How to Tell if Your Dog Has Food Allergies

Dogs and Food Allergies

Dogs can develop allergies to their food, just like humans can. Of all allergies that dogs experience, about 10% are caused by food. 20% of itching is caused by food allergies and another 20% by food allergies with atopy . As you can see, food allergies cause a lot of the itching that dogs experience.

Symptoms

The first sign that you will notice is the dog scratching himself more than usual. All dogs scratch themselves from time to time, but this is scratching much more than normal. Later, you’ll see bare patches from the dog scratching so much.

Some breeds will also develop red eyes and sinus problems. Frequent ear infections can also indicate a problem.

Be sure to check that your dog’s problem isn’t fleas, mites or ringworm. These can cause itching too.

What You Should Do

Before the situation gets worse, call your vet. You’ll need to explain to him what is going on and he may or may not require a visit. Sometimes, he’ll just prescribe an allergy pill and other times he’ll want the dog to come in, so he can check him over.

Take your dog off his current food. If you’ve just tried something new, you’ll know what the culprit is. Take the dog off the food right away and go back to the dog’s regular food.

What the Vet Will Do

If the vet questions the cause of the itching, he may require a blood or skin test, which he will send to a lab for analysis. He may be able to identify the problem as food allergies just upon his examination.

When the vet verifies that the itching is caused by allergies, he may first try allergy pills. He may also give the dog a prednisone shot and have the dog to take prednisone pills for a period of time.

If the problem continues,  the pet may eventually be put on allergy shots. Don’t despair. The owner will be shown how to give the shots and it really isn’t that hard, but they can cost $200 per year and up.

What You Should Do in the Future

Only feed your pet high quality dog foods. Always check the ingredients. There are special brands on the market for dogs with allergies. If changing your dog’s food, do it slowly. Just add a little to the bowl at a time and increase slowly over a week’s time.

Don’t feed your dog table scraps. These just involve too many ingredients that the dog may have or develop an allergy to.

Watch the ingredients of the treats you buy for your dog too. As a last resort, make your own treats. There are recipes online for both treats and dog food.