Does your pet have food allergies? Does your dog have constant diarrhea no matter what food you try? Does your cat suffer from chronic sneezing or asthma? Is your pet always scratching or have constant ear infections? Your pet may have a food allergy. At Williston Park Animal Hospital we can help manage your pet’s allergy without a prescription diet. Keep reading to see how we can help.
Williston Park Animal Hospital’s Dr. Hardoon tells the story about her own dogs, two of which have food allergies. “When my now 13 year old dog was a puppy he had diarrhea no matter what food he ate” says Dr. Hardoon. “At that time the recommendation by my colleagues was to try prescription diet, but we tried every prescription diet and he still had diarrhea; it went away with medication; but as soon as we stopped medication it would come back, and his blood test and stool sample were negative for anything that would cause this. I was not going to keep him on medication for the rest of his life without even knowing what was wrong” she says. This is how Dr. Hardoon’s journey into raw and home cooked diets began. She continues, “I started researching diets and nutrition as the prescription diets and most of the over the counter diets contained a lot of by-products and artificial ingredients, I thought … there must be a more organic and holistic way to feed my dog.” Dr. Hardoon stopped feeding her dog kibble and started by giving him a simple home cooked diet of just a few ingredients to try to figure out if he had a food allergy. “As soon as I removed wheat and corn from his diet – this included all of his treats too – he started having normal stool without any medication”. Now, 13 years later Dr. Hardoon has helped many of her patients overcome food allergies without prescription diets.
“Now I cook for my dogs and also feed them raw food” she says, “My younger dog also has food allergies, but he is allergic to chicken, if he eats any chicken he will have diarrhea, so we try to avoid that, which is sometimes hard when people come over and want to feed him table food.”
Many of Dr. Hardoon’s patients have food allergies that cause diarrhea and vomiting, but some have allergies that cause rashes and itchy skin and others have allergies that cause sneezing and asthma. “Just the other day we had a cat come in who has chronic sneezing, her owner finally switched her diet and the sneezing disappeared. We see things like this all the time, it is amazing how diet effects our bodies. ” While traditional vets may manage your pet with prescription diets, Dr. Hardoon prefers the more natural route. “It may be more of a hassle to cook for your pets or to provide raw food, but it will give them a longer and healthier life.” she says. “I am certified in food therapy now, so we also recommend certain types of food for different conditions based on Traditional Chinese Food Therapy.”
In addition to providing home cooked recipes for your dog Dr. Hardoon and Dr. Miller will also point you in the right direction if you are looking for a better over the counter food for your pet. “Home cooking for your pets or feeding the raw diet is not for everyone, so if we can at least help you choose a better diet for your pet, thats what we are here to do” she says. Dr. Hardoon also cautions “With any pet who is sick, we always recommend a full workup to make sure that it is allergies and not something else, of course we have had some patients who had something more serious going on than a food allergy and required medical treatment; but if the blood tests, fecal tests or other testing is negative, food allergy is the next thing we suspect because it is so common.”
To learn more about finding a healthier diet for your pet and how you can resolve your pet’s food allergies contact Williston Park Animal Hospital at 516-248-1489 to set up an appointment or consultation.