A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?

[DonC]

Given that it's the right time for seasonal allergies, and the food hasn't been a problem in the past, I'd look first at environmental allergies as @eeeefarm suggests. Plus you have the the Bayesian priors mentioned by @Peaty.

If it is a seasonal allergy then a cytopoint shot may help a lot. They seem to work very well. We've also done allergy testing on some of our dogs. It's cheap and often interesting. We had one dog who was allergic to cotton and one to certain types of grasses.

I'm not a huge fan of grain free dog foods because they've been associated with cancer in retrievers. This isn't 100% certain, and I do use this type of kibble as treats, but it does give me pause.

FWIW we use Purina. It's super cheap and more or less has the same ingredients as pricier alternatives. The only problem is that most pet stores don't carry it (too downscale I think) and it can be hard to find in smaller bags.

[Zande]

@donc said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

FWIW we use Purina. It's super cheap

You are so lucky ! There is no way I could afford to feed the pack on it when we had 8. I might manage now, with only two, but have found alternatives

[tanza]

@donc - All Purina foods contain corn or corn/beet pulp filler... I have used grain free along with Natural Balance limited ingredients... among others for all my Basenjis and also raising our litters. I also feed many veggies/fruits also... raw and steamed with raw meat also. None with fillers. And yes, could be seasonal allergies, but always you need to consider food as the problem.

[eeeefarm]

Back in the day before "designer dog food" I seldom saw the sort of problems that seem to plague dogs these days......and the dogs I knew lived longer (including my own). Coincidence? I do wonder about the effect of pesticides, GMOs, feedlot raising of meat animals, overcrowding and antibiotics, etc. And the mass sourcing of what goes into dog food, including the vitamins and minerals that must be added back in because the processing removes them from the original ingredients.

[tanza]

@eeeefarm - Well, before designer foods was when I found that processed corn was an issue... of course at that time not many fed raw either... or added thing like veggies, fruits or meat or for that matter ever changed up foods...(kibble)... and way before that the only things that dogs ate were what was referred to as table scraps. Now think about that for a minute... scraps were typically "leftovers" from a human meal. So if the human ate it, why not the dog? With my girl that has issues with corn in kibble, she had none with fresh corn and loved eating it off the cob.

[JENGOSMonkey]

We had somewhat similar issues with Jengo. Months after getting him we noticed red spots on his belly. thought maybe they were bug bites. Bathed him and inspected for fleas, etc. My wife read up on it and decided it might be a food allergy. She decided to eliminate grains altogether. That seemed to correct the issue. But, after some time he got picky, so we'd have to explore more grain free foods. It was a bit of a struggle. Still not certain if grain was the issue or not. Speaking to my vet, she mentioned that super high protein diets were all the rage for awhile, but that vets later started seeing more heart and artery problems. She doesn't like them anymore.

I'd never really known about Basenjis and veggies when we had Jengo. I wish that I had. Both new dogs get plenty of daily of unprocessed and processed protein. Kibble is mostly protein, dehydrated meat patties, raw meat, scrambled eggs But, they also get veggies too. Pumpkin, coconut oil, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc. We change it up every now and again to keep them guessing. Veggies are also great snacks for starving dogs like Logan.

[tanza]

@jengosmonkey - Totally agree.... changing up foods is great... you never have to worry if you run out as you can give them all kinds of foods. Not sure yet that I agree about the heart and artery problems, but I still use grain free, but not that only. Mine also love lettuce and tomatoes... LOL when we have BLT's the Basenjis get BLT also as a treat... lettuce, tomatoes and a couple of little pieces of Bacon... Keep in mind that many Vets are not educated in food per say... and they lean to go to what salespeople want them to carry in their practice. But sounds like you hit the jackpot! And yes veggies are great snacks....

[eeeefarm]

@tanza, right from the start our family Sheltie shared in "human food" and back then if you bought "dog food" it was canned, not kibble. All of my dogs have liked vegetables, and all have been offered them on a regular basis. Dry food IMO is quite unnatural, not to say I have never used it, but there are better alternatives, e.g. dehydrated or frozen if you need the convenience. Raw can be problematic depending on where you source it, and you really do have to make sure they get something other than straight meat. It's a myth that wild canids only eat meat! For that matter, domestic dogs have eaten grains for rather a long time, since table scraps would generally contain them. I would be suspicious of especially corn these days. Hard to find anything not GMO, same problem with soy. And of course the animals we get the meat from are ingesting these same foods.

[DonC]

@zande said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

You are so lucky ! There is no way I could afford to feed the pack on it when we had 8. I might manage now, with only two, but have found alternatives

It's 40 pounds for $20. Might be able to get 50 pounds for close to the same price. The problem is 40 pounds would last far too long and go stale, so I end up getting four bags of 4 pounds for a slightly higher price. Less for more!

@tanza said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

@donc - All Purina foods contain corn or corn/beet pulp filler... I have used grain free along with Natural Balance limited ingredients... among others for all my Basenjis and also raising our litters.

