Dog Skin Food Allergy

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Dog Skin Food Allergy

When people have food allergies, the symptoms can show up anywhere. They may have headaches, irritability, or digestive problems. And of course, they may get hives or other itchy skin conditions. For dogs, however, a food allergy, or any allergy for that matter, generally shows up as a skin condition. What can you do if your canine pal has a dog skin food allergy?

First, be aware that food allergies are not that common in dogs. About 10 percent of the allergies a vet deals with are food allergies. Usually the main allergy is to an inhalant, which can be anything from pollen to mold to dust mites. However, a dog with allergies might also have allergies to certain foods. If the allergy, whatever the source, is not treated, the skin condition can become infected and painful.

Usually a dog skin food allergy will show up between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Some people think that feeding a dog one of the lamb and rice formula foods will prevent allergy symptoms, but this is not always the case. The only thing unusual about lamb and rice is that they were not found often in dog food until recently. Dogs just hadn't had a chance to show an allergy to either of these ingredients.

The dog food ingredients that are considered to cause the most allergic symptoms are beef, dairy, chicken, wheat, eggs, corn, and soy. It is thought that the allergies develop because the dog has a steady diet of one or more of these ingredients. A good way to tell if the allergy is a dog skin food allergy is if the dog suffers with it year around instead of during the typical allergy season.

You can do an elimination test on your dog by feeding it a totally different carbohydrate and protein food for 12 weeks. This means you can use a meat the dog has never had, such as venison or duck, coupled with a carb it hasn't eaten, such as potato or rye grain. This can be done with a homemade diet or you can get a special commercial dog food for this purpose if you shop around. If the special diet clears up the problem, you can simply keep the dog on this food.

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