# Dog allergic to potato?



## pj530i (Jun 6, 2013)

My dog has been varying degrees of itchy since I got her last year. I didn't consider the source being a food allergy for a few months, but since then I have been trying different foods (for at least 6 weeks each) to see if her itching stops.

A few days ago I switched from Orijen Six Fish, where I only noticed her itching a few times a day, to Annamaet Aqualuk, where she is itching much much more and this morning one of her eyes was red and watery. At some point last year I fed a bag of Evo Salmon & Herring, and I remember her itching being almost gone. I didn't think much of it at the time because that's when I also started treating her with frontline and figured she must have had a few fleas.

I can't think of anything else that has happened this week that would have caused such a dramatic change in her condition. Is there anything else I should consider besides a food allergy?

I'm going to get something potato free tomorrow and switch her to that to see if she gets better. Since she's only had the Annamaet a few days, will her symptoms go away fairly quickly? Also, once her symptoms calm down, would it be advisable to test the idea of a potato allergy by giving her an initially small, increasing amount of mashed potatoes with her food to see if it causes a reaction?

Here's the ingredients lists with vitamin supplements removed. Potato seems to be the most likely culprit here. My old theory was she was allergic to chicken, but after feeding so much chicken-free food, I am fairly convinced it's not that.

*Evo Salmon & Herring - Least itchy*

Herring, Salmon Meal, Herring Meal, Peas, Salmon, Eggs, Herring Oil, Pea Fiber, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavor, Apples, Carrots, Cottage Cheese, Dried Chicory Root, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate.


*Orijen Six Fish (old formula) - A little itchy*

Bonless salmon, salmon meal, herring meal, boneless herring, boneless walleye, russet potato, sweet potato, peas, salmon oil, boneless lake whitefish, sun-cured alfalfa, boneless flounder, bonless northern pike, pea fiber, organic kelp, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summor savory, rosemary.


*Annamaet Aqualuk - Most itchy*

Salmon Meal, Potato, Field Peas, Herring Meal, Tapioca, Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E)), Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach, Natural Flavor, Lecithin, Canola Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Cranberries, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Oligofructose, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Kelp Meal.


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## Tuco (Jun 16, 2013)

You can try a raw feeding trial


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Your dog's scratching has nothing to do with the food. Potato is not an allergen. It is very low in protein and has never been observed as an allergen. More than likely your dog's itching is due to an environmental issue. Feeding one food for a few days and noticing the dog is scratching is not a way to determine anything. It is interesting that Evo has added glucosamine and chondroitin as these are not permitted in pet food in the United States, and neither is Pea Fiber, Marigold or Licorice in Orijen.

Try brushing your dog with a Zoom Groom everyday on a bath in a mild vinegar solution. I bet that helps. It is not the food.

The other thing is that Frontline has lost its effectiveness in some parts of the country. You may want to try Advantix or Seresto collar.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

Bumper1 said:


> Your dog's scratching has nothing to do with the food. Potato is not an allergen. It is very low in protein and has never been observed as an allergen. More than likely your dog's itching is due to an environmental issue. Feeding one food for a few days and noticing the dog is scratching is not a way to determine anything. It is interesting that Evo has added glucosamine and chondroitin as these are not permitted in pet food in the United States, and neither is Pea Fiber, Marigold or Licorice in Orijen.
> 
> Try brushing your dog with a Zoom Groom everyday on a bath in a mild vinegar solution. I bet that helps. It is not the food.
> 
> The other thing is that Frontline has lost its effectiveness in some parts of the country. You may want to try Advantix or Seresto collar.


I beg to differ. Potato can indeed, be an allergen. My westie mix, Maddie's allergies go over the edge when she gets a kibble with potato in it. She does best on California Natural Salmon and Peas. She also has environmental allergies, in addition to several food allergies, and this kibble is one of the only one that works (no grains, no chicken, no egg, no alfalfa, no rosemary, no potato). When it comes back on the market, I'll be buying it again. Fortunately, the last time I bought some (pre-recall), I bought a large bag and divided it into gallon sized freezer bags and froze them, so I still have a couple left.

