My dog licks paws due to allergies. Should I change her food brand?

Question

Eats core wellness grain free ocean formula because of unknown allergy (licks her paws all the time). Finished a 26 lbs bag already but zero difference. Also taking vetriscience derma strength for few months now. Prefer supplements (chews) that med (Benadryl). There's lawsuit (July 2017) against wellness food (arsenic & lead), should I switch to other brand?if so, which one please? Thanks. Pet's info: Dog | Toy Poodle | Female | spayed | 6 years and 3 months old | 5 lbs

Makenzie Kurth, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Unfortunately, Nikki's itching is more likely to be related to environmental allergies than food allergies. Environmental allergies are usually to things like grass, pollen, trees, etc - all the same stuff humans are allergic to. And these allergies can appear at any age. If benedryl helps, it is considered quite safe to use long term for most dogs (talk with your vet first). If you are trying to avoid medicaitons and side effects, talk with your vet about the cytopoint injection. It is not a medication or drug- it is actually just a protein that blocks the itch receptor and is considered very safe. It lasts 1-2 months in most dogs. If it works for Nikki, it also shows that her allergies are environmental in nature (that shot does not work well for food allergies). There are also many great sprays, mousses, and foot soaks that may help - talk to your vet about these options. Getting back to the food situation, if you have any concerns about the safety of the food, I definitely recommend switching. Though I will say I have several patients on Core Wellness doing fantastic as far as I can tell. For allergic dogs, I do like to avoid the common allergens which are chicken, pork, and beef (it's almost never grains). So sticking with fish or a more "novel" protein like lamb, kangaroo, or rabbit may help. hope this helps and best wishes to you and Nikki!

My dog licks paws due to allergies. Should I change her food brand?

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