Hypoallergenic Dog Food and Intolerance

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