Hi. I have a black Lab called Ellie, who is 10 months old. I am an aspiring dog trainer, and I have been training Ellie for obedience. Ellie has allergies, she has issues with skin irritation and ear infections (some of which she scratches to the point of bleeding), and the vet has put her on hypoallergenic food, and said that we can only use hypoallergenic treats. However, I am struggling to find some good and genuine hypoallergenic treats. Most treats say 'Hypoallergenic' but I am unsure of the validity of this, and I would like some recommendations for hypoallergenic treats, with preferably low protein, so that I can continue my training.
Why low protein? To my mind if theyre not high protein than they must be high carb or high fat so hardly desirable. What is she allergic to? I make my own treats so I know what' s in them. Dehydrated pheasant or venison is great and easy to do in the oven but might not suit your dog.
hi one of our labs had food intolerance and allergies,we found we had to read ingredients in all packaging carefully as most say derivitives which could be anything! We found some vegetables and fruit to use for training that she was ok with, cut into small pieces. You can also dehydrate it
Our Vet said that most dog food allergies were to one of the proteins, hence the hypo allergenic treats. If you were able to isolate which protein(s) she is allergic to, you might be able to find some tasty treats she could eat.
We have not been able to identify exactly what she is allergic to but we believe that her body cannot process protein very well. For example, before we found out about the allergy we tried grain free, and it resulted in, when I gave her some cheese, an awful ear infection. At the moment the vet has prescribed a strictly hypoallergenic diet so the treats can’t have protein that hasn’t been shredded in them.
Thank you, we will speak to our vet when’s we go back on Sunday and ask her if she knows which protein it could potentially be, and try taking it from there
A raw diet is a very bad choice for her, and the vet has said to us not to try it as if we put meat or any proteins in it could cause a massive issue with her
You really need to know If she is actually allergic to protein and which protein before ruling out a raw diet or any other foods. Dogs are designed to eat protein after all. I find that vets are very quick to put dogs on hypoallergenic foods or similar (which are expensive) and are not pro raw diet. It will be interesting to see what your vet thinks she is allergic to.
I agree with debs. You can't rule out a raw or any diet without working out what she's allergic to. The fact that so far you've identified grains and dairy (probably the lactose) as problems, make it seem highly likely that sugars are the issue (they often cause problems with yeast overgrowth and the symptoms you describe). If thats the case than you may also need to avoid fruit and veg. Even if your dog is intolerant to some meat proteins, there will hopefully be plenty of other things you can give her. Remember most vets aren't experts in nutrition but you can become an expert in your dog.
