How Sarah found out her dog was allergic to Kangaroo

Sarah and Chloe the Cocker Spaniel came together by fate. Best buds since the moment they laid eyes on each other, Sarah made it her mission to indulge Chloe in treats that weren’t just delicious, but healthy too. But much to her surprise, Sarah encountered an unexpected hurdle when her pooch developed an allergy to a meat protein she never would have suspected. 

Read on for how Sarah discovered her doggie was allergic to kangaroo, the most hypoallergenic of meats. Also – the best way to throw your dog a birthday party? Sarah got it covered.

How did you meet Chloe? How did you know she was the dog for you? 

I got Chloe as a puppy and I actually like to refer to her as my fate dog!

I had wanted a dog for a long time, but there were always reasons why it wasn’t the right time. I am of the opinion that getting a dog should be less about the fact that, I the owner wants one, and more about what kind of life I want to offer my dog. I had finally reached a stage in my life where I had a stable job, stable home and I believed that I could offer a dog what I thought she would deserve. 

However, I suffer from anxiety and was struggling to make the decision. I had emailed a few breeders and was getting information about them. Unbeknownst to me, I had been placed on to a waiting list of a fantastic breeder. One day, the breeder called me out of the blue and said: “I have a puppy for you if you are still interested”. I summoned up all my courage. “Yes, I am!” 

I did not choose Chloe: fate chose her for me and she is completely perfect for me in every way! She came into my life at a time when I really needed her company. She is, without doubt, one of the most confident dogs I have ever met, inspiring me to be more confident. She loves being outside as often as possible, just like me. And she is incredibly calm for a young dog and that is just a perfect fit for me. 

How did you find out she was allergic to kangaroo?

Chloe started having roo ribs when she was around 6 months old. She loved them and she tolerated them at that point. She would sometimes get an upset stomach, but I found it difficult to associate it with kangaroo. 

When she was a bit older I got her 2 Kangaroo Tails. I gave her the first one and she loved it so much! The next day she had some diarrhoea. It was worse than it had been in the past, but at that point she’d been getting an upset stomach from time to time so I wasn’t too concerned.

I waited a couple of days and then gave her the second. Once again she loved it! The next day was when all hell broke loose. She started with diarrhoea, then began vomiting and then even developed blood in her diarrhoea. So I rushed her to the vet, thinking the worst.

The vet advised me that if I suspected a food was causing the allergy, that giving her a small amount of that food would be a good way to confirm so that I know what to avoid in future. I wasn’t 100% sure it was the Kangaroo, but that was my best guess, as it was the most significant difference in her diet whenever she got sick.

a quick message to all people – don’t give dogs treats without asking their owner!

I waited 3 weeks to make sure all the inflammation would have passed, and then I gave her a small amount of Kangaroo jerky. Sure enough, the next day she had diarrhoea! Not enough to make her very ill again, but enough for me to know that Kangaroo was the culprit.  

Another unfortunate way that this was confirmed was when we were at some markets, and a stall owner offered Chloe a Kangaroo Jerky treat without asking. Of course, Chloe ate it too fast for me to do anything about it - which also caused diarrhoea. So a quick message to all people, don’t give dogs treats without asking their owner!

What type of diet do you feed Chloe?

Chloe is on a predominantly raw diet. For her meals she eats a combination of frozen raw complete + balanced patties, air + freeze dried raw food, and a small amount of high-quality kibble.

For treats she gets a large variety, some are raw, others aren’t. All food that I feed her is made by Australian or New Zealand companies. That’s something that’s very important to me! I do this not only for quality purposes, but also to support local businesses!

What are Chloe’s favourite treats? 

Chloe loves dried meat products best – bully sticks, jerky and freeze-dried meat treats are some of her favourites! She also loves fruit: her two favourites are watermelon and blueberries. She goes crazy when I get them out of the fridge! 

She can be a little fussy, often turning her nose up when I offer her dog biscuits. 

Chloe just turned one! How did you celebrate?  

I actually can’t believe she’s one! Time has flown by so fast! 

Chloe is a very spoiled girl so finding new ways to make sure the day was special for her was a challenge. We went to another dog’s birthday celebration a few months earlier where they had bought a dog cake from Woof Gateau and shared it around. Chloe LOVED it, so I knew I needed to get her one of those for her birthday.

I wanted to get her best dog friends together and planned on doing it at the beach: however sadly it was raining on her birthday! So we made the decision to have the dogs over to our place. It was absolute chaos (our place isn’t large) but Chloe had the best time. The dogs played for a good 2 or 3 hours and had some cake which they all loved so much. 

 And when the other dogs left, Chloe slept for the rest of the day. She was exhausted from all the fun!