FOOD ALLERGIES IN DOGS

Overview:

Some dogs may be highly sensitive to commonly used proteins, carbohydrates and food additives in their diet. Food allergies in dogs are thought to account for approximately 5% of all skin cases and 15% of allergic skin diseases seen in clinical practice. The most common allergens are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat, eggs, corn and soy. However, dogs can be allergic to foods other than these and to more than one kind of food. For more information on pet food, see our article on common pet food ingredients and their benefits.

Common Symptoms:

In dogs, clinical signs of food allergy are related to the skin and include itching, scratching, biting and/or chewing of some or all of the following areas: ears, around the eyes and
muzzle, paws, underarms, groin, and anus. In some cases, there may also be episodes of vomiting and/or loose stools, excess flatulence, and stretching (for relief).

Next Steps:

• Elimination Diet: To determine if a dog has food allergies, you should place your dog on an elimination test diet. This remains the most reliable and accurate method of diagnos-
  ing food allergies. To do an elimination diet test, you should carefully check all the ingredients of the dog food you are currently feeding that could be causing the symptoms.
  Many commercial dog foods contain ingredients to make your dog feel full, such as corn, wheat, or soy. Corn is one of the most common allergens in dogs.
• Muttropolis only carries foods considered ultra-premium. Ultra premium Foods are distinct mainly by the high standards placed on their ingredients. All ultra premium foods
  are made from 100% Human Grade ingredients and contain absolutely no “Bi-products”. “Bi-products” is a loose label that can include many undesirable meat sources that can
  change between bags of the same type of food. Please ask a Muttropolis associate for more information on the importance of Ultra Premium Foods.
• Additionally, many ultra premium food lines have specific allergen formulas that contain novel proteins which have not been included in foods that overtime increase the
  chance of dogs developing allergies. Popular proteins for these diets include Duck, Venison, Fish, and Bison. Ask a Muttropolis staff member for samples or choose from one of
  the suggested combinations below.
• Assess the current foods ingredient list and pin point the items that may be causing the allergy symptoms and seek to eliminate this in the new food. Once you have chosen the
  food for your dogs elimination diet, be sure you’re not feeding treats that may be offsetting the benefits of the new food. Muttropolis staff can assist you in complementing your
  new food with treats that will avoid the possible allergens.
• Give your new diet at least 3 months, but often you will begin to see signs of relief within days. Once you see improvement, you can be relatively confident that the elimination of
  that particular protein (as well as corn, wheat, dairy and soy) will benefit your pet’s comfort and well-being. There are many options for foods that avoid common allergens as
  well as the proteins that may increase or multiply symptoms. Once your dogs symptoms improve, trying other allergy formulas within the brand of Ultra Premium Food is a good
  way to vary the diet while continuing to avoid the assumed cause of the irritation.

Recommended Foods for Elimination Diets or Allergy suffering Dogs:

Dry Foods/Kibble

• Wellness Fish & Sweet Potato
• Wellness Simple Solutions (Duck or Venison)

Canned/Wet Foods

• Evanger’s (Duck, Rabbit, Pheasant, or Buffalo)
• Nature’s Variety (Duck or Venison)

Frozen/Raw

Summary of Bones and Raw Food Diets: Before dogs became domesticated, the diet of dogs was mainly small rodents, birds, and leftovers of larger predators. These filled all their nutritional needs - protein and fat from the tissue, fiber from hair and feathers, plus nutrients from the partially digested food of the prey. The closer we can recreate our animals' diets to what their body is designed to eat, the healthier they will be. Please ask a Muttropolis associate for more information on feeding a raw diet or supplementing a kibble diet with raw foods.

• Halshan’s Premium Raw Food
• Nature’s Variety Complete Raw Diets