Does your dog lick her paws often , or even try to chew them? Is he scratching a lot when it’s the dead of winter and there are no fleas around? Consider that your dog may be allergic to his food.Does your dog lick her paws often , or even try to chew them? Is he scratching a lot when it’s the dead of winter and there are no fleas around? Consider that your dog may be allergic to his food. The signs of food allergy in dogs are not always apparent , even to the most alert dog owner. The American Kennel Club lists these symptoms of allergies for dog owners to look for:-itchy and moist skin that’s sometimes red-increased scratching-watery eyes that seem to itch the dog-sneezing or coughing-vomiting or diarrhea or other gastrointestinal distress-snoring-excessive paw licking or chewing-constant licking elsewhere-bacterial or yeast skin infections , which are secondary to scratching , which may have gone unnoticed-localized hair loss , also due to excessive scratching-scabbing or crusting of the skin-breathing difficultiesThe main indication of a food allergy in your dog is severe itching , followed by or accompanied with small red bumps , pustules , or elevated areas of skin. These may be hard to detect if your dog is one of the furrier breeds. Usually food allergies don’t develop until a dog has been on the same food for at least tow years , because it takes time for the dog’s body to make the antibodies that cause the allergic responses to develop from exposure. Unlike other allergies that dogs may develop , food allergies are not seasonal.Any breed of dog can develop food allergies at any stage of the dog’s life. However , breeds that are somewhat more prone to developing food allergies are terriers , setters , retrievers , and brachycephalic dogs (the dogs with the short muzzles , such as bull dogs and pugs).How To Determine If Your Dog Is Allergic To Her FoodDetermining if your dog is allergic to her food may take a bit of detective work on your part. First , your have him examined thoroughly by your veterinarian to rule out any other disorder. Your veterinarian may prescribe medicine , such as a corticosteroid , to relieve the itching and help heal the skin. Once your dog’s symptoms have disappeared , it’s time to play detective. You should now switch your dog to a novel diet. Your vet may have a prescription diet for this purpose , or you can give your dog a diet a special limited antigen diet. Your dog must be on the diet for at least 12 weeks. No treats , rawhide , pigs’ ears , cow hooves , flavored medications , flavored toothpaste , flavored chew toys or anything edible should be given during this period. Make sure your dog can’t get to your garbage for scraps , and that no one feeds her under the dining room table or gives her any human food. It may be necessary to put the dog on a house leash or use the crate when you can’t supervise the dog. After the 12-week period , if the symptoms have subsided or disappeared altogether , it’s time to put the dog back on his original diet to see if the symptoms reoccur. If they do , then you’ve found the source of the food allergy.If the symptoms did not disappear on the novel diet , you’ll try a different novel diet for 12 weeks before reintroducing the original dog food. There are no reliable blood tests for food allergies. The skin tests a veterinary dermatologist uses are useful for diagnosing seasonal allergies but not for diagnosing food allergies.Hypoallergenic Dog Food For Your DogThe main treatment for food allergies is avoidance. You’ll need to switch your pet to another dog food. There are brands of hypoallergenic dog foods on the market today. They come in both wet and dry types. Here are some you might try for your pet. Meat meal listed as an ingredient means a concentrated form of meat.Addiction Dog Food comes in several types of kibble: venison , salmon , wild kangaroo , lamb , and pork. There are puppy and adult formulations.Blue Buffalo Blue Basics makes five types of kibble. Despite the name , buffalo isn’t in any of them. Rather , the varieties are turkey with potato and salmon with potato , in puppy and adult formulations.Bravo Balance is a raw food. It comes in beef , turkey , or chicken varieties and is bought frozen. Considering that these three meats are allergenic , it’s surprising to find them in a hypoallergenic dog food.California Natural comes canned or as kibble. This brand offers food for the senior dog , in addition to puppy and adult formulas. Lamb , chicken , and herring are the protein sources. All are supplemented with rice.Canidae Grain Free offers five types of kibble. The names of the types are somewhat fanciful: Land , Sea , Air. They tell nothing about what’s in the food. A quick ingredients check of Sky revealed that the first three ingredients are duck , turkey meal and sweet potatoes.Dave’s Delicate Dinner offers just one type of canned food: chicken with rice , vitamins and minerals. Dave’s is the simplest dog food among those listed , meaning it has the fewest ingredients on its list.Evanger’s Game Meats comes in eight canned varieties. However , in May 2011 the Food and Drug Administration found that tow varieties did not have the types of meat listed on the labels. The lamb and duck varieties had beef and chicken , respectively. Pet owners need to know this before buying food for their dogs.Go Natural Dog Food has four types of kibble. They have meat and meat meal plus grains and vegetable matter. No life cycle diets are offered and the protein sources come from duck , salmon and chicken.Natural Balance Limited Ingredient comes as canned or dry food. This line offers venison , buffalo , duck and fish in addition to chicken. Rice is added to all varieties.Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet offers tow types of kibble , lamb or turkey. The ingredient lists are fairly simple: meat meal , canola oil , peas , vitamins and minerals.Hopefully , one of these diets will be the one that works for your dog.
