# Allergic reaction to Taste of the Wild?



## fourshort (Apr 3, 2010)

My 7 year old Australian Kelpie/ Border Collie mix has a scabby, itchy, back now after switching to Taste of the Wild. But the thing is, she never reacts to food! She's been on so many kinds, some good, some bad. The only way she has ever reacted to a food is if I go from a good food to a poor quality one (been broke a few times over the years), her fur gets less soft. That's it.

I was feeding kirkland (costco) food since about October. Then about march I decided to put them on raw. I got lazy, lasted about a month. At the beginning of april, I bought the bison/venison TOTW. She was fine for a while. About the middle of april, she started getting itchy. Scabby, itchy spots on her back, close to her tail. I switched formulas to the pacific stream, hoping she's recover. That was the beginning of may, she's still itchy. I have half a bag left.

Logical thing is to put them back on costco or canidae (has done excellent on both, costco is cheaper, but canidae is more local). BUT my 14 year old dachshund, who tends to have skin issues, is doing excellent on this! She is never itchy, her fur is shiny, she has energy, and smells like nothing (she was given to me because her last owners were going to put her to sleep at 9 because she was itchy and smelly).

I have checked and re-checked a thousand times for fleas, nothing.

Should I wait it out until the end of the bag to see if it clears up? (35 lb bag lasts a month, I'll need more beginning of June) Or switch now? I suppose I could keep Buddha on the TOTW, and put Leah on Canidae? Harley (dachshund puppy) could eat either. Or both. I generally free feed (I know it isn't recommended, but works very well for my crew, the dachshunds don't overeat), but could stop.

What would you do?


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

fourshort said:


> My 7 year old Australian Kelpie/ Border Collie mix has a scabby, itchy, back now after switching to Taste of the Wild. But the thing is, she never reacts to food! She's been on so many kinds, some good, some bad. The only way she has ever reacted to a food is if I go from a good food to a poor quality one (been broke a few times over the years), her fur gets less soft. That's it.
> 
> I was feeding kirkland (costco) food since about October. Then about march I decided to put them on raw. I got lazy, lasted about a month. At the beginning of april, I bought the bison/venison TOTW. She was fine for a while. About the middle of april, she started getting itchy. Scabby, itchy spots on her back, close to her tail. I switched formulas to the pacific stream, hoping she's recover. That was the beginning of may, she's still itchy. I have half a bag left.
> 
> ...


Personally, I would switch Leah back to Kirkland or Canidae, and nix the free feeding


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## Eyssa (Jul 28, 2008)

I feed all three of my dogs TOTW and have never had any problems like that... but if I was you, I'd stop feeding it and switch back to what you were feeding her before. If she stops itching when you switch, then you'll know if it's the food or not. And I agree with the above poster; free feeding generally isn't a good idea.  It tends to make for fat puppies.


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## fourshort (Apr 3, 2010)

Well, now her back seems to be clearing up. I think the scabs were just still itching. I'm gonna give it a few more days, I really want them on this food.

And yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you're not supposed to free feed . But I have had a billion doggies, fostered, worked at the shelter, etc, and while I wouldn't do it with 80% of them, these three, it works. My dogs are lean, my mom (who has 2 fat dogs) thinks they're too skinny. When I feed them, I feed them in three bowls. Buddha will eat hers in one sitting, then no more. Leah and Harley will graze all night, I give them the amount I would with scheduled feedings. Sometimes it's gone by morning, sometimes it's not, I pick it up in the morning if there's any left. Harley gets more small meals during the day, because he's a baby, and seems to need it. Buddha voluntarily fasts about once a week. So maybe it's not entirely free feeding, maybe something in between.


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## cec (Aug 1, 2010)

I swith my dogs food regularly between quality brands. She has been on Taste of Wild before with no problems. Recenty she started a new bag (the fish flavor kind) and about 5 days later, developed bleeding lesions on the top of her snout and a bumpy scabby rash on her ear flaps. She is on antibiotic now and I took her off that food. It seems to be clearing up. The reaction could have been to something else but I'm afraid to introduce the TOTW again. Has anyone had any similar problems? My dog is a German Shorthair Pointer. Thanks!


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## NCPupLove (May 28, 2010)

I have been researching dog foods for a few weeks now. We have an 11 week old Wheaten. A breed that is known for allergies. In my research I found several places that said that TOTW and the Kirkland brand are ONE in the same. Naturally I find your post interesting since your dog did great on Kirkland but is allergic to TOTW. This puts a real kink in my research LOL! Does anyone have the low down on the correlation between the two foods?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

NCPupLove said:


> I have been researching dog foods for a few weeks now. We have an 11 week In my research I found several places that said that TOTW and the Kirkland brand are ONE in the same.


