Shiba puppy allergies and food

keroppi78keroppi78
edited June 2009 in Food, Nutrition, & Health
So I took Hiro to the vet today to get his last set of puppy shots and I've noticed that he has patches of hair missing. The place where I take Hiro to, is a vaccination clinic and the vet told me that make an appt with a clinic. But, I believe it's allergies that is causing this. I looked up mange, ringworm and it's not either of those... and Hiro does itch a lot.

We had him on Halo, Chicken Stew puppy formula and as I've been researching on the computer, many shibas seems to have chicken allergies. So, I went out today and bought Natural Balance LID, Sweet Potato and Fish. I bought a small bag and we'll see how he does! Have any of you tried this food?

Comments

  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    Many Shibas can have Chicken and Grain allergies. So, you usually want to go with Grain free and another meat like Fish. Fish is great for Shibas, and really helps with the coat. :)
    If this food switch clears up the skin issues, then you should be all good. :)
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited June 2009
    I haven't tried this food, but it is a great formula to use only to pin point the cause of food based allergic reactions (by this I mean it has limited ingredients, is fish based, and has no grain content. Why its good for only limited use to "diagnose" food allergies - it is really high in carbs, while relatively low in meat protein sources.

    I think once he is totally transitioned off the Halo and onto this food for approximately 3 weeks you can determine the next course in finding out the cause of his itchiness.

    Hiro is a cream puppy right? For what its worth, our cream shiba seems to have a rough time with environmental allergies (like inhalants from pollen and the like). She is also highly allergic to corn and chicken, and sensitive to wheat, soy and beef.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    You can't really diagnose/rule out mange or ringworm without doing some simple tests at the vet first.
  • brandon_wbrandon_w
    edited November -1
    I'd take him to the vet too. If it is ringworm or possibly mange you don't want to let it keep going.
  • obukobuk
    edited November -1
    Hiro, that's what we feed right now. Well, we just started, for the exact same reason, but can't tell yet if it works or not and if it's chicken or not. Too soon to tell. One thing I do know, Mochi LOVES the taste of the food.
  • keroppi78keroppi78
    edited November -1
    i am not ruling it out completely but am leaning more towards allergies. i spoke to the vet and they told me to try the food for a week and if it doesn't work, ocme in for testing, so that is what we are going to do...

    Obuk -Hiro LOVES food too. Not a picky eater for sure!
  • CreamyShibaMomCreamyShibaMom
    edited June 2009
    We have the exact same issue with Shao New, she was losing alot of hair and I thought it was b/c she was shedding (my old dog didn't have much hair to shed so this was new to me). Needless to say here is what we are doing, per our Vet.

    1-We had her tested for mites, etc. Came back clean
    2-We changed her diet to Solid Gold, which was before we took her to the vet for allergies, since I noticed she would always have diahrea midweek, every week, and her poop has been fine since then....However, per our vet, this does not mean she's in the clear...it takes 3 months to really know if the Solid Gold is working like we think it is. In the meantime, all she can have is the Solid Gold, and her carrots as treats. Don't mix milkbones, etc into her diet until you know for sure Hiro is good with his current food. We are also putting Salmon Fish oil in her food.
    3-We are giving her antihistamines to alleviate the airborn allergies and to keep her hair from falling out further and minimize the little hives she would get.

    So far she is doing ALOT better, her hair is growing again, and it's super soft like when we first got her...she's gaining good weight and as soon as this crazy wet moldy weather is over we will most likely be able to take her off the antihistamines.

