[Emily94]

Sariss this is mostly for you, I've read a couple of your post saying a dog can take benadryl. My dog has allergies, supposedly they are food allergies and the food he is on worked for awhile but he is now itching again, so I'm thinking of picking up some benadryl, but I was wondering how long do recommend he be on them... Is it safe to give it to him everyday until his vet appointment?(He has a vet appointment in about a month for his shots, and I really don't want to pay the $70 vet bill twice if I don't need to)

[Lucky098]

Benadryl won't work for a food allergy -- Food allergies are from within, not environmental.

What type of food is your pup on?

[ageless_hippiechick]

Dogs can take children's Benadryl.

If your dog is suffering skin allergies from his food, you may want to try putting him on a homemade (raw) diet. You can find recipes online and the only equipment you'll need is a good grinder. Many animals are allergic to commercial foods, but a raw diet replicates a natural diet.

[Emily94]

Medi-cal Hypoallergenic HP. He was on allergy medication from the vet and they worked, but she only prescribed enough for 20 days.

[Lucky098]

Is Medi-Cal the brand name?

[Emily94]

This is it here, it may be royal canine but the vet refers to it as medi cal

[Lucky098]

Lol its Royal Canin -- says so in the front :P

What are the ingredients? Does it have a lot of grain in it? I know Royal Canin isn't the worse, but its also not the best.

[Aurora_Bell]

Funyn thing that's what a lot of the vets here in Canada recommend, that and science diet. I am also not a fan of the medi cal.

EMily have you thought about a hollistick diet? Most allergies are from wheat. And even on a Hollistick diet, they will still need to get their essential grasses. Which you can give to them in natural fruit and grass treats.

Emily if you don't mind me asking, where in Canada do you live? I might no of some places to get a more natural diet for your pup.

[Emily94]

The ingredients are rice, soy protein isolate hydrolysate, chicken fat, natural flavor, dried beet pulp, calcium carbonate, monopotassium phosphate, soya bean oil, sodium silico aluminate(zeolate), fish oil, fructooligosacchardes, salt, potassium chloride, taurine, borage oil, choline chloride, and a bunch of vitamins.. (there is to many, I don't really want to type them :P)

[Emily94]

I live in manitoba, if you want more specific I'll PM you.

[Aurora_Bell]

Hey that's actually not too bad. May be the rice. Could be the preservatives that are making your pooch itch too. You could try adding a can of sardines or some omega oils to his diet.

[Aurora_Bell]

I used to live in MB, are you living in one of the majors? I just happen to know of a great naturalist in the peg...

[Lucky098]

Those are not the best of ingredients... Soy is bad.. Chicken fat - Horrible... "natural" flavor.. red flag!

Even though it says for allergies, doesn't mean its going to work for your dog... And a lot of times, vets don't know a lot about foods and the pros and cons of it.

[Aurora_Bell]

I used to live in Winnipeg.

[Aurora_Bell]

Not the best, but not the worst by any means. I actually didn't think it was too bad for commercial brand.

[Emily94]

What brand do you recommend? I cannot spend too much money but this one is $50 for 51 cups, so the most I could spend would be $70 for the same amount.

[Aurora_Bell]

There is a place in the city called Earth bound, it's about $50 bucks for the largest bag (I forget how many Kg's) what is your dog weight?
Earthborn Holistic Pet Food - Pet food & Supply - Pet Supply, pet shops and pet stores at Petlifestyleonline.com

THis is what I am using right now.

Holistic Blend

I really like it.

[Aurora_Bell]

Here is another one:

PET VALU BETTER PET NUTRITION, WINNIPEG, MB, 27 Marion Street, Dominion Centre

[Lucky098]

Haha wow, you're willing to spend $70? Nice!

I, of coarse, always recommend Innova. Your case, I'd recommend Evo. Evo is an alternative to the Raw or barf diets. I know of a lot of people who do use this food as an alternative.

Check out some of the ingredients...

Meat-Based Pet Food – Premium Dog Food, Cat Food, Ferret Food, Dog Treats – EVO Pet Products

Hope that page works..

Also.. Wellness just came out with an allergy line.

Wellness Dog Simple® Recipes

Van Patten's Natural Balance also has some allergy formula foods, however, Natural Balance has something in their ingredients that makes the dog gassy. Not sure what.

Van Patten's Natural Balance® Allergy Formulas for Dogs

[Emily94]

My dog weighs about 8 kg, or 17.6 pounds.