It’s hard to believe that Kip, my wire-haired vizsla is now two years old. The last couple of years have flown by. It seems like no time at all since we picked up our gorgeous ball of fluff. Now she’s all grown up but still a gorgeous ball of fluff. The only difference is that she is much bigger and there is much more fluff. Kip is a very hairy and very, very gorgeous wire-haired vizsla. She is my little best buddy but her life so far hasn’t all been plain sailing. When she was about nine months old, we discovered she had a food allergy and realised she needed a special grain and gluten-free diet.
That sounds simple because lots of dog food and treats claim to be gluten-free. But often, the manufacturer’s claims are wrong.
Since I have coeliac disease, I have to read the ingredient labels of every food or drink that I want to eat or drink. Labelling laws for food that’s for human consumption are excellent. But, as far as I am aware, there are no similar laws for pet food. Some manufacturers do include an ingredient list on dog food and treats, but some companies don’t declare all ingredients. And some call their food or treats gluten-free or hypoallergenic when they’re not. This has led to Kip having sores on her body.
Why Our Wire-Haired Vizsla Needs a Gluten-Free Diet
Just like eating a gluten-free diet isn’t a choice for me, it also isn’t a choice for my gorgeous wire-haired vizsla.
When she was about 9 months old, we noticed that Kip had spots on her belly. They were small red bumps that turned into horrible black scabs. Initially, we phoned the vet and were advised to wash her body with salt water. They didn’t go away so we took her to see the vet. The vet thought the spots were related to a pollen allergy and treated her with steroids and a steroid-based cream. It was October and we couldn’t understand a pollen allergy at that time of year but we went along with this plan.
The treatment worked. Her skin was clear and we were happy. But within a few weeks, the spots were back and they were worse than before. As well as having spots on her belly, she had some along her back and one nasty one on her head. So we had to go back to our vet. This time, the vet ruled out a pollen allergy and suggested it was more likely to be a food allergy. They gave us more steroids for Kip and told us to try hypoallergenic food.
Hypoallergenic Food is Not Cheap
So we went off to the bank and asked for a loan. Okay, I’m joking about that. But, honestly, hypoallergenic dog food is incredibly expensive. My own food shopping bill increased significantly when I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. Kip’s food bill rose dramatically.
The first food we tried (Dr John’s hypoallergenic food) was fairly reasonably priced. It was available at our local agricultural shop so we were able to get her started on her new food straight away. Her spots quickly started to clear up so we thought we’d hit the jackpot. But we hadn’t. The spots had only cleared up thanks to the steroid treatment. They soon started to come back.
So it was back to the drawing board. We really didn’t want her to get another course of steroids and thankfully, the spots didn’t seem to irritate her so we tried to figure out the food issue ourselves. I looked at the ingredient list on the bag. One of the ingredients was barley. Since I have coeliac disease, I knew that barley contains gluten which made me wonder if Kip actually had a gluten intolerance.
I started searching for other hypoallergenic food. So many of them stated that they were wheat gluten-free, but on further checking, they also contained barley. Then I found Autarky dog food. It was fairly reasonably priced compared to some foods and both the fish and turkey recipes were hypoallergenic, grain and wheat gluten-free. The company listed every ingredient in the food so I felt safe with that.
Kip loved her new food. Since she’d had no steroids to clear up her skin, her spots did take some time to clear up but eventually her skin was clear.
Gluten-Free Doggy Treats
Once we knew her food was no longer an issue, I wanted to find some doggy treats for her. Dogs need treats, don’t they?
I found little biscuit treats easily. Burns and Paw Originals make grain and gluten-free treats. She loved them and had no issues.
I Had to Be Choosey About Chews
I came across a big tub of beef-flavoured chews – Chomping Chews, made by Webbox, which was advertised as gluten-free so I bought them.
But her spots started to come back again. I was scratching my head trying to figure out why. Everything she was eating was supposedly gluten-free. Well, not quite, I did discover that she’d eaten half a packet of Ian’s biscuits one day when we weren’t looking. Oh, and she likes to hoover up crumbs. And some of those crumbs come from my hubby and they contain gluten. I keep telling her to leave the hoovering to Dyson but she is very competitive and likes to get there first.
Dogs will be dogs and this dog doesn’t understand that her Dad’s biscuits are bad for her. We were extra, extra careful and tried to stop her from eating the slightest crumb but the spots continued. So I was scratching my head again. I decided to write to the companies that manufactured her food and treats and I eventually found the answer.
The Chews Were Not Gluten-Free
The beefy chews that she loved…the chews which are sold as gluten-free actually contained barley. They are not gluten-free at all.
I was really angry when I discovered this but at the same time, thankful that I had found out the cause. Poor Kip…she loved those chews but I couldn’t let her eat them. I asked the company to change the product description on their website but they didn’t. I also wrote to Trading Standards about it but didn’t get a reply.
Thankfully my little Kip is as bouncy and happy as ever and hopefully, we are on the right road now. Kip’s skin often looked really nasty due to her food allergy but some dogs can have even more serious reactions. I would hate to think that people buy these chews for their dogs when they are not safe.
Kip Is an Adorable Dog
I could talk about Kip all day. The wire-haired vizsla breed of dogs has earned the nickname “velcro dogs” and I know why. My little bestie is so loving and likes to be as close as possible to us, like glue. She is very cuddly and is so loving. She is also funny and makes us laugh regularly throughout the day.
When she was a puppy, I was almost tearing out my hair because she was always stealing things. Screwdrivers, towels, a toilet brush (new, thankfully!), socks, Tesco vouchers…you name it, she stole it. Two years later, thankfully, I still have my hair.
Instead of stealing screwdrivers and the like, she now prefers to play with her own toys. However, she doesn’t have many as she is a chewer and has destroyed most of them. I have discovered two toys which (so far) she hasn’t managed to destroy – Rosewood Jolly Doggy bone and ball. She has so much fun with them and, I have to admit, so have we.
If your dog is a chewer and has destroyed all their toys, I would definitely recommend these.
Thank you so much for reading.
If this post resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
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Take care,
Liz.
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I hope everything remains on the right path now you have found the right food.
I think pet food should be labelled accordingly like human food. If it was, it would have helped sooner.
I can remember when you first mentioned and my goodness, hasn’t the 2 years flown. It certainly doesn’t feel like 2 years.
I’m hoping we’re on the right track now. The time really has flown by.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aww poor little Kip. I’m glad she has such an attentive mummy & daddy to look after her nom nom needs. It’s always angering how free-from foods are always more expensive. It’s nobody’s fault or choice, as you say, to need gluten-free or diary-free products due to allergies and intolerances. The price of our cat’s regular food has gone up and up during this cost of living nonsense so I’m wincing at just the idea at how costly this might be for Kip’s chow.
It’s shocking that those beefy chews actually had barley. How stupid can they be?! Did it say on the packet they contain barley? They can’t advertise as no barley on the website, and gluten-free for the product generally, for them to actually contain gluten. It’s not just stupidly irresponsible, it’s dangerous. Well done for writing to Trading Standards but it’s very disheartening to hear they didn’t even bother to reply. Shame on them. And shame on that brand.
I’m glad you still have your hair, Liz. Make sure that Rosewood Jolly Doggy bone doesn’t get destroyed otherwise you can kiss goodbye to that hair 😂 xx
It really is eye-wateringly expensive. She’s worth every penny, but seriously, I wish we didn’t have to buy special food for her.
I am also disappointed that Trading Standards didn’t even send me a courtesy reply.
I am glad I still have my hair too. I have to admit that there were times when I thought I would lose it all in one day. But really, she is such a good dog now. And those toys seem to be indestructible.