Dog Food Allergies: The Facts
There is a difference between food allergies and food intolerance.
Food allergies cause skin irritations. food intolerances cause
diarrhea or vomiting, but don't cause the usual allergic signs of
skin irritations and itching.
Time
There isn't a set time for food allergies to develop. A dog could
show signs of a food allergy quickly, within days. Or it might not
show up until eating a dog food for years. When a dog becomes
sensitized to a dog food, it is a complicated process that involves
an antibody response occurring in his intestinal tract.
Percentage
Dog food allergies occur 70% of the time with a food a dog has eaten
for awhile, normally around 2 years or longer. They don't usually
occur when the dog initially eats a certain food. Food allergies are
the reason for 20% of the itching that dogs suffer.
Response
The allergic response normally includes skin irritations like
rashes, hot spots, and scaly red spots. The dog will shake his head
a lot and paw his ears and face. Allergies can also cause other
symptoms such as hyper-activity, aggression, chronic ear infections,
breathing problems, infections of the eyes or inflammation.
If a dog has the allergic symptoms all the time and not just
seasonally that is a clue of a food allergy. Another clue is if
antihistamine isn't effective. One more telltale sign is if a young
dog has skin or ear ailments that are chronic.
Common Offenders
Studies have found these foods to be the usual ones to cause food
allergies.
- Corn
- Wheat
- Soy
- Chicken
- Beef
- Lamb
- Dairy products
- Fish
- Chicken eggs
- Yeast
- Food colouring
- Preservatives
These foods are commonly used in commercial dog food recipes.
Exposure is the key to the incidence of allergic reaction.
Veterinarian
A veterinarian can take blood tests and use other procedures to
track down the foods that trigger an allergic reaction in your dog.
If the vet thinks your dog has a food allergy, he will recommend an
elimination diet, which means removing foods from his diet and
giving him a different food regiment. Then after 12 weeks, returning
the original foods one by one to look for an allergic reaction.
The foods the vet suggests should be all your dog eats during this
elimination time. Do not give him things like treats, raw hide chews
or flavoured toys, meds or toothpaste. Do not let him near a litter
box, outside off of a leash or near another pet food.
Offending Food
When the offending food or foods are identified the only way to
avoid an allergic reaction in the long run is to stop feeding those
foods to your dog. For more immediate relief antihistamines,
fatty acids, and steroids are used.
Allergy Prone
Certain breeds of dogs have an allergic response to foods more often
than other breeds: boxers, terriers, bulldogs, Irish setters,
schnauzers, cocker spaniels, retrievers, and dalmatians. Other kinds
of dogs can develop food allergies, but the breeds mentioned are
more likely to develop them.
Recommended Resource Dog Food Secrets
Dog Article courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com