# Severe fish allergy...help!



## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

My poor Gizmo was extremely ill a few months ago with regular vomiting. We went to the vet a number of times and she concluded that he just had an upset stomach that wasn't going away. Finally, I put him on a bland food diet and switched his kibble and he recovered. The food I was feeding him when he was sick was a fish-based food. I've now been feeding him Fromm's Duck & Sweet Potato and he's been biting his paws, so I'm on the hunt for a new food, yet again. I got a sample of a salmon-based food at a local store and he got very, very sick from it. So clearly Gizmo has a severe fish allergy and a poulty allergy. Every lamb or red-meat food I read the ingredient list for contains some sort of fish-meal as one of the top 5 ingredients so those are obviously out. Does anyone have any suggestions for a kibble that perhaps I'm missing? Stella & Chewy's is an option, but the patties are so small and I want to leave kibble out during the day. I also am unable to home cook.

Thank you all in advance!


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## beckinwolf (Sep 2, 2008)

Wellness makes a lamb and rice formula that has no poultry or fish in it. Here's a link to the website describing it. I think Wellness is a good brand overall. 

Wellness Simple Food Solutions® Rice & Lamb Formula

Canidae also has a lamb and rice with no fish or poultry. They are also a good brand. 

CANIDAE® All Natural Holistic Dog Food - Lamb & Rice dry formula


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

Take a look here: Taste of the Wild : Products : Dogs : Dry Food : Sierra Mountain Canine Formula and

Petcurean Pet Nutrition - this one is a little higher in protein, so it may not be the one.


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

Thank you beckinwolf! 

And starsmom, I think you may have solved my issue. I failed to look at Taste of the Wild but I love that it's grain free and doesn't include any poultry or fish ingredients :thumbsup: Perfect option!


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## iheartbisou (Feb 13, 2007)

Also, another option could be Addiction Pet food.

Addiction Pet Food - The Finest Pet Food is Here!

Bisou doesn't have any allergies that I'm aware of, but she doesn't like fish at all. I was feeding her Acana for a long time but switched to Addiction which she gobbles up now. I use the dry, the canned and also the dehydrated Addiction. (she very reluctantly ate the Acana)

PS- but fish oil or fish meal may be in some of their products?


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

my understanding is the mercury in fish that makes them itch so if it is a fish high in mercury it could be causing this reaction

I think salmon is a fish high in mercury


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

iheartbisou said:


> Also, another option could be Addiction Pet food.
> 
> Addiction Pet Food - The Finest Pet Food is Here!
> 
> ...


Thanks for this suggestion iheartbisou! This also looks like an interesting option. There doesn't appear to be any sort of fish meal in the dry Viva La Venison kibble. I also like some of the canned foods too.


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

dwerten said:


> my understanding is the mercury in fish that makes them itch so if it is a fish high in mercury it could be causing this reaction
> 
> I think salmon is a fish high in mercury


You're half right - it's farm raised salmon that has higher levels of mercury then the wild caught.


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

That's interesting to know about the mercury in fish. Gizmo gets stomach sick from fish, though...he doesn't itch. I think he bites his paws from poultry. Such sensitive little furbabies we have!


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Starsmom said:


> You're half right - it's farm raised salmon that has higher levels of mercury then the wild caught.


lol ok i knew i read something on mercury issues in salmon. I always try to get wild caught fish as heard farm raised is not good


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

I don't know much about this but I thought I would mention that the pet nutritionist at our local store refuses to carry Taste of the Wild because of their recalls. I haven't done any research on them, but I thought I would let you know what I've heard. She is really particular about the items she carries in her store so I just took her word for it and stopped feeding my cat the TOTW (canned) food. 

Addiction is pretty good and their venison food is a great option if your dog is allergic to both fish and poultry. Look in to Instinct as well. Try foods with lamb too...there should be lots of brands to choose from that do lamb formulas.


