Pet Food Allergies? Check Out 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.
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.
The most common allergy-causing foodstuffs in dogs are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat, chicken eggs, corn, and soy. “What?”, I can hear you say, “These are the most common ingredients in dog foods!”
Correct, and there is a correlation here. Just as many humans are lactose intolerant, over-exposure to these foodstuffs may be what has caused 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 might not treat the intolerance though, as many of these brands contain soy, egg etc., so check the ingredients.
As more and more dogs are diagnosed with allergic reactions, many pet foods are marketed as hypoallergenic. Keep in mind that like any other thing, some dog food recipes may work well for you dog, and others may not be right for him at all. Take these only as guidelines.
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.
Like with people, an intolerance to wheat or dairy contained in dog food, regardless of quality, can cause the end result. Another signal that your dog may have an allergy is bad reaction on the skin.
