Causes of Dry Dog Food Allergies in Dogs
Causes of dry dog food allergies in dogs begin with your dog ingesting dry dog food that contains ingredients they are allergic to. Causes also are:
The short answer is yes, dog food can definitely make a dog itch. This is usually due to a food allergy if the dog food is directly involved. Common allergens include chicken, wheat, beef, oats, dairy, corn and rice. Other reasons why a dog may itch include fleas, ticks, infection, or a reaction to something.
You could do a pseudo-elimination diet where you switch foods and then observe the reaction over 8 to 12 weeks. We’re really looking to see if things change on a different diet without eating potential problem foods. But again, it’s best to do this with the help of the vet or a nutritionist to get a set of solid results. Many poor-quality dog foods including kibble and canned foods include obscure ingredients that can be hard to understand or additives that could cause issues which is why a nutritionist or vet is important to consult.
The skin is the largest organ in your dog’s body, responsible for providing a natural barrier against harmful germs. As one of the first lines of defence against infection, it’s really im-paw-tant it stays healthy and intact. Did you know that dog skin is much thinner than ours? This makes them prone to skin conditions.
There isn’t one dog food that’s best for allergies as theoretically your dog could be allergic to anything. You need to find what they’re allergic to and cut that out of their diet. It’s always best to go for the best quality of food possible too. Ditch the highly processed kibble and go for a healthy, human-grade diet.
The best way of finding out if your dog has a food allergy is by utilising an elimination diet. This should ideally be done with the assistance of a vet or nutritionist. To carry out an elimination diet you should feed one specific protein and ideally one carbohydrate for 8 to 12 weeks. This can be hard to do because you’d need to feed a chicken and rice or salmon and rice diet that you would need to cook specifically every day.
If your dog is constantly itching, it can feel like having a thousand mosquito bites all the time and lead to poor quality of life.
So, how can you tell if your dog is allergic to food? First, its helpful to know how you might distinguish a food allergy from an environmental one. “Environmental or flea allergies are far more common,” explains Shmalberg. If you suspect either of those, consult your vet, who can help identify and treat fleas, or do a combination of blood tests and/or intradermal allergy testing (which involves injections of potential allergens under the skin) to assess environmental allergies.
But if your dog has the following signs, talk to your vet about setting up an elimination diet trial.
Telltale Signs Your Dog May Have a Food Allergy (vs. an Environmental or Flea Allergy):
The most reliable way to diagnose a food allergy is to feed your dog something entirely new, and relatively pure, for at least eight weeks. For accurate results, youll need to feed a non-contaminated simple ingredient diet (it can be commercial or cooked) for the entire trial. Most importantly, says Shmalberg, “the diet should include a single-source animal or vegetable protein and a single source of carbohydrate calories, without other natural flavors (that could have unidentified proteins)—and it must be a food your pet hasnt had in the past. Classic examples include venison and potato, rabbit and pea, and fish and potato.” There are newer options out there too, like alligator and coconut.
Its also important you refrain from feeding treats, table scraps, snacks, and flavored medications and supplements of any kind that dont match the specific ingredient combo youre using for the trial. After at least eight weeks, to truly prove the food allergy, you must then feed the original food—the suspected allergic protein or proteins—again. If theres a reaction or breakout at that point, thats a pretty good indication of an allergy.
“The reality is that most owners dont complete this part, as they dont want their dog to have symptoms again,” says Shmalberg. “An owner might just continue to feed the trial food if it seems to be agreeing with the dog.” But reintroducing the suspected allergens is really the only way to confirm an allergy. Shmalberg suggests cycling through potential allergens one by one—chicken, beef, egg, dairy—to see what does (and does not) trigger symptoms.
Aside from elimination diets, there are a couple of other test options worth a look.
Food Allergy in Dogs: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
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Have you heard someone tell you that their dog has allergies? Has your veterinarian suggested that allergies could be a problem for your dog? Do you suspect that your dog has allergies? If so, then you’ve probably realized that allergies in dogs are not quite as simple as we might wish. For starters, there are several different types of allergies that could be causing your dog’s symptoms.
Allergies are a misguided reaction to foreign substances by the body’s immune system, which, of course, people and pets can suffer from. There are quite a few different types of allergies in dogs. Skin allergies, food allergies, and environmental allergens all pose challenges for dogs and their owners, and to make things more complicated, the symptoms of all these different types of allergies can overlap.
