Holistic Select Staff Vet - Dr. Al

This month Dr. Townshend answers your questions about a dog with bad allergies in the spring months and a young dog with loose stools.

Q:  My dog experiences pretty bad allergies in the spring. He begins licking his feet and is generally itchy. What food should I feed him to help control his allergies?

A: Allergies are an all too common problem in dogs. There are generally two causes of allergies; food and environment.

Food allergies are almost always due to a protein in certain ingredients in the diet. Beef, dairy products and the protein in wheat are common food allergens, along with chicken and soy. Food allergies are determined and controlled by feeding a single protein that the dog has not been exposed to in its diet recently. Holistic Select®  makes three such diets, Radiant Adult Health Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal Recipe (all fish), Radiant Adult Lamb Meal Recipe, and Radiant Adult Duck Meal Recipe, which do not contain any of the more common allergens found in some pet foods.

When switching to a new diet for suspected allergies, one should always transition slowly over at least 5-7 days. Also keep in mind that it may take up to two months before the problem is resolved as it can take that long to rid the body of the offending allergen.

Environmental allergies include sensitivities to fleas, dust mites, grass, molds, pollens and other things found in the environment. You mentioned that the licking begins in the spring which suggests to me that the predominate allergen is environmental, and is likely associated with the season, so pollens or grass molds could be the culprit.

I suggest that you work with your veterinarian to determine the cause and then affect a solution. Since the cause is likely to be something the dog steps in while outside, medications may be necessary as it will be difficult to completely eliminate them from the dog’s environment.

Q: Our one-year-old dog has had a problem with loose stools ever since we adopted him. Other than that, he’s a very healthy dog. He currently eats a dry food with cottage cheese mixed in. Is there a food we could give him to firm up his stools?

A: I assume that you have had the pet examined by your veterinarian and there were no problems such as parasites (intestinal worms) or bacterial problems.

Many times, younger dogs suffer from loose stools because they do not have the proper levels of Probiotics in their digestive system.

Probiotics are the essential bacteria we all must have in our digestive system in order for it to function properly. They also enhance the immune system. All Holistic Select® dry recipes contain multiple Probiotics, as well as the Prebiotics needed to help the Probiotics perform optimally in pet’s digestive tract.

I would also suggest jump-starting your young dog’s digestive health with a specific Probiotic preparation like our Holistic Solution®, to help his digestive system achieve optimal health as soon as possible.

Tags: Vet