Information Articles - Allergies

Bingo a handsome 4 1/2 year old neutered Bull Terrier suffered from allergies. His veterinarian, feeling that spayed and neutered dogs were inclined to put on weight after the neutering operation, suggested a 'Lite' dog food. Bingo's weight stayed the same, but after three weeks Debbie, Bingo's owner, noticed hot spots appearing on his back at the base of his tail, and on the inside of his legs, which ultimately led to a secondary staph infection. He would continuously wash his feet which were pink and sore. His veterinarian thought it might be inhalant or contact allergies and prescribed Prednisone, a steroid, and an antibiotic.

Debbie described Bingo as not being himself, with increased urination and appetite. As long as he was kept on the antibiotics  and steroids, the skin remained clear of hot spots, but he picked up fleas continuously and had to be bathed in a chemical flea bath. Debbie flea bombed the house. Facing the prospect of keeping Bingo on steroids long term and using antibiotics frequently, was worrying Debbie.

This is a typical Bull Terrier story and one which is easy to solve with some knowledge of how to feed a Bull Terrier correctly (and many other breeds, too). Bingo's symptoms were classical signs of an animal protein deficiency.

If the dog food being fed does not contain sufficient Essential Amino Acids - the building blocks of protein - from animal sources, the acid/alkaline balance of the food is affected, making the food too alkaline for some breeds of dogs. Animal protein is acidic and a lack of it can cause the very symptoms that Bingo exhibited. Bingo was being fed a 'Lite' food where the majority of amino acids (protein) came from plant sources and not animal sources, causing signs of an amino acid deficiency. The clue to Bingo's problem came from where the hot spots appeared on his body, and the constant chewing of his feet.

Crude Protein

Protein that is listed on the back of the dog food package as Crude Protein comes from the combination of all amino acids in both animal protein and plant proteins. How far down the animal protein appears on the list will tell you the quality of the food. Performance Foods are those that generally contain two animal protein sources in the first three ingredients. Premium Foods 1 & 2 usually have their animal protein in the first three ingredients. So either the first three ingredients or the first five ingredients listed are those that make up the Crude Protein total on the back of the package. If there are two animal protein sources listed, the makeup could be 60% of the total Protein, or in the case of the Premium Foods only 20%, and it would be an even lower percentage in the 'Lite' foods. Animal proteins are complete in amino acids, but plants only contain some of the Essential Amino Acids, and therefore have to be combined with each other.

Amino Acids 

There are 25 known Amino Acids, 10 of which are considered essential (EEA's). All 10 of the Essential Amino Acids must be present at the same meal for digestion to take place. Methionine, one of the 10, and available primarily from animal protein sources, is partially responsible for making the digestive tract acidic. A lack of Methionine causes lesions to appear. Generally, dermatitis (skin irritation and inflammation), otitis (ear inflammation), cystitis (bladder inflammation), and other inflammatory diseases are deficiency diseases, most often caused by too little Methionine from an animal protein source in the food. Lack of Methionine can create the buildup of bladder stones, skin problems appearing as hot spots at the base of the tail and between the shoulder blades and neck, high cholesterol readings, poor growth, lack of appetite, and poor hair growth. Deficiencies will also show up on the inside of the legs and hock joints as skin lesions, often leading to lick granulomas. Since it works together with other EEA's, adding Methionine alone to a food, as some dog food companies do, is not the answer.

Other Essential Amino Acids control the function of the kidneys, liver, heart, thyroid and brain. Deficiencies can appear as behaviour problems and convulsive disorders ranging from epilepsy, 'rage syndrome' and spinning, to obsessive compulsive disorders. Allergies, arthritis, musculoskeletal diseases, muscle and ligament problems, hyperactivity, hypothyroidism, aggression, inability to learn and retain information, 'tuning out' at shows, heart problems, spinal deterioration, eye diseases, reproductive problems and many more are also signs of an animal protein deficiency.

Breed Differences

There are certain breeds of dogs, Bull Terriers, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Newfoundlands and several more of the Terriers, Working and Herding group that share a European background, that require a diet more acidic than is presently being offered in the commercial market place.

Guidelines

In the 1985 National Science Foundation Guidelines to dog food companies, the foundation of the original recipes for commercial dog food, it is clearly stated that Labrador Retrievers needed a diet more acidic than do laboratory Beagles. The majority of dog foods, however, service the Beagle and not the Labrador or the Bull Terrier, who are similar in dietary needs. Some companies have added extra Methionine to their diets, but the interdependency of one amino acid to the rest is such that this rarely solves the problem for those breeds that need the more acidic diets.