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

Bailey&Me said:


> I don't know much about this but I thought I would mention that the pet nutritionist at our local store refuses to carry Taste of the Wild because of their recalls. I haven't done any research on them, but I thought I would let you know what I've heard. She is really particular about the items she carries in her store so I just took her word for it and stopped feeding my cat the TOTW (canned) food.
> 
> Addiction is pretty good and their venison food is a great option if your dog is allergic to both fish and poultry. Look in to Instinct as well. Try foods with lamb too...there should be lots of brands to choose from that do lamb formulas.


Ohhhh, very interesting. Thanks for that information Bailey & Me. I will look into that- really glad I didn't make my purchase yet! There seems to be an issue with every food...I understand why so many parents home cook on this board. It's really amazing how many of the formulas contain some sort of fish meal.


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

Ug. If I rule out TOTW (which I'm not sure I've done yet), Addiction has a grain-free Venison formula that I like but it contains Rosemary Extract, which I don't like. All the Instinct foods contain either fish, fish meal or poultry. This is so difficult!!!


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

Please read this thread...

_http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-maltese-food-snacks-treats/105545-another-dog-food-alert.html _

_Note:The food in question is the FISH formula, not the one you are interested in._


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

Starsmom said:


> Please read this thread...
> 
> _http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-maltese-food-snacks-treats/105545-another-dog-food-alert.html _
> 
> _Note:The food in question is the FISH formula, not the one you are interested in._


I saw that, thanks Starsmom. I do see that Diamond has had some quality control issues over the years though. I am now looking at Acana Lamb & Apple. The protein isn't too high and it has pretty limited ingredients. I have a call into my vet too.


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

You can contact the company by phone or email to address your questions/concerns.

Taste of the Wild : Contact Us


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

My vet just recommended starting a Venison prescription diet for Gizmo. She told me about a recent study that showed that 3 out of 4 over the counter limited ingredient diets do in fact contain chicken or beef, even if it was not included on the label. How interesting!

She recommended Hills DD Venison and Royal Canin IVD Venison. Wondering if anyone has had any luck with those.


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## michynyc (Sep 25, 2008)

Starsmom said:


> You can contact the company by phone or email to address your questions/concerns.
> 
> Taste of the Wild : Contact Us


Good suggestion Starsmom. I did write them and received the following reassuring response:

We appreciate your interest in our products. Here is some information about our company.

All of the Taste of the Wild products are manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods, in Diamond’s plants located in Meta, MO, Lathrop, CA, and Columbia, SC.

Most of the ingredients in Taste of the Wild originate in the United States. There are critical ingredients that are not available domestically in an adequate supply and with as much quality as our international supply. We do purchase some ingredients from foreign
suppliers such as lamb meal from New Zealand, potato protein from Germany and dried chicory root from Belgium. We screen for all toxins with a test called ToxiScreen. This test screens for other toxins besides melamine and cyanuric acid, such as heavy metals, pesticide residue, aflatoxin, vomitoxin, rodenticide, and many others. Should any of these contaminants be present in the sample, the ToxiScreen test will detect it. 

I can not go into all of the details, but the ingredients and products go through over 150 checks before the finished product leaves our warehouses. These checks include in house and independent lab testing.

Diamond’s facilities are regularly audited for food safety and sanitation by an independent agency (Silliker Labs, Chicago, IL).

I hope that you will give our products a try. I think you will be pleased with the quality and performance of the product, and the reasonable price.

Sincerely,
Name
Quality Control Manager
Diamond Pet Foods


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

this is the preservative that many have been concerned about in fish diets

Ethoxyquin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

Here is another option for consideration in your search...

Canine Caviar Home


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## Aarianne (Jul 22, 2005)

I find this to be a very helpful site for selecting food as it contains ingredient lists as well as explanations for their ratings:
Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

Aarianne said:


> I find this to be a very helpful site for selecting food as it contains ingredient lists as well as explanations for their ratings:
> Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost


Great? minds think alike...I was JUST going to edit my above post to include this very helpful link.


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