded, rancid grease encrusted meat byproducts for our best friends?
Most hypoallergenic pet food that you buy from Veterinarians cannot be bought anywhere else but at the vets? Did you also know that veterinarians mark up the pet food for allergies by 40% to 50%? Of course they are going to encourage us to buy it when such an easy profit can be made. Do I still buy that food for my dogs? Yes I do. But I also have an alternate choice. It takes time and energy but I replace the vets food with wholesome food I cook at home to prevent food allergy.
Hopefully the questions about commercial pet food I raise here on this site will cause you a moment to pause and decide if commercial pet food is what you really want to feed your best friend.
Let me also say that if you have a sick pet the first thing you must do is visit the vet and find out what is wrong. It could be something so serious that a change in diet will not help. Be safe and sure and have your pet checked first.
Allergies and my dog Spooky
West Highland White Terriers are known for having food allergies. I know most of the Westies on the block (it's a big block) and most of them have some kind of stomach problem. I have two West Highland White Terriers. My female is now 6 years old, strong and naturally healthy but my little boy has had problems since he was a small puppy. He is now 9 years old. Where did the time go? I can't believe I've been writing this site for 8 years, With vomiting blood, diarrhea and blood in his stools I visited different vets every few months. Could this be food allergies causing my Westie to vomit his food?
About two years ago my West Highland White Terrier started getting his old symptoms back and then in October (2006) he almost bled to death. It took about three months to get it under control with blood tests done every month and Prednisone given every day.
Then the pet food recall made headlines. Everything fit! Was the Vet Food killing him? Was it more than allergies?
Since I was now cooking for two dogs, I started making all my pet food. I didn't want them to have anything out of a can, pouch or bag. I didn't care what manufacturer it was or how much they claimed their pet food was "natural" or "organic" or "pure". No way, not after almost losing him.
Spooky was very weak when I brought him home. He was on medication 24 hours a day. I had 5 different medications I was instructed to give him every few hours. So I got up at all hours of the night to give him his medication and to feed him. It was exhausting.
I did this for an entire month all the while taking him in to the vet for blood tests. At this time I was feeding him a mixture of chicken and rice. His appetite was enormous because he was on the Prednisone. This steroid made him very hungry and thirsty. I also knew it was damaging his kidneys and would shorten his life.
The second month I was told to taper the medication down so he was only getting about half of the meds. As I tapered the Prednisone Spooky's appetite also tapered off. I experimented with my own non allergies recipes to find one he liked.
Free hypoallergenic food recipes which will keep your pet healthy and happy
In October it will be 5 years since the day he almost died. I still feed him my non allergies recipes and he continues to thrive. I really believe it took a full year for him to recover from the toxins that were in commercial pet food.
A side note. The vets wanted to keep Spooky on Prednisone. I did not want him on it. but they insisted. About 6 months ago he developed Pancreatitis from the Prednisone. I took him off the Pred and now he is a different dog.
I talked extensively with my vet and we thought it a good idea to put him on a sort of Activia for pets since all the medicines had killed all the good fauna in his gut.
We think this was the problem and we think every time a pet has to take strong antibiotics that it is a good idea to strengthen his immune system with yogurt type bacteria.
Update: Spooky boy was laid to rest November 8, 2012. He would have been 13 on November 22, 2012. My sweet boy is in Heaven now without pain or vomiting. I was so lucky to have him for a few more years. I will always love you my sweet boy. Love, Mom and Elle.
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