What affordable dog food is safe for corn, wheat, soy allergies?

For an ideal diet trial for a suspected food allergy, it is typically recommended to feed a hydrolyzed protein diet (proteins are broken down to the point where they can't trigger the immune system) exclusively for 6-8 weeks. After that point, some dogs are rechallenged with their original diet to see if signs recur or started on a novel protein diet (one protein source/one carbohydrate source). If signs of a food allergy are still present, some dogs need to remain on the hydrolyzed diet indefinitely. The hydrolyzed diets are prescription based and include Royal Canin Ultimano, Royal Canin HP, Science Diet Z/D ultra, and Purina HA. There are many pet food companies online that can also dispense these diets with a prescription from your vet (chewy.com is one example). If the cost of a hydrolyzed diet is still not feasible for a diet trial, talk to your vet about starting Rico on a novel protein diet. Many of these are still prescription based, but I have also been impressed by the Dick van Patten Natural Balance limited ingredient line, which is available over the counter. With any diet trial, it can take 2-3 months to determine if it is effective and you need to be strict in that Rico would only receive his dog food with no other treats or table foods. I hope this helps! :-)

There are a lot of prescription brand foods to try. We tend to stick to prescription brands because we know they don't have any contamination of other products in the food. However, there is one food that I have seen some success with, called California Natural by Natura. You can also visit your local organic pet food store to see if there are other options available in your area, like Fromm, WIld Frontier, etc. I hope that you find something that is affordable for Harper to continue on, as you complete your evaluations during his food trial. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952600 Best wishes and take care.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Allergens are small proteins that cause the immune system in animals/mammals to 'over-react'. What constitutes an allergen will vary from animal to animal and depends on what their specific immune system 'doesn't like'. Therefore, there is no way to say any food has 'No allergens'. For example, peanuts are an allergen to a person with a peanut allergy, but not to a person without peanut allergies. In general, most animals don't have allergies to food, and unless you are seeing signs of food allergies (diarrhea, vomiting, itchy skin/feet/bum/ears)) then any food protein or carbohydrate is ok. I generally recommend a good quality large breed food with low fat and high fiber. If you want the best for Luns, talk with your vet about Hill's T/D which helps prevent dental disease and also has some efficacy at helping prevent joint disease. It is also an AAFCO supported food so you know it is well balanced and scientific studies have been done to ensure it is a good quality food. Other good food companies are Royal Canine, Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc. Find a food that Luns likes to eat, and has a good quality hair coat and normal poops. Best of luck with Luns!

Wow - Ryder certainly has many food allergies! It is surprising that he's allergic to many of the grain sources because as Dr. Leigh mentioned, the vast majority of dogs are allergic to proteins rather than grains. The prescription diets that Dr. Leigh mentioned, including Hill's z/d, Royal Canin HP, Royal Canin Ultamino and Purina HA, are all hydrolyzed diets. This means that the ingredients supply necessary nutrition, but are broken down to the point where the immune system cannot react to them. An immune system response is what occurs with an allergy. I strongly recommend discussing one of these diets with your veterinarian, as it has the greatest chance of helping Ryder. As far as your question about millet goes, it's certainly worth a shot. There is no way of knowing if he's allergic to it without exposing him to it. I don't know of any commercially available diets that does not contain one or more of the ingredients you'd mentioned. If you're really against using a prescription diet, cooking your own food (as long as you're using the proper vitamin/mineral supplement!) is an option. The website www.balanceit.com has recipes formulated by boarded-veterinary nutritionists. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

The best type of food for a dog with food allergies would be a prescription hypoallergenic diet such as Purina HA or Hills z/d - these are diets that are specially formulated to avoid any proteins that can cause an allergic response, and can be ordered online with a prescription from your veterinarian. If you need an over-the-counter option, some dogs with food allergies do well on Natural Balance limited ingredient diets - these don't work as consistently as prescription diets do, but are often less expensive so can be a reasonable alternative option if needed due to cost.

Dogs are omnivores and can get enough nutrition from a balanced commercial vegetarian food. If you would like to try a meat diet, you could consider a novel protein diet. A novel protein is one that Buddy hasn't eaten before. You could consider venison, bison, fish or duck. Natural Balance makes a number of limited ingredient diets that you could consider. https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets Another option would be to try a hydrolyzed diet. Those would be prescription only and would be more expensive, but might be a good option as well. I am attaching a handout with more information about diet trials for food allergies below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952600 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! All the good allergy foods have a comparable price. The best in my opinion is the Royal canin Ultamino. This is the one recommended by the dermatologists at my hospital. Good luck and have a great day!