Do You Have a Unicorn?

𝗜𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲... 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀.

The last few years have shown dog parents focusing on a lot of variety and protein rotation - more than ever before. Am I the only one who thinks it's time to rethink this strategy for avoiding food intolerance? It's clearly not working! There's a balance between feeding some variety and feeding every single protein you have access to!

I can't magically create new foods when a dog shows sensitivity to every protein available. So what are these dogs supposed to eat? Trying to work on gut health while a dog is in a high state of inflammation is unlikely to be successful. If it was a simple matter of feeding a novel protein, people would've seen some progress before connecting with me. Introducing novel proteins during a time of high reactivity increases the odds that you are sacrificing a protein to try later.

People are being scared away from meds such as apoquel which could give their poor dog some relief. Sometimes meds are needed as a temporary measure whether it's seasonally or during a big flare up.

When dogs are unable to enjoy walks, meals, engage in their fave activities, and can't sleep because they are so incredibly itchy - why not consider meds? I'm quite sure we would do it for ourselves!! Once inflammation calms, develop a strategic plan which includes gut support.

No amount of bone broth and probiotics are going to help severely affected dogs with this degree of food reactivity. This is also when hydrolyzed foods (another helpful approach that gets targeted) can be a good option to consider. When you've tried various proteins and elimination diets with no success, hydrolyzed food can give many dogs relief. You know that fresh foods are my number one choice - but there are times when we need a different strategy for the dog's sake. I consider it a temporary measure with the goal to reintroduce fresh foods at some point - timeline depending on the individual dog.

The shaming/superiority and scaring people that their dog will get cancer from these drugs or shaming people who consider hydrolyzed foods, means dogs who have a very poor quality of life continue to scratch themselves to the point of creating bacterial infections and ... more meds, and the cycle continues.

Is it important to know potential side effects (short term and long term) of any drug - of course! You always need to weigh the pros and cons. Not every dog may be a candidate - discuss all your options with your vet and also consider a consult with a dermatologist.

𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗴, 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲.

𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆..