Our dog's diet is very important for its he alth and we must pay enough attention to it. Some dogs have no food allergies and can eat feed formulated with different ingredients, while other dogs have food hypersensitivity and are affected by different types of food.
During the presentation of dermatological signs in our dog, this type of allergy must be ruled out. Next, we are going to know in this article on our site the 4 most common food allergens for dogs.
Food allergy in dogs and other concepts:
There are many foods that can cause allergies to our best friend, but below we will show you the 4 most common food allergens for dogs:
- Veal
- Chicken
- Dairy products
- Fish
- Pork
- Wheat
- Corn
- Soy
Since the clinical symptoms are similar to those caused by other diseases, a correct differential diagnosis must be performed with:
- Endocrine diseases such as hypothyroidism
- Parasitic diseases such as sarcoptic mange or demodectic mange
- Other allergic diseases such as reaction to environmental allergens (atopic dermatitis) or flea bites
- Fungal infections (dermatophytes)
Contributing Factors
Some of the factors that contribute to food allergies are poor digestion, that is, the longer the food spends in the intestine, the more exposed it is to immunoglobulins E and the probability of triggering the anaphylactic response increases. However, the increased permeability of the intestine can also contribute: if the dog is parasitized, the permeability of the wall is increased, which increases absorption of allergenic proteins.
Food allergy symptoms and diagnosis:
The main sign of a food allergy is dermatological in nature: non-seasonal pruritus, that is, the dog has itching regardless of the season of the year. Secondary to that itching, pyodermas (skin infections) form. There are also other signs, although less frequent, such as diarrhea, vomiting, etc
Food allergy may be accompanied by other allergies such as those discussed in the differential diagnoses.
Diagnosis
There are several allergy tests for dogs, including the elimination diet. For a minimum period of two months, the dog should be fed a diet of this nature.
These diets are made with exotic proteins to which the dog has not been exposed (venison, horse, rabbit, etc.) and carbohydrates such as potatoes or rice, or highly hydrolyzed proteins (due to their small size, the immune system does not detect them and does not trigger the immune response). You can prepare a homemade diet, but always under the supervision of our veterinarian so that there is no lack of nutrients.
After this period, a provocation test is performed In other words, the dog is fed the diet that we believe caused the symptoms and evolution is observed. If after this provocation, the dog begins to itch, we will carry out the elimination diet again and then confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment
The treatment to follow is to feed the dog protein and/or carbohydrates that do not cause allergies. To do this, our veterinarian can indicate a homemade food for allergic dogs specifically formulated, but we can also opt for hypoallergenic feedfor dogs, also supervised by the specialist.