Another kibble you can try is Back to Basics grain free high protein Pork - no potato in it either and very limited ingredient - lots of meat and organs in this food.


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## domika (Jul 1, 2012)

Bumper1 said:


> It is interesting that Evo has added glucosamine and chondroitin as these are not permitted in pet food in the United States, and neither is Pea Fiber, Marigold or Licorice in Orijen.


Please show me where you found that Pea Fiber is not permitted in pet food in the US. Because there are a whole lot of companies breaking this "rule" then.


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## pj530i (Jun 6, 2013)

Bumper1 said:


> Your dog's scratching has nothing to do with the food. Potato is not an allergen. It is very low in protein and has never been observed as an allergen. More than likely your dog's itching is due to an environmental issue. Feeding one food for a few days and noticing the dog is scratching is not a way to determine anything. It is interesting that Evo has added glucosamine and chondroitin as these are not permitted in pet food in the United States, and neither is Pea Fiber, Marigold or Licorice in Orijen.
> 
> Try brushing your dog with a Zoom Groom everyday on a bath in a mild vinegar solution. I bet that helps. It is not the food.
> 
> The other thing is that Frontline has lost its effectiveness in some parts of the country. You may want to try Advantix or Seresto collar.


Interesting. I would certainly be pleased if the new food was not the problem. That would mean I don't have $39 of unusable food sitting around. I switched to Orijen Adult on friday and her eye is just about back to normal and she isn't itching as much. So either it was the food or it was some other thing that is clearing itself up. Maybe in a few days I will switch back to the Annamaet and see if the red/watery eyes return.

I brush her every day and give baths with oatmeal shampoo on occasion, but that doesn't seem to make any difference on how much she does or doesn't itch.

I've heard that frontline isn't effective in some areas, so I may switch when I run out. I've never seen any fleas on her, though, and she's mostly white so you'd think they would be pretty visible if she had them.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Maybe the kelp? I noticed that both of the "itchy" foods have kelp and Evo doesn't. Or, yeah, could be the potatoes.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Personally, when reading and comparing the lists I was looking for a common ingredient... All 3 are fish based and all 3 contain herring meal and salmon meal. Also there are 2 potatoe types listed in the 2nd food brand and only 1 listed in the third where you've written your pup is most itchy. 

Do you still feed the same amount of food when switching brands or do you go by the guidelines on the package? 

It could be a food allergy, but it could also be many other things... grass, dust, pollen... We've just had to take our dog into the vet for a bacterial skin infection - could be something like that too.


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## pj530i (Jun 6, 2013)

BostonBullMama said:


> Personally, when reading and comparing the lists I was looking for a common ingredient... All 3 are fish based and all 3 contain herring meal and salmon meal. Also there are 2 potatoe types listed in the 2nd food brand and only 1 listed in the third where you've written your pup is most itchy.
> 
> Do you still feed the same amount of food when switching brands or do you go by the guidelines on the package?
> 
> It could be a food allergy, but it could also be many other things... grass, dust, pollen... We've just had to take our dog into the vet for a bacterial skin infection - could be something like that too.


I believe sweet potato is different enough from white potato that you can be allergic to one and not the other. It's hard to judge the amount of something in the final product based on the ingredients list, so it's possible that the Orijen and Annamaet have the same amount of potato. In that case it would probably have to be another common ingredient like the kelp, or something not at all related to her food.

I follow the guidelines on whatever I'm currently feeding, but it always ends up being around 2 cups a day


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Sweet potato is completely different from white potato, they just have part of the same common name is all. Sweet potato is from the Convolvulaceae family which contains plants like morning glory and potato comes from the Solanaceae family which contains tomato, pepper and petunias. Both are in the same order though, Solanales. 