Have never seen a problem with corn. On the other hand a lot of seasonal allergies. The two things which seem to work are the cytopoint shots and washing their paws off after walks.

We do use Natural Balance and Zignature, mostly because they work well with some of the training tools/toys better than anything else. For toys that need a round kibble, Vitasse seems to work well. I know some people who have very exotic diets and wouldn't use any of these.

[JENGOSMonkey]

@donc said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

We do use Natural Balance and Zignature, mostly because they work well with some of the training tools/toys better than anything else. For toys that need a round kibble, Vitasse seems to work well. I know some people who have very exotic diets and wouldn't use any of these.

We use Zignature as well. It's a 50/50 mix of two different products. As far as I can tell no grain, corn or soy in either product. For training I've been using Primal Treats - Buffalo Liver Snaps. I have others, but I prefer these and so do the pups!

[bernadette]

Milk bones?
I know of a group of Basenjis that are totally allergic to them.
Miss Bliss will take one then spit it out so , no worries there.
For kibble she eats Purina Pro plan as recommended by the breeder.
When she first arrived I switched her(gradually) to Acana.
She became lethargic and her coat lost colour and sheen.
Was advised by a vet to get her off.
I did, and not gradually. Within a couple of weeks her energy was back and her coat was better. No more messing around with fancy food.
She gets her diet supplemented with raw meet and eggs.

[NancySS]

Binti, my female, started getting pink tummy and paws with lots of licking. Our wonderful Basenji-saavy vet suspected allergies and prescribed Apoquel. That did the trick. Since it was only her tummy and paws, I suspected she was coming in contact with the offending material when she squatted to pee. Now I wipe her tummy and paws off when she comes in, and she has come to love the extra grooming. Especially since I give her a little paw massage with each foot. No recurrences since...fingers and paws crossed.

[DonC]

@jengosmonkey said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

We use Zignature as well. It's a 50/50 mix of two different products. As far as I can tell no grain, corn or soy in either product. For training I've been using Primal Treats - Buffalo Liver Snaps. I have others, but I prefer these and so do the pups!

Thanks for that. I had no idea that it was a mix, just that the ingredients looked OK and it was the right size. LOL

[tanza]

@jengosmonkey - Do you use the Zignature limited ingredients? I looked at the Turkey one I don't see a mix 50/50? Or are you using the Multi-Protein? And are the kibble pieces small (small bites) like you can get with Natural Balance? As I said before I change up food all the time and then I never have a problem with changing foods. When I was on the road lots it became necessary to be able to stop and get food if we ran out.... not all the store carry all the same foods. Lucky that Natural Balance limited ingredients is usually available at all pet stores. Of course since I feed veggies/fruits/meats I can always go to the store and buy fresh. Never had an issue with food changes. Never mind the question on small bites, I see that they have this

[JENGOSMonkey]

@donc said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

@jengosmonkey said in A few pink areas plus paw licking: allergies?:

We use Zignature as well. It's a 50/50 mix of two different products. As far as I can tell no grain, corn or soy in either product. For training I've been using Primal Treats - Buffalo Liver Snaps. I have others, but I prefer these and so do the pups!

Thanks for that. I had no idea that it was a mix, just that the ingredients looked OK and it was the right size. LOL

Hey Don, I should have been more clear. We use Zignature Essense Ranch and Meadow (85% Animal Protein Ingredients) AND Zignature Zssential Formula - Multi Protein Formula (has more vegies than the other product). The mix is a 50/50 blend of both products. This mix gets added to other things like raw organic ground beef, cooked eggs, freeze dried meat patties, canned pumpkin, coconut oil, vegetables, and a few supplements. We weigh them weekly, keep a log, and make dietary adjustments as needed. So far I've found that adjusting the amount of kibble seems to have the most impact on weight gain or loss.

Logan wants to be a cook when he grows up, so he's always in the kitchen when I am, paws on the counter trying to walk himself between me and the edge of the countertop. ALWAYS. He'd be huge if I didn't practice self control. That said, I do slip in a counter snack here and there from time to time. He's just so dang cute AND persistent.

[JENGOSMonkey]

@tanza Hey Pat, So sorry. I completely missed your post! See above for the mixed blend ingredients. Yes, the kibble is small. I can't get these kibbles anywhere locally, so I have to order online. Never been an issue. Fast delivery like within about 2 days. The snacks I like sometimes seem to take forever to get here though.

[wizard]

Just because the breeder's other litters didn't show signs of allergies doesn't mean yours won't have an allergy to the corn. Dogs like people are individuals and allergies aren't necessarily genetically passed along. But as someone mentioned, a lot of allergies are environmental. But it is important to "test" to find out - make detailed notes on when the hot spots become most irritating; is it right after the dog has been outside after a rain where soil molds become an issue; are there certain blankets or crate pads that cause an issue; and don't forget to run a food test eliminating corn, as it might not be the corn but some other ingredient.