# Bad Allergy case, need advise on food



## lnoemi (Jun 8, 2012)

Hi Everyone! 

I have two girl maltese dogs/babies! I have been trying so many foods for them but I have not found the right one yet. One of them has a terrible allergy problem... when she was a puppy I fed her Royal Canine, what a huge mistake! her allergies were terrible and the red staining was awful. This last year I changed her food to grain free premium food and her face is all white now. First I gave her Now! turkey based, she was doing well for two months but then she started with the allergies again, so I switched to Orijen, however I did not like the fact that it was soo high in protein so I returned it and bought Spring Naturals, salmon. She has been doing great in it BUT she does not love it. I have to put water in it and then she eats it. My other maltese, I have to practically force her to eat it. So I was thinking of sticking with salmon but trying something else. I need your help and recommendations! 
Has anyone tried Fromm, or California? 
Thanks!! and Happy Holidays!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I would not recommend Fromm for allergies it has too many ingredients. I would look at something with limited ingredients.

I am trying zignature at the moment, as one of my dogs is having major food issues.
Zignature Your Pet's Signature Dish for Life!

If you can not find it locally you can get it at:
- zignature - Free Shipping at Chewy.com

Another brand that I trust is Acana, but I wouldn't choose just any of their lines, I would go with their limited ingredient lines.
ACANA singles | Acana

The boys were very enthusiastic about eating the zignature tonight, we'll see how it works out for them.


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## lnoemi (Jun 8, 2012)

Fromm does have a lot of ingredients... Do you know anything about petcurean Go! food?


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

I have 2 with allergies and they did best with Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato and Venison or Sweet Potato and Fish. I have taken them off of NB because of not knowing the source of the ingredients. I've fed Primal Frozen Raw, Fromm and some other brands but they did the best on NB LID, no tear or face staining and no red paws from chewing. Fromm is a really good food but does have alot of ingredients, i'm hoping that they come out with a LID food in the future. I might just check out the Zignature food to see how the kids do on it. I miss the white faces and feet.


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## lnoemi (Jun 8, 2012)

I refuse to try Natural Balance because of that and the recalls. I tried Spring Naturals, Sarah is more white than ever.. but.. she was licking her paws again and hurt her ear from scratching so much! and Sophie does not really like it. I have to switch!! Have you tried Go! from petcurean? I wanted to try Acana but Ive read about maltese getting tear stains after having Acana..plus its high on protein so i do not know! this is frustrating!!!


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

lnoemi said:


> I refuse to try Natural Balance because of that and the recalls. I tried Spring Naturals, Sarah is more white than ever.. but.. she was licking her paws again and hurt her ear from scratching so much! and Sophie does not really like it. I have to switch!! Have you tried Go! from petcurean? I wanted to try Acana but Ive read about maltese getting tear stains after having Acana..plus its high on protein so i do not know! this is frustrating!!!


I was using the NB LID before the recalls and have been switching around looking for something that will help with the allergies for quite some time. I have one the is allergic to all poultry not just chicken so i haven't tried the Go from Petcurean. The Acana is high in protein and fat and the single ingredients still has quite a few ingredients and poultry so that is a no go for my girl. I think i'm going to try the Zignature once i found out more about the company and sources of the ingredients for the food. It's very frustrating indeed!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

The acana limited ingredient lines aren't really that high in protein so if you want to try that it's still an reasonable option. I am pleased to say Rocky had no episodes last night after eating zignature and still was crazy about it this morning. Zignature has three varieties at the moment, but on their facebook page they stated they were bringing out two more soon. It's also VERY affordable compared to the other brands.

I have found that most limited ingredient diets seem to be lower in protein so if it's a brand you know is bad for high protein take a look at their limited ingredient lines and see if it's lower. Here is a list of the brands I have found that have limited ingredient diets:

*Natural Balance* (Yes DH and I decided not to go this route due to their refusal to list where their ingredients come from) Dog Dry LID Limited Ingredient Diets - Natural Balance Pet Foods

*Acana* - Acana Singles ACANA singles | Acana 
*Zignature* (Their entire line is limited ingredient) Zignature Your Pet's Signature Dish for Life!
*Blue Buffalo* - Blue Basics BLUE Basics - Choose the best dog food flavor for your dog
*Nature's Variety *- Instinct limited ingredient diets New Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets | Nature's Variety
*Wellness* - Simple Wellness Dog Simple Recipes


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

lnoemi said:


> Fromm does have a lot of ingredients... Do you know anything about petcurean Go! food?


I have heard a lot of hype about the Go! and Now! brands and while I don't see anything THAT great about them, I don't think they are bad foods. I also don't think they are limited ingredient?


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Oh you also asked about California? Is that as in California Naturals?
They are limited ingredient as well: 
Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity ? California Natural

I have never been wowed by them but I have heard a lot of people have success with them. They were very popular a while back but fell off the grid, I'm not sure why.

I did find this recall on the dog food advisor site but it was from last year, people are still saying their dogs are getting sick though:
Two Dog Food Brands Recalled by Cargill

I don't know how much that is worth really but there it is. If you want to try it and have concerns you can always e mail the company!


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## lnoemi (Jun 8, 2012)

I went to Natural Pawz today, the did not know about Zignature... so I went to another store and the guy recommended California Naturals. I ended up buying the venison grain free, they loved it but now I saw your posts and the recalls and I am worried! I might order Zignature!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

lnoemi said:


> I went to Natural Pawz today, the did not know about Zignature... so I went to another store and the guy recommended California Naturals. I ended up buying the venison grain free, they loved it but now I saw your posts and the recalls and I am worried! I might order Zignature!



I would just keep an eye on them and see if the California Natural's works for them. See, Rocky is intollerant to some foods (and I don't know which yet) so when he eats Fromm grain free, he vomits every time, same thing now on The Honest Kitchen. I could post that and make them sound like really bad foods, but it's not the foods, it's my dog. I don't think there is anything wrong with giving the California Natural a chance-there will always be dogs that get sick on it due to whatever allergies or intollerances they have.


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

I can't get either the California Naturals or Zignature in my area but since there is more variety in the Grain Free of the California Natural's i ordered a small bag of the Grain Free Venison and the Grain Free Lamb from - california natural grain free - Free Shipping at Chewy.com and then i'll order the Grain Free Salmon and Pea and Kangaroo and Red Lentil since i like to have a good variety of proteins to rotate with, can't do chicken since my one girl is allergic to poultry (if it has feathers she's allergic) i just hope that she does as well on the California Naturals as she did on NB years ago. I guess i never even gave California Naturals a thought since it's not something that's readily available for us to try. I just wish Fromm had an LID line since i think it's a wonderful food and will probably continue to feed the other 3 Fromm since they do so well on it and don't have food allergies or food sensitivities.


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## lnoemi (Jun 8, 2012)

I'll try california and see how they do since they have been excited about it! let me know how Rocky does with zignature! 


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## lnoemi (Jun 8, 2012)

i have california natural venison and a sample of lamb... i gave them a couple of lamb kibbles and couple of venison and initially they both chose lamb, but then ate venison just fine... but ive seen its hard for them to eat it the kibble is kind of big...


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