I'd bet on the white potato being the problem. Max's sardine reaction cleared up very rapidly once I realized the problem and it returns just as rapidly. Not sure I would play with adding potato to a food that works though as a 'leaky gut' might cause a reaction to the good food. And it is also possible that the form of the potato is a problem. Sassy had an allergic reaction to chicken and rice kibble but was better on home cooked chicken and rice. I suspect there was some sort of contaminant present in one of the processed ingredients of the kibble that didn't happen in home cooked food made of less processed ingredients. Sure wish I had a clue as to what that could be. Mites? Bacterial toxin? Fungal toxin? Just don't know.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

domika said:


> Please show me where you found that Pea Fiber is not permitted in pet food in the US. Because there are a whole lot of companies breaking this "rule" then.


I have the AAFCO list and the latest official pronouncement that "pea fiber", "pea protein", "potato protein", "pea starch", "potato starch", "Marigold", "Pork Protein", among others must be removed from all foods. Also, in 2014 requirement the maximum calcium that will be allowed is 1.80%. 

Added Glucosamine and Chondroitin are not permitted either but are tolerated so long as the food is not "All Life Stages".

The pet food companies use some of these terms to mislead people, because "pea protein" for example is nothing more than a vegetable digest but made chemically with lye and hydrochloric acid. "Animal Digest" which people hate is actually a natural process, ironic right?


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

It's because pea protein, pea fiber, etc are not explicitly defined by aafco. I think there was a future bill to outlaw the use of these descriptors. Now what that specifically means, I'm not sure. It could simply mean that all pea fiber, pea protein, pea starch, pea flour, get lumped together as peas.

Glucosamine and chondroitin in food is pretty much pure marketing since there is not enough to have any actual affect. Similarly, probiotics and enzymes in food are questionable since the heat from the kibbling process will pretty much destroy them.

As for 'Animal Digest', it's pretty much just chemically treated meat.
Animal Digest - material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and un-decomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

zhaor said:


> It's because pea protein, pea fiber, etc are not explicitly defined by aafco. I think there was a future bill to outlaw the use of these descriptors. Now what that specifically means, I'm not sure. It could simply mean that all pea fiber, pea protein, pea starch, pea flour, get lumped together as peas.
> 
> Glucosamine and chondroitin in food is pretty much pure marketing since there is not enough to have any actual affect. Similarly, probiotics and enzymes in food are questionable since the heat from the kibbling process will pretty much destroy them.
> 
> ...


Animal Digest is treated with enzymes not lye and hydrochloric acid. If they are allowed to stay at all, they will be called what they are.

Pea Protein ='s "Vegetable Digest", "Pea Digest", "Chemical Precipitant Protein of Peas"

As of now, neither of these are allowed in the foods.

Marigold for example has one approved use in animal food, and that is a coloring for chicken feed. It is expressly prohibited for any other purpose.

I have seen "grape seed extract" and some other botanical in foods that are expressly prohibited for animals, and not even GRAS.

How companies get away with this is beyond me.


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

Bumper1 said:


> I have the AAFCO list and the latest official pronouncement that "pea fiber", "pea protein", "potato protein", "pea starch", "potato starch", "Marigold", "Pork Protein", among others must be removed from all foods. Also, in 2014 requirement the maximum calcium that will be allowed is 1.80%.
> 
> Added Glucosamine and Chondroitin are not permitted either but are tolerated so long as the food is not "All Life Stages".
> 
> The pet food companies use some of these terms to mislead people, because "pea protein" for example is nothing more than a vegetable digest but made chemically with lye and hydrochloric acid. "Animal Digest" which people hate is actually a natural process, ironic right?


Please take the stupid plant protein out of there!!! Allaluyah!! I didn't know that was going to be a new requirement but yay! 


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## pj530i (Jun 6, 2013)

Little update..

After her eyes cleared up and the itching mostly went away, I switched her back to the Annamaet and so far the symptoms have not returned. That was 3 or 4 days ago now, so the food being the cause of whatever happened seems unlikely.


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