Question:
Hello! A lot of you know a lot about diet and I hope you can help me out!

After a month with a cough, Casey's finally 98% healed! That's the good news... the bad news is that he's developed an allergy to something that he eats.

A month from now, I will be on a break from work and study for awhile and then I'll have all the free time I need to figure out what it is that causes him extreme itchiness, but right now I need a shorter term quick-fix dietary change. The things that he gets right now are: Science Diet dog food (yes, it sucks but it was what he ate before I got him -- and I will be weaning him onto something else very soon), simulated milk chocolate treats, "chicken jerky" dog treats and little sweet breath milk bones. Also, he gets some sweetened condensed milk 3 times a day mixed with his cough medecine.

I know I could just cut out the treats and see how that goes, but since he's at such a good age for training, I'm not too keen to do that.... Or could it be the sweetened condensed milk? I hope not as nothing else covers up the taste of the medecine and I hate force-feeding him!

Also, considering the food sensitivity, what food should I start switching him to? (you can tell me brandnames, but I should also know the main ingredients as not all brandnames are available here in Korea). Also, is Science Diet so bad that once he stops eating it his allergy problems may be solved?

Thanks sooooo much in advance!

Answer:
No thoughts?

Answer:
Sometimes, it's good to add to a post - it brings it back up to the top of the "new posts".

I'm not an expert on diet, but there are a lot here who are quite knowledgeable. I recently changed my poodle's and cat's because of what I've been learning on this board. Main thing I've learned is to read labels. In the first 5 ingredients, corn products are a no-no because dog have difficulty digesting it. Premium dog foods are more expensive, but well worth it in better health and lower health related expenses. Plus, I want the best for my pets.

One bit of advice I can offer though is this - don't give the jerky-style treats to your dog. Den-Den used to get these a lot from a friend who lived with us. When he had an episode of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE), I became very conscious of his diet and asked the emergency vet about the treats. She said they were the absolute worst treats to give a dog. Fortunately, this friend was with us when we picked up Den-Den so he got to hear it direct from her. I had told him before not to give him so many treats and he hadn't paid any attention. I'm not saying it caused the HGE (it's not really known what causes it) but I'm sure it wasn't good for him. Now, for special treats, I have cooked chicken breast. I don't know how good chicken liver is for him, but I have been using 2 small pieces of cooked liver each time I've been slipping him the antibiotic he's been having to take. I put the pill in the 1st piece of liver and give it to him. As soon as he takes it, I offer the 2nd piece. He's so greedy to get the 2nd piece that he quickly swallows the 1st one (with pill).
I guess the liver smell overpowers the pill smell too.

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