How Do I Know If My Dog Has Food Allergies?
So, how do you know if your dog has allergies to a food they’re eating? There are many signs a dog is allergic to food, with the most common signs usually being digestive disturbances and skin issues, according to the Veterinary Centers of America.
Often, allergy symptoms in dogs will take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours to show up after your dog eats their food, especially when it comes to common skin allergy symptoms in dogs. Gastrointestinal issues may only take a few hours to show up in some cases.
Most common signs of food allergies in dogs:
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- Dog allergy hives
- Itchy or reddened skin
- Digestive problems, such as vomiting or diarrhea
- Lethargy
- Weight loss
- Lack of energy
- Hyperactivity
- Aggression
- Facial swelling
- Pawing at their face or eyes
- Dog swollen lymph nodes allergy
Can I Get a Dog Food Allergy Test?
Several companies have developed and marketed “at home” dog food allergy tests over the years. However, veterinarians have largely scrutinized these tests, and their validity is questionable, so it’s recommended that you skip any “at home” dog allergy testing kits.
Other dog food allergy testing options include intradermal skin testing, blood allergy tests, and food trials. Intradermal skin testing is performed by vets who inject small amounts of possible allergens into your dog’s skin while they are sedated or anesthetized to see if they react to any of the allergens. Blood allergy tests check your dog’s blood and how it reacts to specific allergens.
Food trials are the standard for the most accurate dog food allergy test. Typically, your dog will be placed on a hypoallergenic diet for 8 to 12 weeks to see if their allergy symptoms improve. Then possible allergens will be slowly reintroduced to see what may be causing your pup’s allergy symptoms. Food trials should always be performed with your vet’s help so that your vet can monitor your dog and the test can be performed appropriately. You’ll need to avoid any possible allergens during this time, including their usual dog food, treats, chews, medications or vitamins, and more.
What Symptoms Are Seen With Dog Allergies?
The exactsymptoms of an allergy does depend on what is the trigger of the allergic reaction.
Some of the symptoms of skin allergies can include itching, irritation, redness, and oozing. You may notice that your dog starts biting or scratching their skin excessively. He may lick at the area excessively. If the itchiness seems to be on their back, or at the base of the tail, it could indicate that they have an allergy to fleas.
If your dog is having severe allergic reactions, you may notice that they have scabs on their skin, or lesions. Sometimes, they can have minor, or extreme hair loss. You may also notice that they have a secondary bacterial, or yeast infection on their skin. You may even notice a change in their skin texture and pigmentation.
Stomach issues can be a symptom of allergies. You may notice they have diarrhea or vomiting. They may seem ‘off’ or looking to chew to try to settle their stomach. They will not only exhibit stomach issues, and will often show other symptoms as well.
Other symptoms of allergies can include:
Food Allergy in Dogs: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
Your dog is itching like crazy and shaking their head constantly. Your vet just told you it could be a food allergy. What does that mean? To find out, we talked to Susan Wynn, an internationally known expert on holistic pet care. Wynn is former president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, a clinical resident in nutrition at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and author of four textbooks on integrative practice, focusing on dietary supplements such as nutraceuticals and herbs.
A: Ten percent of all allergy cases in dogs are food allergies. Dogs also can suffer from food intolerance, which is different from a food allergy.
A: Anything from chronic ear inflammation, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic diarrhea to chronic gas, licking their feet, or an itchy rear end.
Q: What are the most common things that could trigger a food allergy in my dog?
A: Itâs a genetic problem, and when itâs triggered, itâs by exposure to whatever theyâre allergic to. The most common allergens are beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish. And, most dogs are usually allergic to more than one thing.
A: Itâs a multi-factorial thing, but certainly you have to have a genetic predisposition to develop allergies. The environment can affect it, too.
Thereâs a lot of research going on right now to determine what, in early puppyhood or early kittenhood, makes the immune system more likely to express that trait. Thereâs an immune education process happening in the first few weeks of life. Young animals treated with antibiotics could potentially be predisposed to problems later in life because antibiotics change the environment inside the gut, which is the largest immune organ in the body. That could be a predisposing cause, but then the trigger would be being exposed to the allergen.
A: There are some, but I think it depends on whom you talk to. It also can vary by country or part of the country. It may be as simple as what breeders, with their line-bred family of animals, are in your area. So if you have a very prominent breeder who is breeding a line known for their allergies, youâre going to think that breed commonly has food allergies. In my experience, retrievers, German shepherds. Dachshunds, cocker spaniels, and rex cats are the most commonly affected breeds.
Q: How do I determine if my dog has food allergies, or something else is causing the problem?
A: Thereâs only one way to diagnose food allergies accurately, and that is an elimination diet and challenge. So what we do is take the dog off all the foods its eating and we put him on a food that they have never had before. With all the exotic diets out there now, this can be pretty difficult. Ive sent people out for alligator and yak. Once the dog has improved, we start reintroducing the old foods that we think caused the problems in the first place. If they have a reaction, which usually takes a few days to a few weeks, then we know they have a food allergy.
Thereâs specific testing to rule out other problems as well. For instance, you might take a sample of discharge from the ears to see if theres a problem there, or do skin testing for environmental allergies. Blood testing is not an accurate test for any allergy.
A: If the dog has been sensitized to something in that diet it could. Thereâs no way of knowing if your dog has been sensitized to an ingredient, though.
Q: Can my dog suddenly develop a food allergy to something that they have eaten for years with no problems? Will this keep happening?
A: Thatâs common in food-allergic dogs. They have to be sensitized; they have to have been exposed for some period of time. So, in general, theyâre not going to react really dramatically the first time they eat it but a dog that has eaten a food for years could suddenly become allergic to that food.
If an elimination diet improves the petâs clinical signs and the owner is able to find two to three diets the dog can tolerate, I recommend rotating through them every two to three months. The whole point is to keep them stable for a period of months to years so you can eventually do their challenge testing to identify what the dog is really allergic to. If youâre really lucky, then you can go back to a more normal diet and not these expensive, exotic diets.
A: You can try to cover up the signs, but if youâve got a disease thatâs caused by what you put in your mouth every day, the best treatment is to stop putting that in your mouth every day. I use herbs all the time, and I do think they can help, but not as much as avoiding whatâs causing the problem.
Q: Should I cook for my dog, rather than buy them food? What about a raw diet, will that help?
A: The upside of a cooked diet is you know exactly whatâs going in it and you can control that. The disadvantage is itâs more trouble and, unfortunately, most people wonât do it right. They will leave off supplements, they wonât follow instructions, and theyâll end up giving their dog or cat an unbalanced diet.
Thereâs nothing magical about raw diets. Some dogs do very well on them and some dogs do not do very well on them. The protein structure might be different from that in a cooked or processed diet and that does make a difference for some dogs. But itâs not common enough that we need to tell everybody they should try a raw diet.
A: I donât think anyone is going to tell you that you can prevent food allergies if your puppy is predisposed. My opinion is that if you provide a diet that has some variety in it, so theyâre getting a natural rotation, youâre maintaining gut health by doing that.
I do recommend for young puppies and kittens that people put them on probiotics. Iâm very concerned about the use of antibiotics in growing animals. I think it messes up their gut balance and I think it may make them more likely to become allergic over time. So for puppies, I try to avoid antibiotics and use probiotics up to six months to one year of age and give them a diet thatâs fairly high in variety.