Ethnicity

Food is also ethnic, so that those dogs that originated in Europe have different needs than say an Akita, that evolved in Japan. The former does well on either beef, lamb and sometimes poultry with acidic grains like oats or wheat and the latter on a diet of fish and rice. The majority of commercial dog foods use poultry as their animal protein source and various parts of corn as the grain source. But what happens if your dog is allergic to either poultry or corn? An 'itis' disease will appear which will be incorrectly labeled as an allergy. Switching to a lamb and rice diet (some of which have poultry and corn further down on the list of ingredients) helps some dogs for a while, but often the original skin problems recur. Rice and corn are not indigenous to the heritage of the dogs whose origin is European.

Digestion Time

Dogs are first and foremost carnivores, or meat eaters. Their whole digestive tract from the shape of their teeth, their saliva, their stomachs and short intestinal tract have evolved to digest meat or in the wild a carcass, bones and hair included. Their need for carbohydrates is low. Using grains as a cheap source of protein is economical for the dog food companies.

In a study conducted in Sweden to determine how long food stayed in a dog's stomach, it was found that natural raw foods passed through the stomach and into the small intestine in four and a half hours. Semi-moist food and canned took almost 9 hours to clear the stomach. Dry food took between 15 and 16 hours.

Enzyme Robbing

The dog's stomach contains acids and enzymes which are suited to breaking down raw foods. When a food is processed by cooking, the food sits in the stomach and doesn't digest quickly because the enzymes and acids present are not the correct kind to break down processed food. The body then robs organs and glands of their enzymes and transports them to the stomach to break down the cooked food. This takes a considerable amount of time and is called enzyme robbing. A dog's body that is continually exposed to this process, shows disease more quickly than a dog that is fed raw foods. Enzyme robbing eventually leads to chronic disease and shortened life spans. It severely disrupts the acid/alkaline balance of the digestive tract, which changes and rebalances at each step of the digestive process.

Vitamins and Minerals

There are many vitamins and some minerals that are destroyed when heated over 118 degrees. Vitamin B-Complex is especially vulnerable. During the processing of commercial dog food, the ingredients are often brought to boiling point. Such is the interdependency of ingredients, that protein digestion is linked to how much vitamin B-complex is in the food. Certain amino acids - themselves affected and changed by heat - need not only Vitamin B to work, but also Vitamin C.

Protecting the integrity of supplements

How do the dog food companies protect the integrity of their supplemental vitamins and minerals through the heating process? A good question, for which most companies do not have the answer. When I was researching this material for our book, I telephoned the more popular dog food giants to find the answer. It was - "we add more"! How this works is a mystery to me, since if you add more, you only kill more! Some companies say that they used encapsulated supplements. They could not explain how these were not killed by the heating process. I did come across one company (Biljac) that sprays its vitamins and minerals onto its dry food after it has cooled.

Vitamins and mineral are also lost when exposed to light and air. So if dog food is not stored properly, or left out in a dog dish for a period of time, even more nutrients are lost.

Solving Bingo's Problems 

While the real solution to Bingo's problems would have been to put him on a raw, natural food diet, Debbie did not feel confident enough to make the commitment that a natural diet requires. So we did the next best thing and worked out a program which increased the acidity level of his current diet by increasing the animal proteins and adding some raw, natural ingredients. Bingo's skin returned to normal as did his behavior, and Debbie told us that he was happier and healthier than he has been in his life, and the fleas disappeared!

Prior to the change in diet, complete blood work was done on Bingo to check for disease. While his thyroid readings showed low normal - not uncommon in neutered animals - we chose not to supplement with thyroid medication which would be the normal treatment. We wanted to wait and see if putting him on a higher quality diet would take care of it. A month after his new regime, complete blood work was done again and Bingo's thyroid readings were normal. When allergies are suspected, thyroid testing should be routine.

Bingo's diet:

Bingo weighs 60 lbs. and is fed twice a day.

2 cups of a Performance Dog Food (one that has 2 animal ingredients in first 3 ingredients).

Supplements:

Vitamin C 1 gm (1000 mg) 2x day

Vitamin B-Complex 50 mg. 2x day

Amino Acid Complex Tablet 1x day a.m. When stressed by disease, spinning or compulsive disorders, or when being shown, these should be increased to 1 tablet 2x day, up to 1 1/2 tablets 2x day

1/4 tsp. Quality of Life Vitamin/Mineral mix 2x day. When stressed, increase to 1/2 tsp. 2x day. This product contains vitamins, minerals and herbs which target and stimulate all major organs and boost the immune system.

Egg, cooked 5 minutes. Feed with shell 3x week.

Rotate: 1/2 cup 2x day of the following:

Fresh raw meat, fresh yogurt, cottage cheese, raw liver, fresh raw vegetables in season, fruit in season (except citrus). You can use meat in a.m. and fruit or vegetable in p.m. or mix together.

Treats: Carrots, broccoli and raisins instead of rawhide.

Note: Bull Terriers need a lot of exercise, more than most breeds, aim for 2 hours a day. If your dog is older and not exercised as much, you may consider a Premium Food.

 

 

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