Well, this week Jake went to the vet and still has a yeast infection in his ears, down deep. It has been 2 months now with cleaning and ear drops, and ointments, etc. We are still cleaning his ears daily, and using 2 different medications in each ear. Max went to the dermatologist yesterday. She has prescribed a new shampoo, and thinks a lot of his itching is due to food allergies. He tests negative to any food allergies, but she feels that the continued itching, even though he is on the serum for environmental allergens, is due to his food. Sooo, now I am supposed to find a protein source that he is never eaten and a carb source that he has never eaten. Since most meats fall into types or categories and meats within those types usually cause the same reaction, this is a hard thing to figure out. He has eaten beef, chicken, turkey, dairy, venison, pork, lamb and fish. That leaves me with goat, rabbit, ostrich, and kangaroo. Apparently duck and emu fall into chicken and turkey category. Bison, elk, etc. fall into the beef category. He has eaten, white and sweet potatoes, white and brown rice, soy, rye, wheat, corn, barley, garbanzo beans, and oats. That leaves what? I am seriously considering a raw food diet. We would start with chicken only, necks, backs, wings, etc. After a week or so, maybe add in some veggies. I just don't know what else to do. The more I read about it, the more I think it will help at least the yeast infections, and maybe we can find a correlation between his food and his itching. I would also love to be able to get Jake's ears cleared up. We spend about $120.00 every two weeks now for kibble, chicken, rice, liver, organic flour for biscuits, eggs, etc. Hopefully, it won't be much more. Thoughts?
Kathy