Pet Food Allergies? Check What’s In The Bag

Dogs can have similar problems as humans have, with allergies to some types of food. It’s possible that it could be an intolerance to specific ingredients such as wheat or corn, or a general complaint which is provoked my many types of food, such as colitis.

An animal with dog food allergies may experience any of the following symptoms: Vomiting bile or blood, poor appetite, diarrhea and blood in the stools, itching, dry coat and skin, chronic or recurrent ear infections, hair loss, excessive scratching, hot spots and skin infections, increased bowel movements and other unpleasant conditions.

If you’re worried that your dog may have a food allergy or intolerance to a particular food, you should test to ensure that the food is what’s causing the problem. Other issues, such as parasites or infections, can cause similar symptoms.

It may mean that you avoid all commercial brands and stick to a homemade style dog food recipe of protein and carbohydrate, of which you can control exactly what goes into it.

Further complicating the issue, there are many additives in dog food, and it may be one of these instead of a certain kind of meat or grain, which is causing the allergy.

Common allergy-causing foods for dogs are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat, chicken eggs, corn, and soy. But these are the most common ingredients in dog foods!

Yes, and there is a reason for that. Just like people who cannot tolerate lactose, being overexposed to these ingredients could be the root of the problem.

An intolerance has not been built against lamb or rice, so many of the pet foods now are including these in their recipe varieties.

These may not actually be the solution to treating an intolerance though, as many of these brands contain soy, egg etc., so check the ingredients.

There are many hypoallergenic dog foods on the market to address the increasing numbers of dogs with allergies. As with any comparison, dog food recipes may or may not be suitable or palatable for your individual pet, so these are just general guidelines.

One thing to consider is that many “healthy” dog foods may still cause allergies in your dog if they contain that trigger ingredient, and even human grade dog food might still be causing your dog stomach problems, so be prepared to compare dog food brands extensively.

An intolerance to wheat or dairy contained in dog foods, natural and high quality though they may be, will still cause the end result, just as it does in humans. Canine skin problems are another sign that your dog may have an allergy.