Cockapoo owners with allergies please help!!

[Colalola]

Hey! Our cockapoo is approaching 3. When she was younger we fed her raw food as we were told this is best and she just kept being sick so we stopped it. Put her onto wet food but she was very hit and miss on whether she’d eat it but she’d stopped being sick. After her spay in September last yr she has really been enjoying food and finishing almost every meal (great). About 4 weeks ago she started scratching her ears relentlessly, her mouth and nibbling her paws. A noticeable amount. She also suffers with ear infections every 4-8wks and gets sores on them from itching with her claws. The vet gave me some steroid tablets and said it has to be food related so suggested we stop her food and switch to purina hypoallergenic HA food which is basically dust, but it’d help her symptoms and help us figure out the allergy. Fine. We tried it for 2 weeks, no noticeable improvement in her symptoms and she was stopping eating. She already is slim so I thought I’d try her on 90% beef food from fourthglade. She’s now coming off the steroid course and her symptoms are returning. What do I do? I don’t want her to lose weight and re try the purina diet for 8 weeks. Could it be environmental? I’ve tried to think of everything it could be and nothing is sticking out to me. I know I could take her for an injection but people say the side effects can be severe. Someone help me please, I feel bad for her but the scratching is also doing our heads in too! Lol. Or has anyone paid for the vets to do bloods etc?

Not a cockerpoo, but I had a sprocker with allergies. He too was constantly itchy, chewed his paws and had ear infections. His skin also came off in flakes.

We had a referral to a dermatologist and he had blood and skin patch tests for allergies. He was allergic to lots of things - both food and environmental.

He had monthly immunotherapy injections and had to be bathed with medicated shampoo every three days. Unfortunately, he had to stay on hypoallergenic food and a low dose of steroids for the rest of his life. Everytime we tried to lower the dose, the ear infections came back.

Our whippet had the exact same - repeated ear infections, paw nibbling, scratching and biting herself.

We tried the hypoallergenic food (you have to give it for a few months to see a decent improvement) and it worked but it is expensive and a ballache ordering it online.

Most dogs are allergic to beef, chicken or lamb so we trialled her on salmon kibble and shes fine now so definitely not allergic to fish! We get a big bag of it from pets at home. And then buy whatever treats we find in B&M that are only fish based, with no chicken etc

Thank you! Did you do the medical diet first or just switch to fish kibble? I’ve just done a £50 order for fourthglade beef dog food… doh 😩

One of my dogs is the same. Like you, we went backwards and forwards with our local vets. But got fed up with the recurring problems and switched to someone very dog savvy.
Firstly get an ear swap to establish the type of bacteria of the infection- yeast is a common problem. Then get it treated with the right antibiotics. This can take some time... mine had ear drops and oral antibiotics. Took us about 3 months to get the all clear.

Secondly switch to a hypoallergenic fish based dog food. Read the ingredients avoid grains, and animal derivatives and fats. Autarky or Harrington just 5 are ok for my dog... but it will be try and error to find the right food. Like someone above suggested, give the new food at least 3 months before switching.

I also don't give any type of treats other than the kibble. Be really strict with what your dog gets to eat. It's boring but the only way.

Yeah we did the medical diet for maybe 4 or 5 months, it worked but was exoensive so we switched to the salmon kibble and all good! (We get Wainwright's).
Also her coat is super glossy 🥰

Ok wow! How did you get your dog to eat the medical diet for so long 😂 if she’d eat it I’d happily give her only that but I’m worried about her losing weight. Maybe I should just take her to the vets and see what they say. Whilst on steroids she’ll eat anything! But don’t really think she should be on them long term i believe that’s what they say. X

Thank you! I may have to just try her on this fish food as I don’t think she’ll eat the medical diet food. How long did it take for you to see improvement in symptoms? X

@Colalola I don't have a Cockapoo but dog sit one occasionally.

He's had all manner of issues but changing his diet has been revelatory for his mum.

He doesn't have meat in his diet anymore either (the type of breed he is I believe means they can't break down the enzymes in the meat, especially chicken).

So fish, vegetables, biscuits (like the pp says) with no meat.

He's health is so much better.

I appreciate my dog had other health issues, but his diet was affecting him in ways you wouldn't have expected.

My Lab is sensitive to chicken so has a fish-based diet. Just a good quality kibble.

It took about 6-7 mouths all together. We did have a little flair up in-between when changing the food . But it's all settled now so fingers crossed 🤞...

Time to get all the crap out of their system, a very knowledgeable vet and strict diet made all the difference. It's definitely not a quick fix.

Is it worth going back to the breeder and find out what they are feeding? Mine will eat Fish 4 Dogs sprinkled over fresh cooked food. Maybe that's worth a try - mixing the two? You can get sample packs from them although I know that's no guarantee they will eat it.

You need to go back to raw food and try novel proteins to find out what she is allergic to.

Our spaniel improved and all allergies disappeared after moving her to butternut box. I heard good things but was cynical. Pleasantly surprised.