My Go-To Food for Allergy-Prone Pups: Monge Hyppoallergenic Dog Food

Hello everyone! I'm a dog mom to three fur babies, one of whom is a total allergy nightmare. My Shar-Pei, in particular, has a laundry list of allergies - pollen, chicken, yeast, beef, turkey, beetroot pulp, wheat, corn, dust, insects, and many types of shampoos. It's taken us years to find the right grooming products and food through trial and error. The food problem started when they stopped importing Acana to Russia. It was the perfect single-protein food for our pup, but alas, those days are behind us. We've been on the hunt for a decent food for almost a year now to avoid torturing our poor pup.

I'd heard of Monj, but never tried it, although we've tried dozens of other foods from different classes – nothing seemed quite right. I stumbled upon Ozone at my neighbor's doorstep, courtesy of their contactless delivery service. She wasn't home, but I'd walk by their house several times, reading the packaging, and I just had to give it a shot. I asked my neighbor if she'd be willing to share some with us, and she brought over a massive bag of 1-2 kg. We gave it a try, and it worked out, so we've been ordering it for ourselves for over six months now. Let me tell you more about it.

Monge Hyppoallergenic Salmon and Tuna Dog Food

Manufacturer: Italy

Weight: 2.5 kg

Where to buy: on Ozon

Price: 1550 rubles

Packaging. I'm buying the small 2.5kg bags on purpose because the big ones don't have a zipper closure and the food can get exposed to air, and my cat's a bit finicky about that. So, I order the smaller packs every 5-7 days.

One thing I noticed is that you can order more bags if there's a discount available, and the expiration date is printed on the front of the bag, which is about 1.5 years. Plus, they always send a fresh batch.I'm really glad they included a zipper closure - even after daily use, the zipper still works smoothly. We had issues with another brand's product, where the zipper would start to malfunction after just a few uses.It's worth noting that the product is actually made in Italy, and I verified this by checking the barcode. Ingredients.

IngredientsThe ingredient mix is spot on for allergy sufferers. It starts with rice, which we were on during a severe allergy episode – our dog wouldn't touch the plain rice, but he was familiar with the ingredient. Next up is 20% marine fish, which is a great indicator. Brewer's yeast didn't trigger any allergies, and online research suggests it actually improves skin and coat health. The 8v1 formula already includes special vitamins with brewer's yeast, and here they are in the mix. Instead of beet pulp, the manufacturer uses beetroot puree. The minerals, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids make for a rich and good ingredient list – even with the high rice content, this is a great food.When it comes to nutritional value, we've got 24% protein and 12% fat – a perfect ratio for Shar-Peis.

Texture. Color. Smell. I'm blown away here – this is the best-smelling food we've ever bought. The fish aroma is like walking into a seafood restaurant – it smells like a delicacy.

The kibbles are a medium size and triangular shape, making them suitable for both large and small dogs. Our adult cat even likes to crunch on them.

I've noticed the fat content is really low because the food doesn't leave a greasy residue on your hands.

Recommended feeding amount.

Feeding amountRecommended feeding amount is great, but our dogs tend to eat a bit more - and that's not a problem at all. My experience with the product. As I mentioned earlier, our first dog is a severe allergen sufferer, he's 8 years old and mostly spends his time with eczema, cuts, dull coat, runny eyes, and ear infections. These cuts are from various other dog foods, but Akan was the only one that suited him perfectly!

Our poor pup was scratching herself to pieces - we tried every food and antihistamine under the sun, but nothing seemed to work. The photos above show her in the early days of using Monj. Fast forward two months and the sores had healed, scabbed over, and new fur was starting to grow in. There are still some dark patches from the eczema, but at least the fur is coming back - and that's a huge win.I wouldn't say her coat is silky smooth or anything, but her skin and fur are in a much better state. The worst of the itching has passed, and she's no longer scratching herself raw. She can even sleep without freaking out - a big improvement from her previous behavior.With our Shar-Pei, we had another issue - she's super finicky about going to the bathroom. She needs to find a 'special spot' every time, and will circle around until she finds it. It's a real challenge, especially when she's not consistent about where she goes.Before I even put it in the car and drive it to a new place, just so it can go number one.

This particular food has really helped with that process. Now, he's strictly a morning dog, not just whenever he feels like it. Every morning, we scatter the 'mines' – we don't even look for a spot with a little bit of grass. He'll run out and immediately do his business. The stool is normal, no issues with his digestive system, the only thing is, he's producing more poop than usual:

Now, about the second dog – a mix of a Shar-Pei and Pitbull. He's got skin issues and allergies from his dad. He's not an extreme allergy sufferer, but he can't handle chicken, beef, pork, or turkey. The dog was on a raw diet, but recently started experiencing allergies. His face swelled up, his hind leg got as big as my foot, and he had yellow diarrhea. We put him on a rice diet and also switched to Monj. The results were great – the diarrhea went away, his leg shrunk, and his face cleared up. I noticed that he's eating the recommended amount and not begging at the table.

My third pup has been eating this food as a pack, although she was initially on a raw diet. But hey, they all love the taste and crunch, and she's now walking around, envying the others and refusing to eat her raw food, so I had to add her to the mix too. No issues whatsoever, no allergies to report, and I can only gauge the results by the fact that she's started going to the bathroom in bigger portions and has even lost a bit of weight, which was a bit of a problem given her breed.Out of the three, only two are a bit finicky, but they all enjoy their meals. I scoop out the food and within minutes, the bowl's empty. I feed them twice a day strictly, and my Shar-Pei sometimes gets an extra serving, but he's still not satisfied.

The Verdict. Monge Hyppoallergenic salmon and tuna dog food I highly recommend. It's a great alternative to Acana, and while the formula's not identical, it's the best we've tried so far. No allergies, happy pups.

I usually have to wait about a week for my orders on Ozon, so I place them in advance to avoid running out of food.

I've attached a recent receipt, and you can see the price is a bit different. We've always bought it for 1550 rubles before, and I haven't found it cheaper anywhere else.

Pros.

Suitable for allergic dogsConvenient packagingLess expensive onlineGood formulaSmells really good Cons.

For me, they're non-existent, but for now, this is the best food I've found Thanks for reading, and you can check out my other reviews here:

Before you buy this food, think about the result after one week. A breakdown of the ingredients.

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