If you are finding that
your dog is suffering from adverse reactions to his usual brand of dog food
then it may be that he is showing signs of food intolerance. These adverse
reactions could be common symptoms such as vomiting, flatulence, itching or
diarrhoea and they may have been slowly increasing over time.
Reactions such as this
are often misdiagnosed as an allergy; in fact they are probably more likely to be
as a result of food intolerance.
The most common triggers of food intolerance
in dogs are:
- · Wheat
- · Wheat gluten
- · Eggs
- · Dairy
- · Beef
- · Chicken
- · Soya
Over time as you feed
these foodstuffs to your dog his digestive system builds up a sensitivity or intolerance
towards them, resulting in the above mentioned side effects. Because these
symptoms build up over time they can be very difficult (and expensive) to
diagnose, but often all it takes is a change of diet to eliminate them completely
from your dog’s life.
Any breed of dog can
suffer from a food intolerance and it is also true that it can affect any age and
sex of dog.
Just as with humans it
can be tricky to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem and identify the single
offending food. The good news is that many pet food manufacturers now provide
hypoallergenic dog food made without any of the common triggers; click here for
one such example. Whilst the cost of such foods is generally higher than
typical, run of the mill products found on supermarket shelves, you will
usually be buying a product of much higher quality. Seek out an ingredient list
with the lowest possible number of components, so a single source of meat
(protein) and a simple carbohydrate such as rice.
When introducing a new
food to your dog try and make the process gradual by “testing the water” first.
If your dog is a good eater and takes to the new food quickly then make the
switch over a few days. If however your dog is a fussy eater and will not eat
the new food you will need to mix it in with his old kibbles, gradually phasing
them out and phasing in the new hypoallergenic food.
For more information
about hypoallergenic dog food please visit http://www.supadogsensitive.co.uk
