Dog Food Allergies: The Struggle Is Real

Food Allergies.  When I hear that, I usually think about human food allergies.  You hear stories about kids that are allergic to peanuts or strawberries.  I knew that dogs could also have food allergies, but didn't have any personal experience dealing with it.

That was before, and this is now. Now, I have a little experience because my newest adoption, eight year old Lil Bit, is allergic to chicken.  When I adopted him, he had a skin condition that appeared to be a fungal infection, but he had also chewed his feet so much that they were infected.  He was given prednisone, OTC antihistamines like benedryl and zyrtec (not together!), antibiotics, and an antifungal.  He had a small amount of improvement, but the condition and his misery persisted.  I took him back to the vet and we discussed his environment and food.  

Grains are usually a culprit of food allergies, and when I first adopted him, he was eating a food that contained grains.  I had transitioned him over to a food that was grain free though, because my other two dogs eat grain free food.  His skin improved a little, but not much.  Since he was eating a high quality grain free food, we decided to see if the protein, or meat source was the issue.  He was eating a chicken based food.  I normally rotate feed different brands and proteins, so my dogs usually get a rotation of beef, chicken, and fish proteins.  The vet suggested we switch to a fished based diet.  

Wow, did I find there is chicken in EVERYTHING! My vet said to avoid all chicken including chicken meal, chicken fats, chicken organs (liver), and eggs.  I did a lot of research and tried to find a fish based  kibble that wasn't terribly high in fat (under 12% is ideal since I have an overweight dog).  I compared reviews on sites like www.chewy.com (where I tend to buy dog food) and also reviews on DogFoodAdvisor.  To make my life easier for a few weeks, I decided to switch all of my dogs to the same fish based food.  it would help to make sure my chicken-allergic dog wasn't accidentally fed food with chicken.

Ultimately, I chose a food that contained 8% fat, 26% protein, and 394 calories per cup.  Since this food is much higher in calories than my dogs normally eat (they are usually 320-345 per cup), I reduced the amount of kibble, but did add in some extra veggies to help them feel full and get some extra nutrition.  I posted about the kind of veggies I use as food toppers, but pretty much any fruit or vegetable that is safe for them to eat works pretty well.  In order to find a food with no chicken that met my other requirements, I ended up getting a limited ingredient kibble, so the extra veggies help supply some important nutrients.

I also had to check the labels on treats because while many of theirs are homemade, like my three ingredient cookies, some treats like their dental treats, I do buy.  I found that even the beef flavored treats had at least chicken broth in them.  I finally found a vegetarian dental treat made by Blue Buffalo that didn't have any kind of chicken product.

My tips for finding a food and/or treats for food allergic dogs:

• The most common ingredients for dogs to be allergic to (in order of likelihood) are beef, dairy products, chicken, lamb, fish, chicken eggs, corn, wheat, and soy. 
• Check the ingredients! Even if the main protein is different, you may find the many foods will use more than one, especially in the form of meal (i.e. chicken meal).
• Consider Grain Free, since many allergies are related to grains.
• You may need to even consider vegetarian, if your dog is allergic to multiple proteins.
• Consider an unusual protein source, like rabbit or kangaroo.  Dogs seem to be allergic to the most common proteins, chicken and beef.
• You have to keep your dog on the new food and avoid the suspected allergy for several weeks to see real improvement.
• Common signs of allergy are itchy skin, recurrent ear infections, hair loss, paw biting, and excessive licking.  Keep an eye on your dog whenever switching foods and watch for these symptoms.
• Keep in mind, medicines like heartworm preventatives may contain the ingredient your pet is allergic to.
• If you end up feeding a limited ingredient diet, you may also need to supplement with a variety of fruits and veggies, and/or with a canine vitamin supplement to ensure proper nutrition.

Share your struggles with dog food allergies - and share how you found relief for your dog!

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Sources:
Pet Education
DFA