I’ve been feeding my 2 year old golden retriever the acana red meat dog food but I’m concerned since I’ve read it’s a brand that may cause heart issues. I can’t seem to find any dog food that doesn’t contain chicken AND contains grain in my area. The closes I’ve found is purina pro plan salmon but it has hydrolized chicken, the other option I’ve found was chicken soup for the souls (the beef, lamb and salmon versions have no chicken but they’re grain free) and the Kirkland brand salmon food. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’d greatly appreciate it
@thatgirloncfforums Thank you! Do you know if chicken fat or chicken flavor cause a reaction? I see it in some of the options so I wanted to know for sure before I get a bag
@ctlguy That will totally depend on the animal unfortunately. If it's artificial flavour, then no. If it's just the protein part the dog is allergic too, should be fine. Won't know til you try though. Allergies are always a trial and error thing and every single dog is different!
@ctlguy Our chicken sensitive girl has done great on purina pro plan sensitive skin and stomach lamb and oatmeal. We have it delivered on auto ship from chewy.
@ctlguy Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach salmon doesn't contain chicken BUT hydrolized chicken is specifically designed to avoid allergic reactions. It's broken down into tiny components so the dog's body doesn't recognize it as an allergen -- that's what hydrolized means. Most chicken-allergic dogs can eat hydrolized chicken from a reputable brand with good quality control without an issue
On the other hand boutique brands -- especially ones that don't own their own manufacturing facilities and use copackers -- are very very likely to have cross-contamination of ingredients, chicken being one of the most common. So just because it doesn't have chicken on the ingredients list doesn't mean it isn't exposed to any.
That's why it's so important to stick to a reputable brand like Pro Plan for true food allergies; but even they don't guarantee no cross-contamination from their retail diets. The only way to guarantee that is with a prescription diet which is subject to much more strict cross contamination protocols to prevent allergens from coming into contact with the food.
@sevilodorf Oh, interesting! I just realized the PPP beef has poultry by-product in it and I've been feeding it to my chicken - allergic pit, but she's been fine. Hmmmmm...
@l8shinigami How do you know she's chicken allergic? My vet dermatologist has said it's way over-diagnosed which I think is interesting. The shelter SWORE my dog had "trouble" with chicken and grains. Many dermatologist visits later it turned out he has no food allergies at all which was wild.
@sevilodorf The only times she's gotten bad diarrhea (bloody as well) were after eating chicken - chicken breast once, and chicken jerky a month later. The vet said it was probably the chicken. She's a pit/boxer mix and they have so many issues! It could definitely be something else but better safe than sorry!
@sevilodorf We did elimination diet bc he got horrible hives, hot spots and ear infections almost monthly. We switched to a lawn only kibble and they stopped immediately, we did beef and so far no allergies. The vet thinks it’s def chicken and told us to steer away from it and from birds. Do you know if chicken flavor or chicken fat can trigger it? I see them in some ingredients of the brands so I wanted to makes sure before I purchase a bag
@ctlguy Chicken flavor -- it depends. That's sometimes from chicken itself, and sometimes it's a soy product. You'll have to call the company to find out.
chicken fat -- hypothetically no. Fat itself doesn't contain protein chains. In reality, lots of brands don't process out the fat as completely as they should so there are still some bits and pieces so to speak that end up in the diet.
Again, that's why picking a science backed brand like Pro Plan or a prescription diet is so important.
@ctlguy Just food for dogs lamb, beef , venison & fish and PPP lamb and oat sensitive skin and stomach have no chicken . Natural balance also has limited ingredient single protein kibble with no chicken . My dog is sensitive to chicken also .
@ctlguy Our pup was sensitive to chicken. Switching to PPP Salmon and Rice both puppy and the adult did the trick. I am not aware of problems with a new recipe.
@ctlguy My dog does amazingly well on Pro Plan Sensitive formulas, but they don’t guarantee 0% cross contamination in the non-vet diets. They do clean the equipment between batches. My dog is allergic to chicken, but allergic reactions can vary. It still might be worth trying for six weeks to see if it helps.
@ctlguy My dog has a wicked, wicked chicken allergy.
He eats the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Lamb & Brown Rice dry food. He has had zero issues with this food. Our vet recommended it- they said it’s a high quality food and has grain (rice), which dogs actually do benefit from. I get it delivered from Chewy.
@ctlguy My girl is allergic to chicken and sensitive to high fish. We feed the acana red meat WITH GRAINS food.
Acana and some other brands are under heat for their grain free diets for dogs. However, some grain inclusive foods have been also been suspected/linked with heart disease too. They think it might be the legumes, such as the high content of peas.
The acana red meat wholesome grains food does not have high legume content.
Other brands I know of that don't have chicken or chicken by products that meet WSAVA guidelines is some Purina pro plan formulas. They have the sensitive skin and stomach, the lamb one, and some others that also don't have chciken.
@alexm961 Unfortunately they only sell the acana grain free in my area there’s been a huge grain free hype and most stores just carry those foods and it’s been really hard to find other options (the markup is crazy high too).
which is why I’m so careful now whenever I see chicken in the label