special diet dog food

Duck is not "better" than chix or lamb. And potatoes aren't really much "better" than corn, wheat, or rice. The thing is that they are not common ingredients in most pet foods, and therefore there is less of a chance that the dog has had a chance to build up allergies to them.

Although some dogs do have actual problems with the protein source/ meat it is FAR more likely that her allergies, yeast, etc. (all the things that can lead to icky ears) are being caused by the grains in their normal dog food. Dogs do NOT need grain in their diets.

If it were me, I would immediately put the dog on a completely grain-free diet. I would go raw- aside from it being healthier I find it MUCH easier, but there are grain-free cooked recipes out there. When cutting out grains, this also means don't feed any dog treats that have grains in them.

She should start with a single protein source (chicken or pork or duck or lamb, etc but only one of them) for the first two weeks or so and see if things improve. If they do not, then try two more weeks with a different meat, but again only that one. Remain grain-free. When things get better then you know you have found a "safe" meat.

Then start introducing other meats one at a time and look for recurrence of problems. Remain grain-free. If there are problems then you know the newly introduced protein source is to blame so put it on the no-no list. Continue this until you've figured out which meats you can use.

If she continues to have problems after trying a couple of different meats, then she should look for other possible causes- supplements, grooming products, environmental allergens, etc.

Not sure what position friend is in financially but I would HIGHLY recommend finding a holistic veterinarian preferably one who is also has specialized in nutrition, member of American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition, etc.

Well, I actually kind of like Royal Canin--they really do try hard to have true single-ingredient foods (the duck and potato is just duck and potato and vitamins) and they can help people who won't switch to raw and have very allergic dogs.

Can you give some background on the dog--age, weight, other problems? What are they eating right now?

She can switch to a raw diet for them very easily. Here's the simplest version: Find raw animal pieces with a substantial portion of chewable bone inside them (if she wants to do duck, duck necks and carcasses--whole duck with all the good parts like breast and legs cut off, so it's basically a meaty skeleton--or backs would be great) and give them to the dogs in their crates or on the deck or outside so the dogs won't bother her with the mess they make.

She doesn't have to worry about veggies or vitamins for at least a few weeks; let them get used to the meaty bones first.

Hmmm. Well, her dog is about 7 months old. She bought him from a pet store, and when she took him to the vet he told her that the dog seemed to be the product of a puppy mill. She has spent quite a lot on this dog already, mostly on his ears. She was feeding him Eukanuba (sp?). He is large for a pug, or so she says, but I am not sure how much he weighs. He was recently nutered and is crate trained. Other than poor behavior modification on the owners part (I love her, but her dogs are brats!), he seems to be a bright, happy dog.

You can give dogs a whole bit of duck? I have always heard that dogs can choke on bird bones (and other bones as well). Anyhow, she has carpet thoughout her house, so I doubt that giving the dog a carcass is an option.

I am not sure how available duck is, I have never bought it! Do you think if she just cut out grains and fed (insert something more available) that his ears would improve?

I realize I typed "canine" instead of "Canin" inthe above post... oops! My fingers want to add an "e"!