How long should it take for switching dog food to stop hair loss due to allergies?

So my dog has lost a disturbing amount of hair. We took him to the vet and she said it looked like mange but the blood work came back negative. Then the vet said it was most likely an allergy to poultry. We switched to dog food with no poultry but it's been about two months and there is still no improvement. Should I wait longer to see improvement or insist that my vet send the blood work to be re-tested?

Poultry? Really? I'm surprised that a veterinarian did not suggest a corn, wheat, or soy allergy first. Switch to a dog food that does not contain corn, wheat, or soy and see if she improves. Allergy symptoms should subside within a week.Corn is the second most common allergy in dogs.

To detect mange a Vet will take a skin scraping & put it under a microscope to see if there are mites. There are two mites that cause mange one is sarcoptic the other is demodex. It cannot be detected by blood work.The change in food should be showing results with in 2 to 4 months.With allergies it may be a matter of trying one thing for 6 months & if things haven't changed I would look around the home to see if she is allergic to something there, Many are allergic to grasses (lawns). Some galvanized metals & fencing, some times it is just any kind of grain,A process of elimination may have to be your route to find out what is causing the hair lose.canine allergieshttp://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AmoKbUGJPD1GI1RMqRK9SGcazKIX;_ylv=3?search=canine+allergies&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3B_ylt%3DAmoKbUGJPD1GI1RMqRK9SGcazKIX%3B_ylv%3D3&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAtkLnxVHEbAZAkyOQMFXy.QazKIX%3B_ylv%3D0%2FSIG%3D121nv96ft%2FEXP%3D1280355562%2F*-http%253A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=canine+allergies

I'm not sure what food your dog is on, but I do know that Nutro is one of the only foods that guarantees healthy skin and coat. And that with their food it takes 7 weeks to notice a difference. Nutro has some of the highest levels of essential fatty acids (Omega 3 & 6) on the market. These fatty acids help pormote healthy skin and a shiny coat. Also Nutro does not use any ground yellow corn (filler and allergen) in ther products. No by-products (heads, feet, intestines, etc). And there are no artificial colors or flavors. I would try putting your pup on the Venison Meal & Whole Brown Rice formula found in the Natural Choice line. All of their foods are 100% guaranteed. So if you don't see a difference in that 7 weeks, return the bag (with your receipt) and get your money back.

I'm not a neutro sales person, just a person with a medical degree. Dogs are usually allergic to one of the following. Beef, chicken, lamb, dairy. Allergies to carbohydrate sources like wheat, corn, etc. are more rare. It takes 8 weeks at a minimum to see a change. I would consider one of the royal canin limited antigen diets like Venison and Potato, Iams Kangaroo and Oatmeal, or Hills ZD for a serious food allergy. Also, don't forget that heartgard, sentinel, interceptor and all other ORAL heart worm medications OR treats can also set off allergies. Feed baby carrots or special allergy treats. Most food allergy diets fail because owners won't get the correct food or they slip the dog treats with other ingredients. See www.veterinarypartner.com for more information.