How to Determine if Your Dog Has Food Allergies

Dogs, just like humans, can also get allergies. They can also be highly sensitive to a lot of things. When dogs get allergies, most owners blame it on the food, but that is not always the case. As a matter of fact, food causes the least allergies in dogs. Your dog may have been eating the same food for a long time before it started developing allergies. Fortunately, there is a way for you to determine if your beloved canine is indeed suffering from a food allergy, skin allergy or something else. 

Food allergies in dogs have a lot of causes and when dogs have food allergies they also exhibit a lot of symptoms. Dogs will have itchy and inflamed skin. This is one of the most common symptoms which lots of dogs suffer from. Other symptoms are hair loss, ear infections, skin lesions, loss of appetite and many more. However, the symptoms may vary from one dog to another.

There are also various ingredients which cause allergies in dogs and they include eggs, milk, soy, wheat, pork, preservatives, beef, chicken and many more. 

In order to determine if your dog has food allergies, you must consult your veterinarian. As mentioned earlier, there are various other allergies. The allergy could be seasonal and it can also be chemical. Have your pet checked by a professional. A skin biopsy might also be performed.

If it is proven that food is what is causing allergies on your dog, you should start with an elimination diet. What this means is that you should stop giving your dog the usual food it is eating and replace them with food which your dog has not eaten before. The new diet of your dog will consist of two parts starch and one part protein. Some choices of protein are salmon, venison, rabbit and duck. For starch, you can use potatoes, rice and pasta. Your dog’s new diet will be very demanding because you will have to make it on your own. You will not be using commercial dog foods for your dog’s diet. 

Aside from the elimination diet, your veterinarian might also recommend hypoallergenic healthy dog food which you can try. Feeding your food hypoallergenic food is usually done before the elimination diet. If your dog is on a restricted diet, its symptoms should improve. You can then re-add other foods one at a time. Add or re-add new food one at a time so that if you dog starts showing symptoms again, you will know what to eliminate.

When you know what food is triggering the allergies on your dog, you can then completely eliminate it from your diet and replace it with something which does not contain allergens. Once you eliminate what is triggering your dog’s allergies it will be easier to control.