Do Border collies have...

[acupofteha]

I know this sounds silly,
But do Border Collies susceptible(sp) to certain food allergies?

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[CollieDad]

As a matter of fact bc's ARE prone to food allergies. Namely, Corn, Wheat, and Soy.
Storm was about a year old when he started itching, severely! I wint with a grain free dry food(Taste of the Wild) but, I have learned since that there are many dry foods available that do not contain the above listed items.

[kristinavb]

All breeds of dogs are prone to grain allergies, since they are not part of the natural diet.

[only-borders]

I really don't think Border Collies are any more prone to food allergies than any other breed.

[CollieDad]

Ok, I admit that maybe bc's are no more succeptible to grain allergies than other breeds, but, the fact remains that there are dog foods out there that can be used to combat these grain allergies.

[only-borders]

Absolutely there are many foods made without grains. The problem is finding out what the dog is allergic to. It can be meat by products also. It's not always the grain that is the problem.

The allergy can be seasonal, caused by different plant matter. An allergy can come from many different things, not just food.

[acupofteha]

Bailey has been on Chicken soup for the pet lover's soul, a switch from Beniful. Once we switched her numerous problems started to occur, and its all leading to food allergies. I love the chicken soup and how shes looking on it, but if shes allergic to something in it I don't want to keep her on it.

So now I am debating, Put her back on Beniful, Change the food, or start an elimination diet.

We have found she can't have any raw hide, she can't have milk bone, and dehydrated beef liver seems to be causing issues.

So this is why I am asking about them being prone to certain allegies

[only-borders]

Natural Balance makes a kibble that has limited ingredients for allergy dogs. Here is a link so you can read about the different choices.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogform...lergy.html

Have you had Bailey to the vet for a check? It might be a good place to start since there seems to be quite a few things that affect her.

[goldcreek]

The vet can test for some allergies.

Since she wasn't reacting to the last food, take a look at both ingredient lists and see what is different in the new food, I would be doing some kind of elimination diet. California Natural has foods with minimal ingredients for this purpose, I think Natural Balance does too. Or Taste of the Wild fish formula usually has success with sensitive dogs.

My Akita is allergic to chicken protein. Red paws, red ears, red scaly belly, severe itching over whole body and bad odor. Also, though fish doesn't make him itch, it makes him very smelly.. He can tolerate pretty much anything else, including cheap grains. Corn, wheat, and soy are common irritants but don't rule out the meat proteins as possible causes. When I switched him to a food without any chicken it solved his problems, significant improvement within the first bag even. Benadryl can help the dog be a bit more comfortable while you test foods. And don't just look at the name of the food, read all the ingredients. There are several foods which are labeled 'Lamb and Rice' or 'Beef' etc that Tyson can't have because chicken meal is included farther down the list.

[CollieDad]

I sell Chicken Soup in my store so I compared the ingredients in it to Beneful Healthy Radiance, they both use chicken. Chicken Soup also has turkey, duck and eggs, along with alot of different fruits and vegetables that might cause an issue. I also sell Taste of the Wild, and Alanna is right, the fish formula, called Pacific Stream is a good food for sensitive dogs. I also sell a brand called Premium Edge, it has a Skin and Coat formula which is also an all fish protein source food, it's a bit cheaper than TOTW. If you can't find Premium Edge, there is a food called Exclusive, which is Premium Edge
in a different bag, it is usually sold in farm type stores and co-op stores.

[acupofteha]

We have switched Bailey to Natural Balance Fish and Sweet potato limited ingredients formula. Its only been 6 days and I see a difference already, she is full of energy, poop back to "normal" and she has not been as itchy or sick. So I Know that it was something in the chicken soup, Were going to give her a few weeks on this, and then introduce other grains or foods that are in other foods, hopefully we will be able to figure out what she is allergic to. I would keep her on this food but I think its expensive! I will be keeping her on this food until I figure it out though. Thank-you everyone for the responses, they have been helpful.

[only-borders]

If Bailey is doing well on the Natural Balance why switch back to something else?

I realize it is more expensive than Beniful but at the end of the day wouldn't you rather feed your dog something that you know isn't going to cause her to be uncomfortable from scratching and rash?

Feeding a "good" kibble far outweighs the extra cost. Better health from better kibble = less health problems = less vet bills.

It's your choice.

[Country Girl]

I can be proof of that! It didn't take me long to drop close to $2000 on vet bills when Maggie was on pedigree ( I know! I know! ) and it nearly cost me my puppies life. Except for the rabbit, I can tell you as hard as I think about it, I don't recall dropping a single dime on health problems since I switched to first candiae and then TotW ( Minus Maggie's hip at 6 months but that was an injury which resulted in a dislcoated hip ). I hate to say it but to me, that speaks volumes!!

[acupofteha]

we did not feed Bailey Beniful, we had bought one bag because that's what she was on when we first got her, and used that to wean her onto the new food which was Chicken soup. I am going to switch her off this food we have her on because its 56 for a 15kg bag. I am going to wait and see how long this one lasts me, if its a month I can financially handle that. If/when we do switch her to something else its going to only be after figuring out what was causing the problems.

[only-borders]

Usually when feeding a better quality of kibble you don't have to feed as much because there are less fillers.
I hope you find out what is causing her problems.