# Ear infections linked to food allergies



## Marnie (Oct 11, 2011)

I just took on a rescue dog with some health problems. According to the vet, these are linked to food allergies. She has an ear yeast infection, impacted anal glands, very loose stools and she is extremely thin. The vet says she believes these are all related to food allergies. We expressed the anal glands, started on panalog temporarily for the ears, and are searching for the right food.

I've noticed a lot of members on this site are dealing with dogs with food allergies. In the past, I've never had an animal with this problem so it's going to be a learning experience. 

I started by eliminating foods and treats with grains, glutens and beef. She will eat raw chicken but she refuses vegetables and even small amounts of liver or eggs give her explosive, uncontrollable diarrhea. I want to try a balanced kibble that will assure 100% nutrition. I wish I had the time for something like the barf diet but I don't. 

Can any of you dealing with allergies tell me what commercial foods you successfully feed? Also, what symptoms did your dogs show before switching to the new food?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I would look for a limited ingredient fish based kibble like Natural Balance, Flint River


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I depends on the allergy. I had one dog that finally settled in on Purina Sensitive Systems ONE........not a food I would prefer to feed but for that dog...but he was allergic to chicken which really put limits on things.

I would consider feeding Hills Z/D and doing an elimination diet to slowly introduce foods to see what the dog tolerates best. If your run with some other foods does not work. I would NOT use the Z/D long term as the quality of ingredients is not so great and it is very low calorie and expensive.

I believe fish oil supplements are a boon to help dogs who do have allergy problems as well. Commercial - any grain free may work, Natural Balance LID has some formulas and you may find enough the dog can tolerate that you can rotate but remember allergies may take some time to show up and to disappear.


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## Bismarck (Oct 10, 2009)

honestly, i'd start with a prescription kibble.

get her to a good place, and work from there.
it's impossible to determine a food based allergy unless you get them to a good place.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

We thought our dog had food allergies, but IMO, I think it was stress the whole time. Plus our dog had a hard to kill giardia. I believe the process of trying to kill the giardia with all the medications caused some damage to her intestinal tract.

However allergies or not, a simplified diet would certainly help. We used Hill's z/d, it worked well and rested her stomach. Some commercial foods that worked were Nutro Large Breed grain free, it's lamb and potato based, Nature's Variety limited ingredient, it's either turkey or venison and tapioca for starch. We now give RC German Shepherd food with home cooked meats and veges.

One of the members here, _jake's mom,_ recommended a website by Turid Rugaas. I bought her book, Calming Signals, and many of our dog's symptoms were stress related.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I would get the dog checked for EPI/SIBO Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Dogs are usually allergic to meats (proteins) more than grains. 
Natural Balance is one of the best foods out there to rule out food allergies. Be aware that only 10% of allergies are due to foods - the rest are allergens to environmental factors (dust mites, etc.)


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## Bismarck (Oct 10, 2009)

it also may behoove you to go to a rice/hamburger (strained and washed) diet.

within a couple days to a week the stools should normalize. i would add in some plain yogurt to aid her digestive tract.
from there, you can gradually add a little kibble at a time and watch her poop like a hawk!


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Marnie said:


> I just took on a rescue dog with some health problems. According to the vet, these are linked to food allergies. She has an ear yeast infection, impacted anal glands, very loose stools and she is extremely thin. The vet says she believes these are all related to food allergies. We expressed the anal glands, started on panalog temporarily for the ears, and are searching for the right food.
> 
> I've noticed a lot of members on this site are dealing with dogs with food allergies. In the past, I've never had an animal with this problem so it's going to be a learning experience.
> 
> ...


As it often turns out, or at least in my case, it isn't this simple. It can become ridiculousy complicated. 

An elimination diet is first and foremost. You can't mix a bunch of stuff. A single protein. I'm using Natural Balance LID for two of my dogs, and it is a wonderful food. They get no other protein source other than this. I've declared complete success with my one girl, non-GSD, and I'm declaring moderate success with the other dog, 1/2 WGSD -- but I'm also mixing in raw pre-made with that guy. I'm also adding pro/prebiotics and enzymes. 

I'm a rookie to these things, but I wouldn't be so quick to simply chalk it up to food allergies. I've run the rounds of anal expressions, but with all the soft poop, it was no real wonder. After the fourth? anal gland expression, I hit my limit, that was enough -- it was time to honestly address the real issue, and it wasn't his anal glands. He couldn't give a firm poop and I needed to address *that.* The guy's gut was out of whack, and since introducing the pro/pre biotics, enzymes and the raw premade, it has improved significantly. 

Believe me, I wish a simple food change would "fix" the issues -- but in my experience, it wasn't enough with my problem-boy. I'm still working on it, I'm still outside for every poop to examine it. Really, the poop tells the tale. 

I don't/didn't want to feed raw, either, but I can say with definite authority, that introducing the raw has helped immensely. I'm currently supplementing with Nature's Variety medallions. (Same protein source as the kibble). 

Do consider EPI testing. I'm going to have that done as well, even tho my boy isn't exibiting hardly any EPI symptoms.


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## Harley's dad (Apr 28, 2012)

We just went through this with our shepherd. He kept getting ear infections and was itchy in general. The vet finally decideed it was food allergies causing it. We fed him hills prescripion diet z/d for a month as an elimination diet, then switched to "simply nourish" sweet potato and salmon. We haven't had any problems since. The z/d was about $3 a pound from the vet. That adds up quick with a 93lb dog. The simply nourish is about $1.50 +/- and is available at petsmart. It worked for us. You might give it a try. (My dog wasn't having anal gland or soft stool issues though)


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I would have her tested for EPI and SIBO (which often go hand in hand). If her digestive system is really in bad shape then she could be ultra sensitive to foods that might not normally bother her. Most vets guess food allergies because it's something they are trained about but german shepherds have so many digestive issues and as other posters have said, they are often quite complicated and multi-faceted. 

I would also get a really good probiotic and get her going on that to help restore the good stuff in her gut. I would consider also adding some really good digestive enzymes and FOS. You might try Berte's Naturals Digestion Blend until you get the EPI test done. I know Carmen on this board has some really great probiotic and other digestive health supplements that people have used with success. 

For food, if this were my dog, I would put her on a bland, cooked diet with sweet potatoes, some plain canned pumpkin and a novel, low fat protein, until you can figure out what's going on. Raw liver is probably too much for her system to handle right now. IF she can handle cooked chicken breast or cooked chicken thighs then that will work too. I am a raw feeder but it is not the right choice for every dog and/or for every situation. It sounds like she needs to get back to basic gut health first. 

Also, just an fyi: holistic vets say that the right ear indicates food allergies and the left ear indicates environmental allergies.


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## flynbyu2 (Apr 29, 2012)

Several of our working dogs showed signs of food allergies. We were advised by a K9 nutritionist to try the Canidae "Pure" foods which are grain-free.

Currently we're using "Canidae Pure Sea" which I would NOT recommend for anything but a high drive, high demand working dog due to it's 40% protien content.

However Canidae does offer two other grain-free "Pure" foods which are completely suitable for non-working dogs.


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