Dog Food Allergies

 Home-Made Dog Food Helps Dogs with Allergies

About ten percent of all the allergies found in dogs are related to food allergies.  Food allergies are also responsible for about twenty percent of the causes of itching and scratching in dogs.  It is not well understood just how a pet becomes sensitized to a particular agent in the food that in turn creates a complicated antibody response in the intestinal tract of the dog.

Although we do not fully understand how these food allergies affect our dogs, we do understand the symptoms, know how to diagnose dog food allergies, and how to treat them.  Both male and female dogs are affected by food allergies.  These allergies can show up as early as five months of age or as late as twelve years of age, however most allergy cases occur when the dog is between two to six years of age.

Food allergy symptoms are similar to those of most allergies seen in dogs.  A primary symptom is itchy skin mostly affecting the face, ears, feet, forelegs, armpits and the area around the anus.  Chronic or recurrent ear infections, hair loss, and hot spots are additional symptoms.  Also, skin infections that respond to antibiotics but reoccur after stopping the use of antibiotics could also be a food allergy.  Some dogs with food allergies may have an increased incidence of bowel movements during the day.

Starting your dog on a food trial is a good way to properly diagnose a food allergy.  A food trial is feeding the dog a food source consisting of protein and carbohydrates that the dog has never eaten before for a period of at least twelve weeks.  Venison or rabbit are good choices of protein since they are rarely used in processed dog food.  Potatoes can be used for the carbohydrate.  This diet should be the only food the dog eats for the full twelve weeks.  This means feeding your dog nothing extra such as treats, flavored medications, and rawhide or pig ears.  Only the special food and water should be fed to the dog.  Also, the dog should not be allowed to roam without supervision as he could find outside food or garbage to get into.  After the twelve weeks, if there is a marked reduction or elimination of the symptoms, then the dog is put back on the original food.  If the symptoms return after the dog is back on the original foods, the food allergy diagnosis is confirmed.

A great way to avoid feeding your dog foods that he may be allergic to is to feeding him a home-made meal.  Periodically, you can offer your dog new ingredients so you can determine the exact ingredients that cause the food allergy.  If the dog’s symptoms have subsided on the home-made food diet, then you can add a meat that the dog may have had before, such as beef or chicken, for ten days or two weeks.  If there are no signs of any symptoms, add a different ingredient for another period of time.  If the dog’s symptoms appear again, you can determine that the newest ingredient added to the dog’s diet is one of the ingredients the dog is allergic to.

Home-made dog food diets are a great way to avoid stirring up allergies your dog may have, and to make sure you are feeding your dog proper ingredients balanced with the correct amount of vitamins and minerals.