Food allergies and intolerances in dogs: symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
If your beloved four-legged friend is increasingly scratching, his coat is already covered with bald spots and digestive issues are troubling your dog, you may come across the topic of →allergy or intolerance to one or more ingredients that your dog cannot tolerate in his food.
Allergies are →not a rare condition: About one in five dogs is allergic to food or cannot tolerate it.Such an allergy does not always show exactly the symptoms you might expect, so it’s worth taking a closer look. Find out how to recognize a food allergy and help your dog.
Allergy or intolerance?
Find the right food for your dog now!
Definition: What is a food allergy in dogs?
The term intolerance is often confused with allergy. When people talk about an allergy to food in everyday life, most dog owners actually mean an intolerance, because a true allergy is very rare in dogs. To make matters more complicated, differentiating between the two is difficult, as both show similar symptoms.
Allergy vs. Intolerance: An allergy is less common and can be quickly confirmed through testing. Intolerance requires a longer diagnosis.
However, the crucial point is that with a true food allergy there must be an initial contact without symptoms, because the immune system only reacts on the second contact with the ingredient. At the first contact, antibodies are formed which then signal your dog’s body: "Hey, something dangerous is coming, let’s go full power against it!"
With an intolerance your dog’s body shows symptoms on the very first contact. Since these, as mentioned, are similar, it’s worth taking a look at the symptoms of food allergies and intolerances.
Diarrhea, itching, lethargy: the symptoms of a food allergy
The symptoms of allergies and intolerances are wide-ranging. Most dogs, however, show clear changes in skin and coat as well as in the digestive system. Signs include:
open sores on the skin (→lick granulomas and →hot spots)
Licking affected skin areas
Gastrointestinal problems such as →diarrhea, →abdominal pain and →vomiting
Ear infections, especially of the outer ear canal
When the fur itches: Many four-legged friends react to a food by experiencing unbearable itching and constantly needing to scratch themselves. The result is open, inflamed spots on the skin.
When do food allergies appear in dogs?
Usually, your dog does not immediately show all symptoms at once if he cannot tolerate a certain food. Only over a period of several weeks can you clearly notice if an ingredient is causing your dog stomach pain. On average, the immune system or digestive tract needs one to two weeks to develop symptoms.
Which food ingredients are dogs allergic to?
If an allergy or intolerance is present, the protein sources are often the focus of attention. Why? The compounds in the protein trigger the reaction in the body. Often, the allergy-triggering ingredients are meat types such as chicken or beef, which are more likely to cause allergies or intolerances in dogs.
Wheat, soy, and corn are among the most common triggers of intolerances in dogs: →grains. Also, lactose causes symptoms in many dogs.
Culprit grain? After all, various grains account for around 30% of all intolerances.
Which food for a dog with a food allergy?
As part of the treatment, the veterinarian may prescribe a hypoallergenic food. Hypoallergenic means that certain ingredients have a lower risk of causing an allergy or intolerance in dogs or if they already have one. The →hypoallergenic meat types (protein sources) include:
kangaroo
horse
goat
venison
water buffalo
Among the hypoallergenic plant-based carbohydrate and protein sources are:
sweet potato
quinoa
buckwheat (note, pseudo-cereal and therefore well tolerated!)
amaranth
Sensitive and pain-free through life: With our hypoallergenic food we bring joy to the bowl – because even sensitive dogs deserve to enjoy their meals!
Goodbye Tummy Troubles: Our Irresistible Sensitive Varieties
The elimination diet as an allergy test: diagnosis and treatment of a food allergy
The diagnosis and treatment of food allergies and intolerances go hand in hand in dogs. But why? The method of choice for both diagnosis and treatment is the so-called elimination diet. But why a diet for your dog if he doesn’t have →overweight?
With the elimination diet – as you might guess – certain components of the food are excluded. Together with your trusted veterinary practice, the ingredients of the food are broken down. Then, certain ingredients are completely removed from the diet for several months (about 2-4) from your dog’s meal plan.
Usually, after about 3-4 weeks during the elimination diet, an improvement in symptoms occurs. Gastrointestinal issues usually improve after about 2 weeks , while itching and open skin lesions take about 4-6 weeks to get better. That’s why it’s important to allow enough time during which your dog only eats the food prescribed by the vet.No unauthorized snacks on the side, no bites from the kitchen table, as such actions can distort the results of the diet.
No snacks? Not quite – because if the snack is exactly the same meat type in its pure form, which your dog is being fed as part of the →food transition anyway, snacks are allowed. So your dog can happily try our hypoallergenic snacks that match the meat used in his hypoallergenic food.
Allergy-free snacking: Monoprotein & hypoallergenic
After a successful elimination diet some veterinarians recommend a provocation test, where the old food is given again for a short period to confirm the suspicion. Many dogs then show reactions again, which clearly indicates that there is indeed an allergy or intolerance to the food. In the case of a true allergy for example, a blood test can provide faster answers, but in most cases, the diagnosis and treatment revolve around intolerance.
