Searching for the best dog food for allergies?
You’ve come to the right place. But before we give out our best choices of dog food for allergic dogs, let’s get a refresher on the subject, shall we?
No, just take me to the Best Dog Food for Allergies Section!
Just like human beings, dogs are also susceptible to allergies.
[toc wrapping=”right”]Allergens are present in many forms all around them, whether they are stuck at home or roaming freely outside.
Even common substances can become allergens to your dog. When that happens, dogs tend to show allergic symptoms like human beings as their immune system begins to recognize these dangerous allergens.
Most of these allergens are very common in the environments, and some of them are even harmless to animals. But if a dog is allergic to some or the other allergens he or she will have an exaggerated response to these foreign particles.
These allergens sometimes also cause severe problems when they are inhaled, ingested or just even by touching the skin of the dog.
So the body reacts in response to these substances and produces many symptoms like itching of the skin, scratching, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, watery eyes or it could be even from the nose.
Sometimes, in extreme cases symptoms will include vomiting or diarrhea, snoring, constant licking habit, and even their paws gets swollen up.
So you have to be more attentive towards your dog and should know about the types of allergens that do not suit them.
What Causes Allergies in Dogs?
Dogs can have genetic allergies, or they can also have allergies due to polluted environments.
There are a number of factors that cause the dog’s immune system to go weak. This weakness can lead to allergies in dogs. There are a lot of researches that are focused on finding out these factors.
Some of them that affect the immune system badly have come to light.
Your dog can have different types of allergies, and these are caused not by the same allergen.
Most of them are proteins from various insects, plants, or from animals.
There are also some small molecules responsible for allergy known as haptens, which you cannot easily detect.
Some of the most common causes of allergies are pollens, dust mites, spores, and also skin cells that are just shed off. These small things are present all around your dog at home, and so they can be easily susceptible to these allergens.
If someone in your house smokes, then this may cause allergies in dogs as the smoke may contain certain allergens in it. Other than smoke, allergens can be found in drugs, house dust, and the smell of perfumes and some fabrics.
How to Diagnose Food Allergies in Dogs?
According to researches, a fact has come to light that 10% of allergies in dogs are due to the food they take.
Dogs can also have the issue of food intolerance. Food intolerance is different from food allergies in dogs.
To know and to be completely sure about food allergy, you can feed your dog a protein diet that is to be hydrolyzed, for almost 12 weeks. For this, you can get a prescription from your vet.
To know which particular food causes allergies to your dog, you can provide him with a diet that will be free of allergy causing contents, and will have those extra ingredients which your dog has never eaten or been exposed to.
Your dog will remain on this diet until all his symptoms go away and at that time only you will find which food the culprit is. Also, some of the vet’s perform two types of tests like blood and skin, through these tests you get to know what your dog should avoid.
Can You Treat it?
You can determine whether your dog has food allergy or food intolerance with the help of a vet.
After the correct diagnosis has been made, we can treat the dog that has been allergic. We can, of course, make certain dietary changes so as to eliminate the cause of the allergy.
We can also switch to dog food that is less allergic to the gut and the digestive system of your pet. It has been seen that foods like, Beef, Dairy, Chicken, Lamb, Fish, Corn, Wheat, Yeast, and Soy contain common allergens, and they must be avoided in a dog’s diet (if proven to be allergic).
Of course, there are other allergies that are caused due to the changes in the environment and seasonal problems.
These can be well treated by proper administration of medications and drugs like, steroid therapy that include prednisolone injections.
Also, appropriate vaccination doses are to be given to the dog at scheduled intervals. This also will prevent the dogs from getting diseases and allergies.
Best Dog Food for Allergies – Top 5!
If your dog is diagnosed with food allergy, you will have to take recommendations from a vet for a food switch of your dog.
Ideally, the diet of your dog must be adjusted and decided by a professional veterinarian.
But there are certain foods that contain the least allergens in them.
The thumb rule is to avoid grains in the diet. Grain free foods for a dog are free from wheat, corn or soy that are fend off to dogs having found the symptoms of food allergies in them.
Here are some of the best foods that you can buy for your dog to minimize allergies.
Holistic Radiant Adult
This in spite of continuing the grain as a filler material contains almost all the fiber and unprocessed part of the whole grain.
These contents will not only keep the food more fibrous but also maintains the amount and quality of useful bacteria’s in the dog’s intestine.
Wellness Natural Dog Food
This is another dog food that claims that it is gluten and grain free.
As grain is the major culprit in causing allergies in the dog we want it to be eliminated.
This food is a combination of five ingredients, and one of them is flax seeds. These flax seeds help in boosting immunity, improving the skin of the dog and coat health.
Orijen Dog Food
This dog food has given positive results in decreasing and eliminating dog allergies to many dog owners.
Orijen Dog food, instead of using the cheap grain fillers in the food, includes eggs and instead of fried portion they use the whole eggs.
So this food is both a hefty protein diet for your dog and is also a hypoallergic food too.
Royal Canin Hydrolysed Food
The raw meat is very difficult for a dog to digest easily and also is a causative agent for allergies.
The Royal Canin Hydrolysed food is pre-digested meat. When the dog takes this food, the dog’s body will not be able to recognize it as a raw meat and thus it causes no allergies.
Plus, it contains the same amount of proteins that you’ll find in raw meat.
Addiction’s Wild Kangaroo and Apple
The kangaroo meat is different from what most of the dogs are grown on in our country; therefore, it causes very fewer allergies.
Besides, they are packed with all the nutrients that are present in the raw meat.
Final Note
There are some recipes for dogs that you can find on the internet that has been specially designed for the dogs having allergies.
The most commonly recommended foods for dogs with allergies are grain free dog food. If you are a dog owner then never ignore allergies dogs, as these allergies can sometimes affect badly to your dog.
Proper care and inspection of the dog’s allergies and diseases must be done, and the dog should be fed with foods that are, well, non-allergic.
Apart from following the advice offered by us, be sure to consult a good veterinary doctor for proper consultation and help.