Allergy to Yogurt?

[MarleysMama]

We recently added yogurt into Marley's diet (eats Canidae ALS) and he's now got some hot spots on his neck.

I am trying to find out what the cause could be and this is all I can think of.

Has anyone else ever had an issue with yogurt?

[gmo1379]

Was it plain fat-free yogurt?

[MarleysMama]

It's plain, low fat yogurt.

[gmo1379]

I would hold back on the yogurt to see if that's the cause. Once it clears up try some fat-free plain yogurt :) Just 1 or 2 tlbs in the morning does the trick.

[bliss7373]

I doubt it's the fat content in the yogurt that is causing this. If there is any problem with the yogurt, I think it would be an allergy to dairy products. Not terribly common, from what I've heard, but not completely out of the ballpark. It won't hurt to remove the yogurt for awhile - especially until you get the hot spot cleared up.

Is he having any other common food-allergy symptoms? General itchiness? Goopy eyes? How are his ears? I apologize if you've answered this in other posts, I know that you have quite a few posts out there right now related to this.

I have absolutely seen a predisposition to hot spots linked to food allergies - but I usually see it accompanies by other symptoms. But hot spots can be caused by many things. It's possible that (if I recall correctly) he did scratch himself a bit with his prong, just minutely, and those developed into the hot spot if your weather is humid or he otherwise aggravated it.

[MarleysMama]

That was what I had originally thought, his neck was FINE until the incident with the collar. I didn't know if that could have caused the hot spots.

His ears are fine, but his eyes have always been goopy. I did read a lot that some dogs just have that happen more than others, and others who's dogs had this same experience on Canidae ALS, which is what I feed.

The collar is what makes the most sence to me...but I didnt want to rule out an allergy either.

Thanks for your help with this. I feel terrible having so many threads but I figure it's better than having one big run on thread with several different questions. lol

[OnyxGold1]

With my Mason's chronic hotspots (in the past) we listened to all the advice about trying to eliminate one thing or another from his diet in the HOPES that we would find the right magical thing to eliminate the allergy and for over a year tried this. In the mean time I probably put some vet's child thru university on the amount of money I was spending treating the problem. I finally got frustrated to the point that I paid for the allergy testing....it wasn't cheap.....about $450.....but OH SO WORTH IT

Since determining what Mason's allergy was to (actually 2 things~(1) grain dust; (2) red cedar) it was sooo simple to solve the problem. First we closed all the doors to the graineries so that the dogs could no longer chase squirrels and #2 I threw away all of the dog beds in the house that were filled with that foam stuff & red cedar chips to eliminate bugs. Once I did those two simple things problem solved....NO more chronic hotspots/ear infections, etc.

If you eliminate the yogourt and that doesn't solve the issue then what? I know that I would never go a year again with a chronic issue and not do the allergy testing. Hopefully tho this is a one time thing for him but if not I would recommend the allergy testing!

Heather

[bliss7373]

This is Marley's first hot spot, right?

I don't think you can say that he's having a "problem" with them quite yet. Clear this one up, continue as you have been. If he gets another one, then start asking yourself why and consider further steps.

If he does have goopy eyes, you can always consider switching him to a different food. I've had good luck with California Natural for fosters that had food allergy issues. I especially like their herring and sweet potato formula. My personal dogs eat Evo, but it can be pretty rich...and I've had quite a few food-sensitive dogs not do well with a food containing turkey.

[MarleysMama]

Good Plan. I have heard a LOT of great things about that particular food, I will give it a try. Marley just turned 8 months old, is that an okay food for growing pups?

The allergy test definately sounds like a great idea, but I dont have that much money right now, so I will wait on that. I definately want to get one done though, preventative is always good too. LOL

Thanks for the helpful advice!

[bliss7373]

I believe that it is appropriate for pups. If I recall correctly, it's somewhere around 25% protein and close to a 1:1 calcium/phosphorous ratio.