Will Nutrish Just 6 dog food with rice affect my wheat-allergic dog?

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!

That is an uncommon allergy, anyway rice can be substituted easily with another source of carbohydrates like potatoes or peas. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

What food is appropriate will depend on how sensitive your dog's GI tract is to these ingredients. There are some over the counter foods without these ingredients in them. A low cost version available at Tractor Supply is the 4Health Salmon and Potato formula: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4health-salmon-potato-formula-for-adult-dogs-5-lb-bag?cm_vc=-10005 Another option available at most pet stores would be Purina Proplan grain free formula such as the Savor Turkey and Chicken formula https://www.proplan.com/dogs/products/savor-grain-free-adult-shredded-blend-turkey-chicken-formula#ingredientsandguaranteedanalysis However, over the counter foods are made in facilities that produce many different foods so contamination of a food with an ingredient not on the label is a possibility. If the food allergy is severe, then a prescription diet available from your vet may be necessary (these special foods are made in a facility where contamination doesn't occur). These foods are unfortunately much more pricey. Another option is cooking for your dog. You can use the website Balanceit.com to find a properly formulated homemade diet for your dog.

Good question! Wheat is actually a pretty uncommon allergen for dogs. Dogs with food allergies are more often sensitive to the protein source than the grains. The new grain free market is more based on diet concerns in people. So unless your vet has had reason to limit the wheat in Chloe's diet, I think those treats should be just fine. Hope this helps!

Home prepared diets can be very difficult to balance long term and I strongly recommend a consult with a specialist nutritionist such as through tuft clinical nutrition unit in order to ensure he is receiving all of the trace elements, vitamins, minerals and energy he requires. In food sensitivities, a hydrolyzed diet such as royal canin hypoallergenic can be very effective also. Chicken and rice is a very bland and effective diet in the short to medium term but would need supplemental feeding in the long term

That is a great question. It is very uncommon for dogs to be allergic to grains. I would make sure that Tallulah does not have a food allergy to protein. It appears in dogs that chicken and beef cause the most skin issues in our pets. I would consult with your vet about possibly trying a hypoallergenic based diet. I would recommend feeding this for 12 weeks to see how she does. I hope that helps

I would recommend finding a limited ingredient diet that doesn't contain any of those ingredients, and feeding that. If you can find one that's fairly high in fiber and relatively low in carbohydrates, that would be ideal - but if not, you should still be able to get his glucose regulated as long as you're following your veterinarian's instructions. For diabetic dogs, the specific diet you choose to feed doesn't matter all that much, as long as you keep it consistent and control the amount of calories he's getting each day. I would definitely recommend talking to the veterinarian who is treating his diabetes about what he/she suggests, and make sure to inform your vet about any planned diet changes, since changing the diet can affect the amount of insulin he needs.