we started all raw diet recently,seems to be going well,but ears are still yucky,not itchy,just always dirty.went to vet for bloodwork,yearly stuff,looked in ears said he is allergic to chicken and dont feed any thing that flys,no eggs,no dairy/yogurt.and we dont do grains.so i returned all the chicken /turkey and replaced with bison and beef.even alot of the pre-made has eggs in it.i am thinking we should just go for the skin allergy test and see what hes allergic to instead of elimiation.if i do homemade raw now it will be harder with out the necks,backs so on.have alot of ground venison but need the boney stuff,any ideas?

1. The skin tests cannot reliably identify food allergies.

2. The ONLY way to identify food allergies is with a strict elimination diet.

3. A vet who says that a dog is allergic to "anything that flies" (or any food at all) based on ear infections alone is a vet who.... well, I would want a second opinion, is the only polite way to put it.

4. Food allergies are WAY behind inhalant/environmental allergies in terms of likelihood, so I'm curious about how poultry allergies were diagnosed.

Of course a dog can be allergic to chicken, or dairy, or eggs.... but the *only* way to find out is with an elimination diet. The RAST and ELISA and intradermal tests cannot ID food allergens.

Intradermal tests, however, are the top choice for inhalant/environmental.

Did a look at the ear debris show any yeast? Or bacteria? Or a combo?

An overview:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1587&articleid=504


You were able to find bison with suitable digestible bones?

P.S. You have total empathy from me, believe me. I've dealt with many canine allergies. However, unless there's more to the vet's exam than I just read, I would venture to say that you might need another vet.

First, how in the world does the vet know what your dog is allergic to (and even IF he is allergic to poultry)?
And cows (yogurt/dairy) don't fly.
If the only symptom of these "allergies" is dirty ears I would suspect yeast, not allergies. In that case I would increase the yogurt or kefir.
Did this same vet also try to push his SD allergy food on you also?
How long has your dog been on raw?

Edited by Debbie Bruce (02/10/2008 04:48 PM)
Edit reason: Connie got there first, lol

he has just started raw about 3 weeks now,before he was eating orijen/with can of no grain meat.no he didnt push his food,he has no problem with raw/and titer test.i guess he just wants to see if it clears up without dairy/eggs/poultry.i see him in 1 month again.the 1st thing he asked when we began with him was what do you feed,handed me a sheet with food info and high allergy foods.
what causes yeast in ears?i can clean and next day black again,he has never had itchy skin and licking or biting anywhere,has a nice shiney coat,gets salmon oil/e,

i bought nw naturals bison,it has everything bison/bone /organ/veggies.he better eat this it was 20 bucks a bag,if my dog cant eat bird thk is out .i was nuts yesterday talk about stressin

i also bought the big honkin bologna size bravo lamb,and this dog is picky i have to put a little tripe on food sometimes to get him goin,i guess he will woof it down when hungry

Well, looking in his ears and saying that he is allergic to poultry is very different from handing you a list of the most common food allergens.

Yes, chicken would be on that list, and so would beef. In fact, since allergies develop over repeated exposure, the list consists of the foods most commonly in commercial dog foods; it includes soy , too.

BUT.... food allergy is so much less likely than environmental that I'm still lost. Has this dog been on any med lately? Anything that could breach his defenses and allow yeast to gain a foothold?

I would want the ear debris checked first. Treating yeast, despite its possible trigger of an allergy, is very different from dealing with a simple allergy.

What did he say to do with the ears? What did he give you?

Do you notice any odor in the ears on the skin folds/armpits?

What was the protein source in the Orijen?

How long has the ear (or ears) been accumulating debris?

i read the link on allergy testing,i dont think we need to go that route,if he doest get better in 1 month with this diet,i am going to dr.karen becker,holistic vet,shes the best.i also just read my vitamin e bottle it has soybean oil a no-no,gotta get a different vitamin e. should i give probiotics would that help yeast?why the yeast?he is hypothyroid ,but is on meds for that and very healthy except for ears,i know that when he started showing signs of hypothyroid at 1 year old!,he was a mess,all the tell tale signs were there,vet said genetic on that,now i read that rabie shot can throw off the body so much it can cause hypothyroid

Honestly, rather than all this trial and error, why don't you just go for an evaluation w/Dr.Becker? I really think that is not only your best route, but the easiest as well. Tell her Mia sent you!

 Quote: sue lessner

i read the link on allergy testing,i dont think we need to go that route,if he doest get better in 1 month with this diet... why the yeast?he is hypothyroid

Hypothyroidism is one of the most common triggers for yeast overgrowth.

I was saying that I would want the ear debris tested for yeast. Nothing to do with the skin or blood allergy tests.

Is there an odor in the ears or skin folds? How long has he had debris in the ears?