Food allergies in dogs are not uncommon, but can take a fair bit of detective work to figure out the specific cause of these allergies and what is causing them. Unfortunately, this is not an easy process for dog owners and many don’t know where to start. There are so many additives and varied ingredients in their food that finding the exact cause might begin resemble the definition of a fool’s errand and become frustrating for owners.
If you suspect your dog has allergies, try out the following tips:
1. Different manifestations in dogs
Firstly, allergies in dogs don’t generally present in the same manner as they do in humans. Someone with a severe nut or shellfish might experience anaphylactic shock, where the throat and extremities begin to swell and requires immediate medical attention. Dogs, on the other hand, generally manifest food allergies through a variety of skin ailments. These can include non-seasonal itching skin (often affecting the whole body, including the paws), diarrhea, excessive flatulence, vomiting, and recurring ear infections. While these are not the only indicators, if you’ve recently changed the diet of your dog or brand of food, these are the most common changes that you’re likely to observe.
2. Stop giving your dog “people food”
If you suspect that your dog is struggling with a food allergy without a recent change in his or her diet, you have to ask yourself if have switched to a different brand of treats recently. Or, do you continue to allow your dogs some of your food. It’s easy to determine what ingredients are in their food by simply reading the bag or visiting the company’s website for a thorough breakdown of ingredients. However, if you’re literally coming home from a restaurant with a “doggie bag” this might well be the cause. Since you didn’t prepare for it, it likely contains some unknown ingredients or cooking methods.
3. Could my dog be gluten intolerant?
Your dog may struggle with some cereal grains, but it’s rarely something picked up later in life. Actual celiac disease in dogs is even more rare. There is a good chance that if you have a gluten allergy that you might also suspect that your dog does too. It’s not entirely unlikely, but it can happen.
4. Try an elimination diet
Short of spending heaps of money at a veterinarian to determine the cause of the problem, find a hypoallergenic dog food and begin feeding this to your dog exclusively. This will be your dog’s base diet for no less than two weeks. After that’s done give your dog a week to recover, and begin adding ONE protein to its diet each week. Try chicken, fish, beef, lamb, duck, turkey, fish, pork, as well as eggs, rice and different vegetables every few days and if you observe no reaction, try another the next week.