Skin allergies, called allergic dermatitis, are the most common type of allergic reactions in dogs. There are three main causes of skin allergies in dogs:
Flea allergy dermatitis is an allergic reaction to fleabites. Some dogs are allergic to flea saliva. This makes affected dogs extremely itchy, especially at the base of the tail, and their skin may become red, inflamed, and scabbed. You may also notice signs of fleas, such as flea dirt, or even see the fleas themselves.
Food allergies and sensitivities can cause itchy skin, as well. The most common places dogs with food allergies itch are their ears and their paws, and this may be accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms.
Environmental allergens, such as dust, pollen, and mold, can cause an atopic allergic reactions or atopic dermatitis. In most cases, these allergies are seasonal, so you may only notice your dog itching during certain times of the year. As with food allergies, the most commonly affected areas are the paws and ears (but also include the wrists, ankles, muzzle, underarms, groin, around the eyes, and in between the toes).
All skin allergies pose the risk of secondary infection. As your dog scratches, bites, and licks at his skin, he risks opening up his skin to yeast and bacterial infections that may require treatment.
True food allergies may not be as common as people think, according to AKC Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Jerry Klein. True food allergies result in an immune response, which can range in symptoms from skin conditions (hives, facial swelling, itchiness), gastrointestinal signs (vomiting and/or diarrhea) or a combination of both. In some rare cases, a severe reaction resulting in anaphylaxis can occur—similar to severe peanut allergies in humans
But what about all of those dogs that are on special hypoallergenic dog food diets?
What most people mean when they say that their dog has a food allergy is that their dog has a food sensitivity, also known as a food intolerance. Food sensitivities, unlike true allergies, do not involve an immune response and are instead a gradual reaction to an offending ingredient in your dog’s food, for example to beef, chicken, eggs, corn, wheat, soy, or milk.
Dogs with food sensitivities can present with several symptoms, including gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and diarrhea, or dermatologic signs like itchiness, poor skin and coat, and chronic ear or foot infections.
The best way to diagnose and treat a food allergy is to work with your veterinarian to manage your dog’s symptoms and discover the ingredient causing the reaction.
Perhaps the most alarming of all the types of allergies in dogs is an acute allergic reaction. Dogs, like people, can go into anaphylactic shock if they have a severe reaction to an allergen. This can be fatal if not treated.
Bee stings and vaccine reactions, among other things, can cause an anaphylactic response in some dogs, which is why it is always a good idea to keep a close eye on your dog following the administration of any new vaccine, drug, or food item. Luckily, anaphylactic reactions are rare in dogs.
Your dog may also develop hives or facial swelling in response to an allergen. Swelling of the face, throat, lips, eyelids, or earflaps may look serious, but is rarely fatal, and your veterinarian can treat it with an antihistamine.
The symptoms of allergies in dogs may vary depending on the cause. A dog that goes into anaphylactic shock, for instance, will have a drop in blood pressure followed by shock, which is very different from a skin condition.
Some of these symptoms could also be a sign of another condition. Make an appointment with your veterinarian to get an accurate diagnosis and to help your dog start feeling better.
If you have ever undergone allergy testing, then you know that diagnosing allergies is often complicated.
The first thing your veterinarian may choose to do is rule out any other condition that could be causing your dog’s symptoms. If your veterinarian feels that an allergy is a likely cause, he or she may propose allergy testing to try and determine the cause of the allergen that is causing the reaction. However, keep in mind it may not always be possible to determine the cause of an allergy with testing.
Food allergies are often diagnosed using an elimination diet. A food trial consists of feeding a dog a novel (i.e. one) source of protein and carbohydrate for 12 weeks.
Flea allergy dermatitis is typically the easiest allergy to diagnose. It is usually diagnosed by identifying fleas on your dog’s body and applying a product that kills fleas before they can bite to see if that solves the issues.
The best way to treat an allergy is avoidance of the cause and allergen. This may or may not always be possible. But, in terms of treatment, it depends on your dog’s type of allergy. For example, the best way to treat flea allergy dermatitis is to kill the fleas, whereas the best way to treat a food allergy or food intolerance is a change in diet.
In addition to any lifestyle changes that might be necessary, your veterinarian may also prescribe an allergy relief medication for your dog that will help control the signs associated with the allergic reaction, such as itching and any secondary skin infections that might have developed as a result of the irritant.
If your dog has a severe allergic reaction, your best course of action is to get him to an emergency veterinary hospital as quickly as possible.
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