All about dog food allergies

Dog food allergies account for about 20% of all allergic reactions in dogs, but the symptoms often go unrecognized as they don`t generally affect the digestive system.

Also, you might think that an allergy is most likely to show up the first time Fido eats a specific food....

... but the truth of the matter is that it often suddenly appear after a dog has been eating a particular food without any problem for years.

In fact allergy symptoms associated with diet are much more likely to show up after months, or even years.

It`s rare to see a food allergies in a pup who is younger than 5 or 6 months of age.

Other than that it can happen in dogs of either sex, of any age, and there doesn`t seem to be a breed-specific predisposition to this type of allergy trigger.

Your pup/dog is very unlikely to have an allergic reaction to a food the first time he eats it, but if he is simply `sensitive` or `intolerant` to ingredients, then he might end up with an upset tummy even if he`s only eaten a few bites.

In fact, digestive upset is much more likely when a food just `doesn`t agree` with your pet, a true dog food allergy almost always causes symptoms which affect the skin in some way.

Symptoms of Dog Food Allergies

The most common symptoms of a food allergy in dogs is red, irritated, itchy or inflamed skin, or itchy ears.

This causes your poor pet to get pulled into an endless cycle of itch - scratch - lick, this usually makes him feel utterly miserable!

You might see a rash, but usually the skin will just be red and sore, often swollen, and sometimes scabby or scaly. These areas are often called `Hot Spots`.

The most common areas for this type of itching to be most intense is on the face, feet/paws, back legs, belly, and the tail area.

Sometimes there can be patchy hair loss around these hot spots. Other conditions can also cause itchy skin and hair loss though, including Mange, so check out this page to make sure that it is an allergy problem and not something else....  Puppy Hair Loss

Continuous and vigorous scratching sometimes sets up an infection and if the skin or surrounding area starts to feel hot, ooze pus, or gets swollen then you need to get your dog to the veterinarian for antibiotics.

Recurring ear infections, or intensely itchy ears which cause your dog to shake his head repeatedly are common as well.

Other symptoms occasionally appear as a result of dog food allergies, but they are much more rare and could indicate an altogether different health problem as well.

These include

• Irritated eyes with/without discharge
• `Runny` nose or discharge, sneezing or wheezing
• Behavior problems such as hyper-activity or unusual aggressiveness

Video: Raw dog food for sale: All about Honey’s Real Dog Food

Other signs that your dog`s discomfort is due to a food allergy include:

• The symptoms are chronic and present all year round and are not influenced by seasonal changes


• Your vet has treated your pup with antihistamines and/or steroid medications and it hasn`t really helped


• Your pup is still young and has chronic skin problems and/or ear problems

Allergy-Prone Dog Food Ingredients 

All dogs are different of course, and what causes a reaction in one dog might be well tolerated in another.

But there are some ingredients which are more likely to trigger dog food allergies than others.

These include protein sources such as:

• Beef
• Chicken
• Pork
• Fish
• Eggs
• Dairy

Free range and/or organically raised livestock and wild-caught fish who are not given artificial growth hormones or antibiotics are less likely to cause problems.

Grains such as:

• Corn
• Soy
• Wheat

Genetically modified grains are more likely to cause allergies than those that are grown organically.

Added extras! Dog foods, especially the cheaper, more generic brands, can contain an awful lot of `junk`. These ingredients are the root of many dog food allergies and include:

• Artificial Preservatives
• Artificial additives
• Artificial colors
• Contaminated ingredients, often grains, which contain pesticides, mold, insects and so on.
• Sucrose

There are a few ingredients most often used in human food that are also known to cause food allergies in dogs. These include fermented cheese, yeast, beef sausage, canned tuna, egg whites and even tomatoes.

Another good reason not to feed your pup scraps from the table!

Treating Dog Food Allergies

The best way to put an end to your dog`s food-associated allergies is obviously to stop feeding him the ingredients that `trigger` the reaction. But of course, that`s easier said than done!

The simplest first step is to change to an entirely different formula and brand, try to find ingredients that are not the same as the ones in the food causing the trouble.

For example, if you`re feeding a chicken formula right now, try beef. Maybe go for a grain-free food,  or a hypoallergenic recipe. Sometimes this is enough to fix the problem.

Many cheaper foods contain low quality ingredients, chemicals, artificial ingredients and so on. These can also cause allergy issues (along with other health problems, some serious).

Organic dog foods contain only safe, natural ingredients which are unlikely to cause the same problems.

Also, remember that his dog food isn`t all that your dog eats. He also has treats, biscuits, bones and maybe even table scraps.

Cut back to one type of treat, make it one that contains as similar ingredients as possible to his kibble, and that contains all-natural ingredients and is free of artificial additives.

Then be patient. His allergy symptoms aren`t going to clear up within a few hours even if you have managed to eliminate the trigger.

It can take weeks for all of the allergen to leave his body, but you should notice a difference within a few days.

If this isn`t successful, then the next step is either an elimination diet, or a trip to the vet`s office for allergy testing.

Allergy tests should be able to determine what it is that your pup is reacting to, and that obviously makes it easier to get his diet in line. I`d recommend discussing this option with your vet and asking his advice.

How to put your dog on an elimination diet

This basically means you completely eliminate the diet your pup is onnow and replace it with a new diet consisting of protein andcarbohydrate ingredients that he`s not encountered before.

You`llthen slowly re-introduce the `old` ingredients, one-by-one, until the symptoms reappear - that way you know what caused it!

Yourpup needs to be on this elimination diet for about 12 weeks and it`simportant you only follow this route under the supervision of aveterinarian to make sure he stays healthy and gets what he needs nutritionally.

Once you`veisolated the ingredients that are causing your dog`s symptoms,it`s fairly easy to make sure he doesn`t eat anything containingthose particular things.

There are severalcommercial dog foods that contain natural, holistic and hypo-allergenicingredients that you can use. Look for those with ingredients such aslamb and rice, duck and potato, even venison, buffalo, ostrich, quailand so on.

More exotic or unusual ingredients like these are lesslikely to cause problems as your pup or dog hasn`t been exposed to thempreviously.

It`s important not to jump from one dog food toanother while you`re trying out an elimination diet. You must give thefood you`ve chosen enough time to show results.

Trying one food afteranother is likely to cause MORE problems as the chances of anotherallergic reaction are higher at this time and you`ll possibly be`sensitizing` your dog to new ingredients.

If an elimination diet isn`t successful in getting rid of his allergies, talk to your vet before trying a second food choice.

Home Made or Raw Dog Food For Allergies

Alternatively, you can make your own -homemade dog foodthis makes it very easy to know EXACTLY what your pup is eating. It`snot as hard as you may think and can be very rewarding, just be surethat you only useingredients that are safefor Fido to eat!

Dogs who have allergies triggered by certain dogfood ingredients, often do very well on a BARF or raw food diet.

It`snot something every owner is interested in, but there are definitehealth advantages in feeding raw. To find out more, check out my Raw Food Diet For Dogs page.

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