Hi I wonder if one of You wise souls out there could advise me how I can make sure my Golden Retreavor Lucy never has to eat another Pork product ever again.I have looked on tins of food and dried foods and it says meat derivatives how do i avoid giving her food that contains traces of Pork? and could someone advice of a suitable food for her.She is 10 month old
chris

Hi Chris
has this been confirmed by your Vet ? If so, can he/she not recommend a food for your dog ?
We are currently on a food trial with Royal canin Hypoallergenic but not sure whether this would be ok for your dog .

Thanks for the replys ,yes my dog has been to the vets after 4 poorly days and he says she is very allergic to pork and shouldn't have it in any circumstances ever in big letters

Has the dog actually tested positive for pork allergy or is this an educated guess?  It is extremely simple to avoide feeding pork by feeding raw.  Please note that just because pork is not mentioned in the ingredients does NOT mean it does not exist in there; also the animal fats may include pork fat.

Hypoallergenic food does not necessarily not contain any of the allergen but it is hydrolysed so that it does not set up a reaction.  Hence its extreme cost!

I gather it's very unusual to find pork in a dogfood, because almost all of a pig is used in human foods. I suppose the only way to be certain that no pork is eaten is to abandon ready-made dog food and prepare her food from scratch yourself.

it may be a good alternative ,I guess you always know what goes into her meals,I just worry about it being balanced enough and her gaining weight thanks for the thought

Have you looked into feeding BARF
lots of people recommend this and have fine healthy dogs.
There should be quite a few past threads in Feeding Section :)

Okay,right I don't much like the thought of raw foods,Guess thats just me.

The allergy to pork well since she was small we have fed her cooked dinners on a sunday which she loves.but it seemed to upset her stomach ,Diarrhoea and being sick in the middle of the night.we didn't really think it was the cooked dinners.she eats everything she comes across.cloth,string leaves etc .
She also had to have a vulva plasty op at 7 month
so we kinda put it down to that why she was getting sick.
we changed her foods thinking they were to rich for her .I had my suspicions it was pork but there were so many other things we put it down to.  However on Thursday teatime we gave her pork left over from our meal .then she got really sick and runny poo's we still weren't definetley sure she wouldn't eat then she would pick up and then down the next day ,then the next day she was up and down,until we took her to the vets she had gastro-enteritious (forgive the spelling) he asked what she'd had and he said when we mentioned the pork thats what had done it. 

Sounds like her diet is not consistent enough, especially for a growing pup. she needs to have a balanced diet. our pup who is 15weeks is on a raw diet and she's looking incredible on it. very shiny coat, sweet breath and full of energy and NO upset tummies. not even once!

Pork is a very rich food and a smallest amount can give bad reactions. Dogs love it but only a minority can handle it, others it will give diaoreah or worse. Try to stick to gluten free and diary diet theres plenty to choose from. If this diet works then great. Also in IMO table scraps are best left either in the bin or used up by humans not dogs especially puppies. They need a constant diet wet or dry thats up to you.

I have never found any problems feeding pork per se to any of my dogs or anyone else who feeds pork having any problems with it.  That is not to say of course that some dogs may be intolerant/allergic to it as can any living thing to any item. 

Variety in the diet is one of the factors that prevent allergies forming as it is constant exposure to particular proteins that triggers allergies in many cases although there are of course those that are born intolerant/allergic to some products as it is an auto immune condition.

If you have found a definite cause for your dog's problems then obviously avoid it, however be aware that coincidence can often lead to misleading cause and effects being concluded.

Good Luck

Burns has been mentioned on here as a good natural dry food.

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/

I don't think any of their products have pork in but you could email them to check. :)

Kath.

My friend has just tried her dogs on burns (she was told it was good ) although she generally feeds a natural/barf diet and her dogs have come down with colitis. She went to Burns trade stand at crufts to ask about their 'holistic' meal and whether it was approved by the Holistic Society. She was told by the person on the stand that no such thing as the Holistic Society existed. However IT DOES. The Holistic Society is a body that tests meals and where the ingredients come from and then if suitable passes them as Holistic and the bags of meal are then stamped 'approved by the Hollistic Society'.  Pork and meat Derivatives are contained in a lot of complete foods so I think you should consider a natural/barf diet in order to avoid excessive vets bills

Hi, :)

Have you got any info on the Holistic Society? I've just searched for ages on Google and can't find anything.

Kath.

Hiya Kath, this might be what your looking for :)

[link]British Association of Holistic Nutrition & Medicine[/link]

Christine, Spain.

Thanks Christine. :)

Kath.

Hi,

Have you tried naturediet?  Its a moist complete food that comes in a plastic carton and contains only human grade meat, rice and veggies.  it contains no artificial additives or preservatives and on their website they state that they never use pork or beef in their product.  its worth a try, most dogs love it.

HTH

Linda

Just to add, you cannot buy naturediet in supermarkets but you can get it at pets at home or pet world in focus diy stores or most pet shops.

Linda

Thanks for everyones suggestions ,i was going to feed lucy Burns,but after visiting my local vets .He makes his own dried foods made from Chicken fish and brown rice it's called Filapet.she really loves it.So i am going to try this out for a while,she is looking better already.
Thanks everyone again
chris