Is it possible for a dogs allergies/food intolerances to change?

[Lyn]

I am completely stumped.. I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me figure this out.

As some of you know Bubba is super sensitive and I have to be careful what I feed him. I've tried quite a few different foods and he had horrible diarrhea everytime which led to weight loss if it went on for any length of time. The Eagle Pack fish and oatmeal was the only food he could eat and have normal poops. So my vet was almost positive it was a protein intolerance.

Well Lola does not need a fish only diet so I bought her Canidae, the all life stages one which contain 4 protein sources!! Well Bubba is tired of fish I guess and he tore open the bag and ate an unknown amount. I walked in the room and he had his head in the bag chowing down. I was expecting booty blowout. 4 protein sources is a big no no for Bubba but nothing happened, no diarrhea no nothing. So I got curious. LOL And I started mixing the Canidae into the Eagle Pack and now Bubba has been eating nothing but the Canidae for about 5-6 days with NO major issues whatsoever. I don't get it... He has the odd soft-ish poop. But you'd expect to some degree that with a kibble switch, expecially with 2 foods that are so different. For the most part though his poops are fairly normal.

In the past the diarrhea has always started the first day of being completely on the new food and it would get worse each day. So I think we are in the clear...

What's even weirder is that I tried Canidae with Bubba when he was 8 months old I ended up switching to something else because he had bad diarrhea and gas.. it was horrible.

I know children that have 'outgrow' allergies.. but I had never heard of a dog doing that.

I even emailed Canidae to see if they changed their ingredients, But they haven't. So since nothing has changed on their end.. it has to be that Bubba's system or allergies or something has changed.

I guess it's just annoying me that I can't figure this out. LOL I know I'm weird. 

[Saint and Mal mom]

That does sound like it is changing. I don't know how it is for dogs, but I know my cousin when she was little was very allergic to our cats, but as she's gotten older, she doesn't sneeze or anything around them anymore. Maybe Bubba has outgrown it. I don't know. Boy, dogs sure know how to stump us, don't they? 

[Nicole]

Ok. My cat had the same issue with the protiens. She had to have a "novel" protien source due to allergies. She was on venison and sweet potato, I believe. But, our vet told us that she could eat that until the problems went away, and then switch back. If the problems started to resurface, put her back on the venison and sweet potato.

Well, she ended up being able to tolerate other protein sources after awhile. It was very interesting. I think that it something that just "develops". (the protein sensitivities) And the reason you don't want to have multiple sources is because then you can't figure out which one the dog (or in our case, cat) is sensitive to. But, once you know, then its not about the multiples, its about avoiding the one that you know is the problem. And that one can go away. It did with Drew, our kitty.

So..haha..YAAA AAAAAAAAY BUBBA!

[newflvr]

The same thing happened with our middle son.  He was deathly allergic to peanuts when he was little and now he's fine and can eat peanut butter with no reaction.  We're all mammals and maybe it's just a mammal thing!!

[Lyn]

Makes sense to me. If people can outgrow them, why not our puppers.

My vet sounded rather surprised. But he was suspecting IBD/IBS or a protein intolerance. The Canidae just blew those out of the realm of possibility.

My vet recommends diets with multiple protein sources as long as there are no allergies. That's why I picked the 'All life stages' formula for Lola.

So thanks goes to my vet for that one. LMAO! Without his suggestion I never would have bought it, and in turn Bubba would have never gotten into it. 

A bonus to boot is that the Canidae is saving me about 13 dollars a bag. Plus I get an extra 10 pounds of food. I ain't complaining. hehehe

[Lyn]

Oh definitely. I think I'm still in shock actually. LOL

It wasn't that long ago that I tried California Natural chicken meal and rice and Bubba ended up with bloody diarrhea. I swore I'd never even attempt another kibble switch. Actually I think I told you all to club me if I ever mentioned it again. But I didn't do it this time.. Bubba did.

[shangrila]

Yay for bubba's tummy. That's going to make your life so much easier for him and lola to get to eat the same food

[Anakalia]

Lyn, since Bubba's problem apparently was not an allergy but a food intolerance, it makes sense that he would "grow out of it."  An allergy is an immune system reaction to a substance, and a food allergy in a dog usually produces symptoms such as itchy paws and face.  A food intolerance usually points either to problems producing the specific digestive enzymes needed to digest a particular food or to a intestinal reaction to a chemical or preservative in the food, and usually produces intestinal or other digestive system symptoms.  The difference is an important one.  Tthink about lactose intolerance versus milk allergy--very different problems.

