Selecting The Best Food for Allergic Dogs

Many dogs get itchy skin, ear infection and upset stomachs due to food allergies. It is soothing to identify the triggering ingredient and change to a proper diet. This is a guide on how to select safe food that dogs which are allergic can consume. The guidance provided by veterinarians provides proper diagnosis and treatment.

How to choose safe food for allergic dogs

Dog allergy symptoms

Allergic reactions to food do not usually result in immediate problems with digestion but skin problems. Food allergic dogs scratch all the time, lick their nails or fumble their faces on the furniture. The food allergies in dogs are commonly indicated by the following:

• Chronic itching: Dogs scratch their ears, face, paw, armpits and groin without any seasonal changes.
• Frequent ear infections: Dark, waxy material in the ears and foul smell in the ears which recur after treatment is an indication of food allergy.
• Skin infections: The chronic scratching and licking result in red bumps, scabs and loss of hair and dark pigmentation.
• Gastrointestinal signs: Some dogs will have skin symptoms with vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive gas, or frequent bowel movements.
• Foot chewing: Dogs lick and chew their feet till the fur becomes reddish-brown by the stains of saliva.

Causes of dog allergies

Dogs are allergic to certain proteins in their food, not grains as most people think. The immune system excessively reacts against a protein, considering it as a threat, which leads to inflammation. The most prevalent allergens to food in dogs are:

• Beef: There are more food allergies in dogs to this protein than any other substance.
• Dairy products: Most sensitive dogs are allergic to dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt and whey.
• Chicken: As a general recommendation and supposedly a hypoallergenic food, chicken is often the cause of allergies.
• Wheat: Wheat allergies do exist but are very less common than beef or dairy allergies.
• Eggs: Egg whites are rich in proteins which can induce an immune reaction in the allergic dogs.

How to diagnose food allergies

Food allergies can only be accurately diagnosed by means of a food trial based on a prescription of a hydrolyzed or novel protein diet. During the eight to twelve weeks of feeding the owner must feed the test diet only, no treats, or table scraps or flavored medications. The diagnostic steps will be as follows:

• Elimination diet: Feed a prescription elimination diet which contains proteins that are reduced to a small size that the immune system does not identify with.
• Strict adherence: The lips of the dog do not have any contact with other foods at all during the experiment; one treat is enough to restart the chain.
• Symptom monitoring:  Watch itching, ear infection and digestive issues, and assess weekly progress.
• Rechallenge: This is when the symptoms are resolved, it is possible to resume the old diet, which is checked by the occurrence of symptoms again.
• Ingredient testing: When diagnosed, adding ingredients back, one by one, is performed to identify some triggers.

Is the treatment of dog allergies possible?

No, there is no cure to food allergies, yet it is possible to live a comfortable life by avoiding something that causes an allergy.  Strict life long avoidance of an offending protein prevents symptoms. The following are the management plans of allergic dogs:

• The lifelong avoidance: Read all the ingredient labels; any little bit of trigger proteins results in symptom exacerbations.
• Limited ingredient diets: Manufactured foods that contain single protein sources and have low protein will reduce risk of reactions.
• Hydrolyzed diets: Prescription foods that contain disaggregated proteins are effective with dogs who are allergic to several ingredients.
• Home cooked diets: Home cooking composed of veterinarian recipes gives the opportunity to control all ingredients fully.

Conclusion

The correct selection of food for allergic dogs (犬 アレルギー フード) involves a veterinary assessment, an elimination diet, and life-long avoidance of triggers. Prescription diets that are novel or hydrolyzed are the safest in terms of symptom management. Given an appropriate diet, the majority of the allergic dogs lead a comfortable life free of frequent itching or infections.