My dog tested positive for allergies to alfalfa, brewers yeast, corn, wheat and oats. I currently feed her a raw diet. Is it OK to feed my dog meat that eats these items? Would it be best to feed my dog all grass fed meat or would corn fed meat be OK?

Rather than blindly say go for it or no I'm going to make a book suggestion because this topic is so controversial even among the leading scholars of human digestion. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. There are a couple great chapters in there about cereal grains and how they move down the food chain.

 Quote: amanda albretsen

My dog tested positive for allergies to alfalfa, brewers yeast, corn, wheat and oats. I currently feed her a raw diet. Is it OK to feed my dog meat that eats these items? Would it be best to feed my dog all grass fed meat or would corn fed meat be OK?

Can I back up for a second: What testing was it? Was it a blood test (RAST or ELISA) performed to identify food allergens?

Or that there was a strict elimination diet given over many weeks? And then each of these items was added back in ("challenging") and caused reaction?


Was there intradermal testing done?

Ok... I will tell you the whole story.

In July of 2008 my dog had some dry skin. She was eating Royal Canin. I added vitamin e and fish oil but her condition was not improving. In February 2009, I switched to a raw diet. I do believe her condition improved a bit but I cannot remember with 100% certainty. Then I remember she would get a couple bumps on her legs a few months after the switch to raw. Now I believe this may be because I was giving her alfalfa as a supplement. Maybe this was the reason for the bumps?

I had to switch her food to a bland diet in July-August 2009 because of diarrhea which we learned was because she had an obstruction. During that whole mess I fed cooked chicken, ground beef, yogurt, rice and occasionally some Honest Kitchen. I remember that was when her skin was much better.

A couple weeks when I got her back on her raw diet I remember this was when her skin was the worst. I just had the blood allergy tests done. I know these tests are not the best to test for food allergies but I figured it does not hurt just to do the test and see.

The tests came back with these allergies and also a venison allergy. I do believe that her skin got really really bad after August because started feed almost all venison, buffalo, elk and chicken necks. There is nothing else I can attribute her serious allergies to that started around that time.

So... We have not done the elimination diet or intradermal allergy testing but we have done the blood tests and also derma vet standard skin scrape and fungus testing. Also did normal blood panel all which came back normal.

I am going to cut out venison and alfalfa and see what kind of results I get but I am curious if it would be necessary to cut out corn fed meat? I don't feed any corn, oats, wheat etc. directly anyway.

One more thing... It was the RAST test and we have not "challenged" any of the results because we just got them back today.

Can I ask why you think it's food? Less than 10% (5% according to one of the vet manuals I have) of dogs' allergies are food. (Flea hypersensitivity is number 1, environmental/inhalant number 2, and food a far distant #3.)

Blood tests for food are much less useful than just "not the best." They are loaded with false positives, having been developed for humans (with much different antibodies circulating through the bloodstream).

So my two big question would be, why did the vet think it was food, and then why blood tests?

" I do believe that her skin got really really bad after August because started feed almost all venison, buffalo, elk and chicken necks. " After August is one of the two biggest environmental allergy seasons.

There is at this time no way to diagnose food allergies in dogs except a food trial (elimination diet). And food allergies are by far the least likely to be the problem. (Of course, that doesn't help the <10% of allergic dogs who do have a food allergy.)

"I had to switch her food to a bland diet in July-August 2009 because of diarrhea which we learned was because she had an obstruction. During that whole mess I fed cooked chicken, ground beef, yogurt, rice and occasionally some Honest Kitchen. I remember that was when her skin was much better. " Was she indoors, partly at a vet hospital and partly at home?

I'm not trying to say that she cannot have a food allergy, of course. I am trying to say that the list of foods identified with blood tests is pretty much useless.

I know I sound like "What does she know; the vet thought it was worth a shot."

I'll get you some citations.

Here is the Merck Veterinary Manual, 9th edition, on food allergies:

QUOTE: There is no reliable diagnostic test other than a strict food elimination diet. Serologic {blood} testing and intradermal testing for food allergens have proved unreliable. END


QUOTE: "There is no evidence that blood tests are accurate for the diagnosis of food allergies. Veterinary dermatologists insist that there is no merit in these tests whatsoever in the diagnosis of food allergies." from Drs Foster & Smith at PetEducation.com


QUOTE:The ideal method of diagnosis is the feeding of an elimination diet. The experience of the author and of other researchers has been disappointing in the use of serologic or intradermal skin tests to diagnose food allergy in pets in North America END
from http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00093.htm


QUOTE: The first step in diagnosing a food allergy is to eliminate all
possible allergens and feed ONLY a homemade diet with ingredients the
dog has never eaten before. END
from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dogs-faq/medical-info/canine-allergies/



Also,

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=217111&Searchpage=1&Main=21460&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post217111

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=210251&Searchpage=1&Main=20779&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post210251

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=212090&Searchpage=1&Main=21003&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post212090

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=12&Number=228782&Searchpage=1&Main=22458&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post228782

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=34&Number=244347&Searchpage=1&Main=23612&Words=intradermal&topic=0&Search=true#Post244347

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/237651/page/0/fpart/1

(I know these LB links lead to posts by me, but it's because I used my name in the search terms.

PS

Are you using poultry for the main RMBs? (I'm thinking about the grass versus corn question.)

From personal experience and research I have to agree with Connie in that the blood test is unreliable and food allergies are unlucky (but not impossible). Are her symptoms coming about at the same time of year? This would make me think enviornmental...

 Quote: Amanda Albretsen

...she would get a couple bumps on her legs a few months after the switch to raw. Now I believe this may be because I was giving her alfalfa as a supplement. Maybe this was the reason for the bumps?

Don't discount those bumps as being a food borne allergy. They could have been flea bites. Or some other contact dermatitis.