    Hope this helps.
  • obukobuk
    edited November -1
    oh we had the hot spot itchyness issue. No patches of hair missing here though.
  • abbodoabbodo
    edited November -1
    Just wanted to add that my Shiba puppy was just yesterday diagnosed with demodex...he had been scratching, but not obsessively, and had some hairless patches. I took him in for skin scrapings and they found mites. It's not that big a deal to treat, but the earlier he gets checked out the better.
  • keroppi78keroppi78
    edited November -1
    Well, I cannot wait 1 week as Hiro looks awful, so we have an appt tomorrow morning with another vet. My husband and I think he has mange. Has any of your puppies had this? And, if so...what was the treatments? I've never had any of my dogs have this, so this is all new to me.
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    Depends on if its Demodectic mange or Sarcoptic mange. Its too bad, but it seems common in puppies (esp. if the mothers aren't kept very well.)
  • keroppi78keroppi78
    edited November -1
    really? i'm so sad right now... i feel awful! we think from doing the search on the internet that he has demodectic mange... i just emailed the breeder... *sigh*
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    Personally, at this point I don't believe in the "wait and see" approach with the skin issues. Just go see a dermatologist or do the skin scrapings from the get go to see if it is mites or ring worm. I hate waiting! Also, most GP vets are not very up to date on catching or treating all the things that factor into "allergies" and may actually rock the boat or hide the true cause by suggesting lots of sudden diet changes or medications that don't really address the real issues.

    My 1st Shiba had severe itching from day 1. I was offered some benadryl and topicals which helped, then steroids which I did not do because I wanted to see a specialist. Then she developed hair loss, puppy warts and some benign tumors and was found to have demodexx which we treated with goodwinol. I finally went to a dermatologist months later and she was diagnosed with an immune deficency and started on interferons. We also did intradermal allergy testing and she is now on bi-weekly allergy shots and antihistamines. I am waiting for the go-ahead for a diet trial to isolate some causes of possible IBD as well. In this case, treating her with prednisone would have WORSENED the condition.

    So, hopefully it's just demodexx, I think every dog has some but pups with weaker immunities can be more prone to developing superinfections of it. I think it's just better to get it checked out right away rather than switch foods around because that can just hide the real symptoms making a proper diagnosis harder.
  • abbodoabbodo
    edited November -1
    Here's some info on demodex...

    http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=630

    Again, if this is what's going on, it could be a lot worse!
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    I agree that getting to a vet/specialist asap is in your and Hiro's best interest, especially if it is the type of mange or ringworm that is contagious to other dogs AND you...

    I do think that switching his food to Natural Balance will help either way, its fish based and limited ingredients will no doubt help rather than hurt should it be a combination of skin infection and food allergy.
  • CreamyShibaMomCreamyShibaMom
    edited November -1
    Yikes I thought you had already gone to the vet.

    Don't be afraid to change vets either, this is our 3rd vet (my old vet from when I was a teenager). He is farthest, but the one I trust. The first two vets within walking distance either said it was fine that she was super scratchy and biting, and the other one prescribed anitbiotics, pain relievers plus a topical and called it a day, when clearly she was having allergies to something (since all tests came back clean).

    So yeah, we ended up doing two rounds of scrapings/tests for mites, mange, etc, but at least we KNOW what she doesn't have.

    Good luck at the Vet!
  • keroppi78keroppi78
    edited November -1
    Well, we just got back from the vet and Hiro does not have mange. They did the skin scrapping test and it came back negative. We also did a fungus test for ringworm but won't know the results for 10 days. So, the vet sent home with us medicated shampoo and revolution to kill any other parasites that might be living on him. So, almost $300 later, we still do not know what is wrong with him. But, at least he does not have mange!

    He's sleeping now. We bathed him in the medicated shampoo when he got home. He ate and now is sleeping. I'm glad he still has an appetite... poor guy! :( It's kinda of scary how much hair seems to be just falling off him...
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    Are you sure he isn't blowing out his puppy coat?
  • keroppi78keroppi78
    edited November -1
    I asked the vet and he said no... he's only 14 weeks...
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited June 2009
    Have you contacted the breeder? Is there any history of allergies or problems with the others in that litter?

    So, does the vet have Hiro on anything? Are you giving him any meds?

    I know you are feeding him Natural Balance now, which is great to rule out anything food related.

    Are you frequently bathing him? If possible, I would refrain for a while, maybe give him a fish oil capsule every other day (human grade, not liver oil - just fish oil - check ingredients for JUST fish (salmon or sardine/mackerel/cod etc., oil and glycerin/gelatin) and maybe try to find Neem Oil?

    Info on Neem : http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-for-dogs.html
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