Pet Food Allergies? Check What’s In The Bag

Just like humans, dogs can have allergies to certain types of food. It may be an intolerance to individual ingredients such as wheat or corn, or a general complaint which is provoked my many types of food, such as colitis.

A dog experiencing dog food allergies may exhibit any of the following: 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, skin infections, increased bowel movements and any other abnormal behavior.

Should you suspect that your dog is allergic to a certain food, you need to do some testing to make sure that it is indeed food which is causing the problem, as other medical complaints can also cause similar symptoms, like parasites, skin infections or any other.

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.

The matter is further complicated because there are many additives in dog food, and it may be one of these which is causing the allergy rather than a certain kind of meat or grain.

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.

Rice and lamb are common among many of the new recipes which have been formulated to be non-traditional dog feeds; hence dogs do not build up intolerance during this period.

These might not treat the intolerance though, as many of these brands contain soy, egg etc., so check the ingredients.

Now that there are more dogs now than ever before with food allergies, the market is full of hypoallergenic dog foods to meet those needs of those dogs. The usefulness of these standards is limited by the unique constitution of each pet, but does provide some structure.

However, consider that many healthy dog foods may still cause allergies in your dog if they contain that specific ingredient he is allergic to, and even human grade dog food might still be causing your dog stomach problems, so be prepared to compare dog food brands until you find the one that works.

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.