They can't be one and the same because TOTW is grain-free and Kirkland isn't. Kirkland is very similar to Diamond Naturals but not identical. All are manufactured by Diamond. 

I'd probably try the TOTW for a while longer and see if Leah clears up. I think scabbiness like that is an unlikely food reaction, it's more likely an allergy to fleas or pollen.


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## NCPupLove (May 28, 2010)

Willowy said:


> They can't be one and the same because TOTW is grain-free and Kirkland isn't. Kirkland is very similar to Diamond Naturals but not identical. All are manufactured by Diamond.
> 
> I'd probably try the TOTW for a while longer and see if Leah clears up. I think scabbiness like that is an unlikely food reaction, it's more likely an allergy to fleas or pollen.


Kirkland has a new grain free version.


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## Philxylina (Apr 29, 2011)

fourshort said:


> Well, now her back seems to be clearing up. I think the scabs were just still itching. I'm gonna give it a few more days, I really want them on this food.
> 
> And yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you're not supposed to free feed . But I have had a billion doggies, fostered, worked at the shelter, etc, and while I wouldn't do it with 80% of them, these three, it works. My dogs are lean, my mom (who has 2 fat dogs) thinks they're too skinny. When I feed them, I feed them in three bowls. Buddha will eat hers in one sitting, then no more. Leah and Harley will graze all night, I give them the amount I would with scheduled feedings. Sometimes it's gone by morning, sometimes it's not, I pick it up in the morning if there's any left. Harley gets more small meals during the day, because he's a baby, and seems to need it. Buddha voluntarily fasts about once a week. So maybe it's not entirely free feeding, maybe something in between.


My pup had the exact same reaction as yours and I switched her to the Salmon totw as well. How long did it take for your dogs reaction to clear up and does it continue to do well on it?


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I just switched mine to TOTW a couple of weeks ago & I & they love it!im still getting rid of the of food so my older dog, Izze is still having her itchies though the weather here is crazy, humid & muggy, to cool & dry in a day or so so that might have something to do with it, she seems to itch more in summer. But as far as their skin & such goes I have seen a steady turn for the better & Izze doesn't seem to itch nearly as much as she used to.

They also are more excited about their meals then they uses to be


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## Dakota Spirit (Jul 31, 2007)

My dog also had a similar reaction while on TOTW. I tried both the High Prairie and the Sierra Mountain formulas and the entire time he had really really terrible itch/dandruff. I then switched him to Solid Gold and it cleared up by the end of the bag.

I'm not sure what it was about TOTW that was causing the problem and I still consider it to be a good food, it just wasn't the right match for Tristan. Sometimes it's just a case of matching the right brand to the right dog.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

fourshort said:


> My 7 year old Australian Kelpie/ Border Collie mix has a scabby, itchy, back now after switching to Taste of the Wild. But the thing is, she never reacts to food! She's been on so many kinds, some good, some bad. The only way she has ever reacted to a food is if I go from a good food to a poor quality one (been broke a few times over the years), her fur gets less soft. That's it.
> 
> I was feeding kirkland (costco) food since about October. Then about march I decided to put them on raw. I got lazy, lasted about a month. At the beginning of april, I bought the bison/venison TOTW. She was fine for a while. About the middle of april, she started getting itchy. Scabby, itchy spots on her back, close to her tail. I switched formulas to the pacific stream, hoping she's recover. That was the beginning of may, she's still itchy. I have half a bag left.
> 
> ...


My dogs have done very well on TOTW. But if I was having issues, I wouldn't wait until I was out of food to switch.


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## Dakota Spirit (Jul 31, 2007)

Pawzk9 said:


> My dogs have done very well on TOTW. But if I was having issues, I wouldn't wait until I was out of food to switch.


Well I think it just becomes a question of determining if the dog is REALLY having issues or just still ajusting to a new food. Sometimes dogs can take a bag or two to really settle in and do well on new foods. Though usually those issues have to do with soft stools and the like. I don't think skin problems are USUALLY a symptum of the ajustment period.


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## Rmyric01 (Oct 28, 2013)

I just switched about a week ago to TOTW and my dog now has bleeding lesions on top of snout and a bumpy rash. He is going to the vet in the morning.


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