Anyone have experience with transitioning out of hydrolyzed diets, successfully?

[louid]

I have a ~3y/o GSD/ABPT mix (with a lot of other stuff sprinkled in) - so she has pretty shaky DNA. She currently eats PPP Hydrolyzed Vegetarian kibble, hydrated with warm water. I don't know much about dog nutrition but I would prefer if she was on more a natural diet if possible.

We ended up on this diet early in her life - maybe 10 months old. She had a lot of health issues at the beginning so it's hard to pinpoint what caused her to react poorly to the kibble she had been doing well with. I had been feeding her Taste of the Wild's puppy recipe - bison and veal. She started getting sick multiple times a day, puking 3-4 times and diarrhea at the same frequency so the vet put her on ID food which she did well with, and as soon as I transitioned her back to TOTW symptoms started back up. Due to that, she was prescribed the PPP Hydrolyzed Vegetarian diet and has been on it, and ok since.

Not looking for medical advice or hypotheticals. Curious if anyone else's dog has been prescribed that diet and what process you followed to get them off of it.

 

[sevilodorf]

@louid That's really a sign that the other food was indeed causing the problem. Until you pinpoint that problem, it's unlikely transitioning off is going to be successful.

Has your vet talked to you about challenge ingredients?

https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/nutrition/food-allergy-diagnostics-therapeutic-food-options/

https://todaysveterinarypractice.co...-to-identify-food-allergies-in-dogs-and-cats/

 

[louid]

@sevilodorf Wow - thank you for all the resources and the thoughtful response overall. The more I discuss with people, the more it seems our vet is actually the problem. They did mention that allergy tests are not generally helpful so at least they got that right.

My vet has never discussed any other options with me, even though I've asked. The general response I've gotten from them was to continue feeding her the PPP HVD for the rest of her life as she is fine on it and healthy.

This has lead me to re-think whether I want to switch vets. My dog is high anxiety and needs to be sedated when we go in - on top of the [what I feel is too much] trazodone I give her every single time we need to go in, especially since she's a medically complex animal. All this to say I found another vet that can do home visits and when I spoke with her she was far more interested in getting to the bottom of her allergies than sedating her which was enough to convince me.

 

[sevilodorf]

@louid Fellow owners of medically complex dogs unite!

I honestly encountered the same thing with my general practice vet when I was first figuring out how to tackle my dog's allergies (which cause pruritis for him, not GI upset, so disclaimer that it's different!). It was suggested I find a super exotic protein food like alligator or kangaroo and just see what works. They really didn't walk me through what an actual elimination diet should look like and I felt a little like I was floating in space with like half the knowledge I needed to help my dog.

The vet dermatologist I eventually found was... pretty horrified at those recommendations I got. That vet was good at other stuff, but I think persistent specific issues like food problems just do require some more specialized expertise. The vet derm eventually helped me with an actual action plan and treatment that I was really looking for from the regular vet and wasn't getting.

In your case I'd consider, depending on how the home vet goes, finding either a vet board certified in internal med or a vet board certified in nutrition. Some vets will also consult with specialists as a part of treatment, so maybe you wouldn't even have to get your dog independently assessed to get their opinion!

 

[louid]

@sevilodorf Thank you!!! Right. I totally feel you on the "floating in space with half the knowledge needed." I feel I'm scouring for answers I'm not fully understanding but those resources you sent are immensely helpful.

I'll look into vet derms and the certified vets as well before I confirm anything with the mobile vet, awesome suggestion.

Seriously - thanks so much for the information. Out of curiosity, how is your pups journey going? Have you been able to successfully switch to a protein that works?

 

[sevilodorf]

@louid My dog is doing great now! We were able to eliminate food allergies with the prescription elimination diet — he just didn’t improve, which meant he had environmental allergies. He’s on immunotherapy now and Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach and doing well. I hope it goes well for your pup

 

[zachary1215]

@louid Mine was on RC HP and we successfully transitioned her to canine caviar open meadow

 

[louid]

@zachary1215 Oooh! What was the initial reason for the prescription diet?

 

[zachary1215]

@louid Loose stool, occasional diarrhea

 

[hjt]

@louid Mine isnt much advice, but I need to vent I guess. My dog is also on a hydrolyzed kibble to try if it eliviated her stomach irritation. My plan if it doesnt is to try going kibble free incase its actually storage mites she could be allergic to (they will have to scope her stomach again). Probs going to be a slow transition to cooked foods plus some vitamins, since there is a risk to cause issues with a raw diet.

 

[louid]

@hjt Ugh. I'm sorry to hear your pupper is still having issues. This stuff feels so complicated because I don't always understand the vet's practices and thoughts and when you question or challenge them, they get a little cagey. Have you thought of an allergen test? I've been thinking of doing that for my dog as well to pinpoint the allergy. Wishing you the best of luck with your pup.

 

[sevilodorf]

@louid Deeply unfortunately, food allergy tests for dogs are completely bunk. Don't pay for one!

The peer reviewed studies demonstrate they don't correctly diagnose actual allergies, but do regularly diagnose non-allergies. Useless

https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2020/03/food-allergy-testing

https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2017/01/food-allergies/

https://www.tuftsyourdog.com/doghealthandmedicine/chances-are-its-not-a-food-allergy-for-your-dog/

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/adverse-food-reactions-february-2019/

 

[hjt]

@louid Unfortunately food allergy testing isnt accurate. I work in biomedical science and wouldnt trust them. I definitely will work with vets to find a solution but if they can't then I need to think for myself and find a vet who is open to look a little outside of the box once the more common things have been ruled out. I dont know why the storage mites arent so commonly talked about if a dog is having issues with multiple types of kibble.

Hope everything turns out well for your dog aswell

 

[louid]

@hjt Aha, for sure. I had been told by my vet those don't work but you'll have to forgive my skepticism of him lol!!

Interesting that storage mites aren't spoken of more often - this is honestly the first I'm hearing of them. I'll look into that as well!