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Hydrolyzed protein dog food can help reduce your dog’s symptoms
If your dog recently developed food allergies, you might be confused about what to feed him. After all, you don’t want to cause an allergic reaction.
There are actually a couple of options for pups with food allergies, even if you don’t know exactly what your dog’s allergic to — and one of them is hydrolyzed protein dog food.
We reached out to Dr. Amber Karwacki, a partner vet at Heart + Paw Callowhill, and Dr. Lydia Harbour, a veterinary dermatology resident at Dermatology for Animals in Arizona, to find out what hydrolyzed protein dog food is and to get recommendations for some of the best ones.
What is hydrolyzed protein dog food?
According to Dr. Karwacki, hydrolyzed protein dog food has a protein source that’s broken down into tiny pieces that aren’t detectable by your dog’s immune system. So your dog’s body basically just recognizes that there’s protein in the food but can’t tell which meat product it’s from. “These diets tend to be more effective when treating food allergies in dogs and require a prescription from your veterinarian,” Dr. Karwacki told The Dodo.
To make hydrolyzed dog food, the protein source is broken down into amino acids and peptides using a process known as hydrolysis.
Hydrolyzed protein dog foods are used to manage food allergies in dogs. “I consider hypoallergenic food to be hydrolyzed versions, since when this is done right, theoretically no dog should react when fed these,” Dr. Harbour told The Dodo.
This kind of food can also be fed to dogs who have inflammatory bowel disease or sensitive stomachs to help manage the condition.
FAQ
What is Royal Canin hydrolyzed protein used for?
How long can a dog be on hydrolyzed protein?
What dog food is equivalent to Royal Canin hydrolyzed protein?
Harbour recommend include Royal Canin, Purina, Hill’s Science Diet and Rayne Clinical Nutrition.
What does hydrolyzed protein mean in dog food?