# Are beef liver treats enough to give my dog allergies?



## VTBunny (Aug 1, 2017)

My dog has been on Annamaet Grain Free (chicken is protein) for almost 4 months, but he is having signs of allergies (scratching, ear infections, etc). We have been feeding him other types of treats (chicken jerky and freeze dried beef liver) and just recently gave him some salmon in his food. I have no idea what is causing allergies so I'm going to start from SCRATCH and only use one protein. I'm assuming beef is out (he will throw up if I give him beef liver on an empty stomach) but wondering if the chicken is also a problem? I was going to start with Annamaet salmon formula - seems like that would be the least likely allergen out of the proteins I can pick from? Any advice?


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

I agree with you that it could be the chicken and your plan to start with the Annamaet salmon formula. Since he is throwing up the beef treats, I would stop them. I give Tricky Trainer treats the salmon formula. Another protein you could try would be a kibble containing lamb.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Fish-based limited-ingredient kibble is my starting point when I suspect a food allergy. It doesn't work with all of them, but it seems to be the one likely to help most dogs. There are many decent brands offering this kind of food now -- just make sure it's a limited ingredient food, not just the "fish flavor" (with salmon plus chicken eggs, turkey, 3 kinds of legumes, etc.).

Once you start an elimination trial, you have to stick with it 6-8 weeks with NO CHEATING with different ingredients (not even treats), or you restart the 6-8 week clock. It takes that long to see if it's really going to help.

You could also consider the more radical step of just ditching kibble all together. A base-mix like The Honest Kitchen's Preference plus a novel protein of your choice is easier than figuring out formulation of balanced home-made diets. I like Preference because it's flax-free (flax is a common allergen....and it's very hard to avoid). It's also loaded with produce containing naturally occurring quercitin, which can act as a natural antihistamine.


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## VTBunny (Aug 1, 2017)

Magwart said:


> Fish-based limited-ingredient kibble is my starting point when I suspect a food allergy. It doesn't work with all of them, but it seems to be the one likely to help most dogs. There are many decent brands offering this kind of food now -- just make sure it's a limited ingredient food, not just the "fish flavor" (with salmon plus chicken eggs, turkey, 3 kinds of legumes, etc.).
> 
> Once you start an elimination trial, you have to stick with it 6-8 weeks with NO CHEATING with different ingredients (not even treats), or you restart the 6-8 week clock. It takes that long to see if it's really going to help.
> 
> You could also consider the more radical step of just ditching kibble all together. A base-mix like The Honest Kitchen's Preference plus a novel protein of your choice is easier than figuring out formulation of balanced home-made diets. I like Preference because it's flax-free (flax is a common allergen....and it's very hard to avoid). It's also loaded with produce containing naturally occurring quercitin, which can act as a natural antihistamine.


Thank you so much!!


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

Allergic to chicken and beef? That's tough. Never heard of a dog allergic to beef liver treats, that's what my vet keeps in the exam rooms. As Magwart said you're going to have to stick to one protein for 6-8 weeks and I second ditching kibble. I tried 5 kibbles (one was Annamaet) before giving up on it and started feeding The Honest Kitchen Love food with 1/2 cup/day fresh beef and her allergies went away.


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