5 Things I Do to Reduce Rodrigo's Allergy Symptoms
1. Feed a Fresh Food Diet - I transitioned Rodrigo to raw when he was three years old. Today, at twelve, he eats a homecooked diet with raw mixed in - he'll eat a raw meal sometimes, but his diet is mostly cooked.
This week, he's eating a beef roast (shredded) mixed with Dr. Harvey's Paradigm, Xkalibur by GreenTripe.com (raw), and eggs (raw). Once it's all mixed together, he doesn't pick up on any of the raw in his meal.
2. Know the Signs of Allergies - over the years, I've learned that Rodrigo primarily suffers from allergies in the spring and fall so I start focusing more on gut health and keeping inflammation at bay in February and September.
3. Focus on Gut Health - Rodrigo has always had issues with his gut, which is probably why he has allergies. Once I started working on his gut health, his immune system became stronger and his allergy symptoms decreased.
I prefer whole foods to supplements and add fermented fish bone broth, kefir, raw goat's milk, rabbit feet (the fur adds fiber to the diet), and pureed vegetables (adds fiber to the diet and feeds the gut microbiome).
Because we have so many pets (four dogs, one cat), we sweep the floors daily and clean them every other day. This has helped reduce the amount of pet hair, pollen, and dust floating around the house, which has helped us and Rodrigo.
5. WINPRO Allergies & CBD Oil - I was introduced to WINPRO when they came out with a joint supplement. It changed Sydney's life - she went from struggling to stand to running outside with her siblings after 48 hours on their supplement. Today, all of my dogs are on their joint supplements and
Rodrigo gets their allergy
supplement.
CBD Dog Health has a formula for dogs with Allergies. I use EASE for Rodrigo and Scout because this formula is great for reducing inflammation. And inflammation is a symptom of allergies (and canine lymphoma).
PRO TIP: If you purchase supplements from WINPRO, they'll send you postcards with discount codes. I save them so that I can purchase supplements when there isn't a sale going on. If I don't need the discount code, I share it with my Patreon supporters and newsletter subscribers).
What About Prescription Medication?
My friend and podcast cohost, Cathy, has a dog that is on prescription medicine for allergies. Her dog's allergies are severe and she's tried everything and only the prescription medication works for him.
When I was new to raw feeding, I was convinced that diet could cure everything until I began meeting people who fed raw, but their dog still attracted fleas, their dog still had allergies, and their dog still developed cancer.
Diet isn't a cure all. Neither is CBD oil.
So, if you've tried everything and your dog is still miserable, then please contact your vet for relief. And continue doing research because there may be a solution for your dog and the prescription medication will give your dog a break until you find that solution.
I try to keep things as simple as possible because it's easier on my dogs and my wallet. The following items help to keep Rodrigo's allergy symptoms at bay...
On my last email, I talked about Rotational Mono Feeding and I'm reading a lot of testimonials that this diet has cured allergies in several of the dogs in the group. Fingers crossed that Rodrigo has the same positive experience.
