diet - Allergies - ear infections

After the recent and tragic loss of Winston due to diabetes caused by drugs administered to control an ear infection, I felt this post was critically important right now. One of the factors that started this ultimately fatal and tragic end of life, at only 5 years of age, was diet. The owner is not at fault as the food he was fed was what is recommended by many to be a quality food. Royal Canin and Science Diet. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE BRANDS, however. As we look at the ingredients listing on each bran in this video (below) you will learn why.

But before you watch the video, here are some quick tips to summarize:

LOOK ON THE BACK OF THE DOG FOOD BAGS. STUDY THE INGREDIENTS LIST.
1) Avoid foods with wheat, corn, soy, artificial preservatives, molds (any box store food that you find at a pet store is made to stay on shelves for extended time periods -- you're going to encounter mold eventually).
2) Look for foods with #1 ingredient as meat. (Not byproduct or meal, but actual meat).
We advise alternating proteins to avoid developing food allergies -- if you got chicken, next time get lamb, or duck, or beef, or turkey etc. That's why you need a brand that provides lots of LIMITED INGREDIENT options.
3) Administer a daily vitamin. We recommend NuVet. We like the powder version and we sprinkle it over each pugs' breakfast.
4) Administer fish oil daily. We give one squirt for each pug over their breakfast.
5) Bath your pug weekly or biweekly.
6) Clean your pug's ears regularly (check daily, and clean as needed).

Pawtree fits all these requirements. Pawtree was recommended to us by a holistic vet when we were dealing with allergies with a pug, and subsequent ear infections. It took about 4 months to see the difference. The food is always fresh -- made in small batches -- and they have never had a recall.

Even with the perfect diet, it is true that there will indeed be some pugs who tend to be "yeastier". While some pugs never seem to need their nose or ears cleaned, there will be others whose nose folds and ears will need cleaning almost daily (with unscented baby wipe -- gently; for ears, we recommend pawTree ear cleaner or one your vet recommends.) These pugs are more prone to developing allergies. Often, if you do the allergy test, these pugs are allergic to something like dirt (yes!) or grass or pollens which, quite honestly, are too hard to prevent. In these situations, we recommend a cytopoint shot which your vet can administer. They don't always work, but we have had 100% positive results with the 2 pugs we've owned over the years who have needed it. We try to stretch it out over several months but sometimes, (seasonal allergies in Fall especially) it really would be more effective if administered monthly. (No meds, though, that can harm them and cause diabetes and damaged liver! Plus the hassle of administering the pills themselves.)

If you're lucky, you can rule out a food allergy with, a) allergy blood work test your vet conducts or b) process of elimination. Again, this is where pawtree is invaluable because they offer so many varieties of limited ingredient choices -- beef, duck, trout, chicken, lamb, turkey etc.

PawTree was actually developed by vets specifically with allergies in mind.

The pug breed, as a breed, is prone to allergies. So, make life simple and just use pawtree. But, if you want to make your own decisions, read the labels as this video explains further.