Best Food For Dogs

Tag: Corn Wheat

  • How to Deal with Dog Allergies

    Just like humans, dogs are also prone to having dog allergies.  The symptoms that dogs experience with dog allergies are also oddly enough very similar to human symptoms.  If you think that your dog may be suffering from dog allergies but you aren’t quite sure of the signs, here are some of the most common dog allergies and how you can spot them.

    Dog Food Allergies

    The unfortunate part about dog food allergies is that the ingredients that are in most popular brands of dog food are usually the cause of the allergy itself!  Some of the primary foods that cause dog allergies include:

    Milk
    Corn
    Wheat
    Whey
    Beef
    Pork
    Lamb
    Fish
    Chicken
    Eggs

    Flip over any bag of even the best dog food and you will see that at least one of these ingredients, if not several from the list, are included in the food.  Dogs who have a dog food allergy will commonly display the following symptoms:

    Coughing
    Sneezing
    Nose and eye discharge
    Hair loss
    Vomiting
    Diarrhea
    Itching
    Breathing difficulties

    Trying to narrow down what is causing the dog food allergy is really more of a trial and error process.  You need to try different foods with your dog and monitor his reaction to them over a 24 period of time.  This will help you isolate the ingredient that is causing the problem.

    Atopy

    Atopy refers to your dog having an allergic reaction to something that he has inhaled, such as dust, mold, pollens, and yes, human dander.  One of the easily recognized signs of atopy are excessive licking, chewing, and scratching of the face, paws, armpits, genitals, and abdomen.  These areas will have a red-brown color to them due to the large amount of chewing and licking that has been happening at the site.  You can visit your vet to try and determine the cause of the atopy, at which point you can then begin treatments such as cool baths with a medicated shampoo, allergy shots, antihistamines, and including omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids to your dog’s diet.

    Contact Allergies

    These sorts of dog allergies are related to your dog coming in physical contact with something that doesn’t agree with his immune system.  This may be by putting a dog sweater made of a certain fiber on your dog, your dog coming in contact with particular plants, wool bedding, flea collars or even using plastic food bowls.  To help treat this dog allergy, it’s important to deduce what is causing the problem through the process of elimination, and then remove that item from your dog’s environment.

     

    To know more on dog allergies, dog food allergies or other dog health related information you’re welcome to visit Nil’s blog at Dog-Health-24.info.

     

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    healthydogforlife.com Dog allergies are a major concern and can result in suffering for your dog and expensive veterinarian visits when all it takes is this diet to solve the problem.
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  • Does Your Dog Need Hypoallergenic Dog Food?

    Would you be able to tell if your dog needed hypoallergenic dog food? The main reason to feed hypoallergenic food is when your dog is showing symptoms of allergies. Some of the most common symptoms of allergies caused by foods are loss of appetite, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, upset stomach, irritated skin, breathing problems and gastrointestinal difficulties.  Foods that are the most frequent offenders include dairy products, yeast, wheat, soy, chicken, beef and eggs. Less common but worth mention is lactose intolerance as an allergen.  

    If your dog is showing signs of allergic symptoms such as throwing up, diarrhea or constant scratching and inflamed red skin, it is recommended that you quickly start them on a diet of hypoallergenic dog food.

    How to Isolate the Allergen

    If your dog was showing allergic symptoms and you put them on a hypoallergenic food, did the symptoms improve?  Note: It can take up to 8-12 weeks for symptoms to disappear so be patient and give the hypoallergenic food a good trail period. If the symptoms disappear you can be certain there is an allergy involved and you will need to isolate it in order to avoid it in the future.

    Isolating an allergen is easier said than done. After all, man’s best friend doesn’t talk much and thus, it is hard sometimes to ascertain how they are feeling. However, though it may not be immediate to find the offending allergen, it is not really all that difficult.

    The method most commonly recommended is an “add-back” approach to your pet’s diet.
    After changing your dog’s diet to hypoallergenic food and eliminating all allergic symptoms, one at a time add back one ingredient of the allergy causing food.  For example, add corn, wheat or a specific type of meat. Then you simply wait and see if any allergic symptoms return. If so, you are safe in assuming that the allergen is in the food you returned to the diet.

    Never Ignore Altered Behavior

    Whenever your dog shows new behaviors such as obsessive scratching and licking or digging at their ears, pay attention! This type of behavior change is often indicative that your dog is under some form of stress and is very uncomfortable; commonly the source of the stress is an allergy. Just like people, dogs can “grow into” an allergy by becoming sensitized to an allergen over time. Just because your Goldendoodle puppy does not have an allergy now does not necessarily mean they will live their entire life allergy free. Always be in tune to your dogs behavior so that if it changes, you will notice it sooner rather than later.

    Testing for Allergies

    Your vet can run allergy tests and determine what your dog is allergic to. However, it is an expensive alternative for making the determination, especially when compared to simply changing their food.

    If your dog shows any of the classic symptoms of allergies, hypoallergenic dog food is the most highly recommended method to alleviate the problem.

    John Bolt, his wife and their much loved Goldendoodle, live in Ontario, Canada where John works retail by day and maintains his website by night. When not on the golf course with his golf range finder, he’s doing his dog training to learn how to stop barking dogs including his beloved Daly.

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