Both allergies and intolerances can change over time.  Since Bubba's intestines had a decent recovery period being on a food he tolerated well, he may have built up tolerances that allowed him to digest the Canidae better.  With his constant diarrhea before, his intestines had become very stressed in their ability to tolerate anything.  You know how after a bout of the stomach flu, you want nothing but bland broth for awhile and, even after that, a spicy meal sounds unappealing?  Well, perhaps he just needed the time for his intestines to be ready to handle variety again.

My mother had intestinal problems for a very long time before they discovered that she had developed a gluten intolerance.  For a long while, she couldn't have anything with wheat at all.  A sauce thickened with flour would be enough to make her ill.  Now, she can have an occasional biscuit with dinner and be fine.  She needed to avoid all offending products for a fairly long period of time before her intestines were ready to digest gluten products again.

My husband gets heartburn whenever he eats chocolate.  For him, the digestive system reaction occurs early in the digestive process.  He has figured out that it is only when he eats something that is mostly chocolate, like a brownie or a chocolate candy, that he has problems.  If the chocolate is "dilluted" with other substances, like a chocolate chip cookie or even chocolate milk, he's fine.

Whew!  I didn't mean to go on this long!  All I really wanted to say was YAY!!! for Bubba (and for you!).   

Holly

Thanks for explaining that, very interesting! 

[Lyn]

Thank Holly, I agree.. very interesting.

So by the sounds of it he had both an allergy and an intolerance. I often wonder if it's seasonal allergies too.
But he would drag his face on the carpet, chew his rear end, lick his front legs and paws and he was getting hot spots because of it. As soon as he was put on the Eagle Pack all that stopped. I guess time will tell if the itching will start up again on the Canidae.

Well, whatever the reason I hope he continues to be able to eat the Canidae. It is so much easier and cheaper to feed Bubba and Lola both the same food.

[mynameislola]

Sve those Canidae UPC code tags.  They have a rebate program.  I forget offhand (hubby picks up the feed cus we get hay too and I can't lift it)  how many bags you have to buy before you get the free bag.  Might be 12, or maybe 8.

We have a Chow with fragile intestines and Canidae lamb and rice is the only food she can tolerate.

[Lyn]

Just a little update.. Bubba's poops are still fine. YAY! But he has started chewing a bit. (sides, belly and butt)

I'm not sure if it's because of the Canidae or if he maybe picked up some fleas. He has flea bite dermatitis too, .. one flea bite is all it takes to send him into a chewing frenzy. 

I haven't needed to use any flea treatments since the fleas were not that bad here this year. I try not to use the stuff unless I absolutely have too. But it's worth a shot to rule out the fleas first.

Crossing my fingers it's NOT the Canidae. Bubba is actually starting to put some weight on and we are only halfway through the bag. I would suck to have to switch now. 

[Lyn]

mynameislola, The store I get the Canidae from has buy 12 bags (I think) and get one free. I'll have to double check..

[bluskygirl]

Oh, I hope it's not the food! I'm just starting to learn about allergies with Dogs (my last pup was seemingly indestructible).  It's quite a trip... Good luck with the Canidae!

[Lyn]

That's the first thing my vet said.. protein allergy.. then it was protein/grain allergy. Pancreatitis, IBS, IBD.. There was a few more too. We ruled out worms first. Poor Bubba was de-wormed at least 10 or more times in that year. He thought maybe it was giardia that went undetected in the numerous fecal tests. Blood tests all fine.. x-rays all fine.

I spend a darn fortune in different tests and it never fixed anything.

The only good thing I got out of the x-rays is that his hips appear HD free. Although we need to take some better angles.. but that looks promising and was a huge relief expecially with all the popping and clicking he did during his growth spurts.

Thank god Lola has none of these digestive problems or I think I'd go crazy. LOL

[galxe]

Well, I don't know about dogs, but our cat Abby has some very severe allergy problems. Our vet explained to us that food intolerances manifest themselves in digestive problems, and allergies manifest in skin problems.

For allergies, generally they can develop new allergies to foods they were not previously allergic to, but rarely become un-allergic except through slow desensitizatio n.

Intolerances vary greatly, they can be seasonal, or develop out of the blue, or exist only for a period of time in their lives. Intolerances also vary greatly with the amount of te ingredient, and what it's paired with. My guess would be that Bubba either outgrew his intolerance, or, like previously mentioned, his digestive system was just under a lot of stress.

I can relate to the fleas! Abbs is also very allergic, a single bite will have her scratching quarter size patches of hair and skin off, all over her body, in less than a day. TG we're moving to an area without fleas!

Three cheers for Bubba and his new food, I hope everything continues to go well!!!