5 Foods That Trigger Allergies in Dogs
Have you been seeing your dog shaking its head too much and itching aggressively of late? If yes, then there are chances that your dog has a food allergy. Dogs are quite prone to food allergies, which can be a direct result of them being sensitive towards a particular food or ingredient. This can affect them whether at home or at a pet friendly oceanfront rental or pet friendly resorts.
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However, there is also food intolerance that dogs show, which is different from a food allergy. Dogs exhibit various signs, including gastrointestinal problems, chronic ear inflammation, diarrhea, gas or bloating, and licking of the feet and ear, when they are allergic.Some of the common foods that cause allergies in dogs are as follows:
Beef
If you have been feeding your dog one type of food for long, then it may become allergic to certain new ingredients. Beef is noted to be one such allergen. The best way to decrease your dog’s reaction to beef is to give it a selection of raw meats on a rotational basis.
Dairy
Dairy can cause digestion problems in many dogs. This is an example of food intolerance. This food group does end up causing major gastrointestinal effects on dogs, such as vomiting, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Figuring out dairy intolerance and differentiating it from a dairy allergy can be tricky. For this reason, it is important to see if any allergy-related symptoms like itching manifest themselves for the food to be identified as an allergen.
Wheat
There is a severe lack of knowledge when it comes to feeding grains to dogs. If they do have a grain-related allergy, then chances are that it is more towards wheat than any other grain. You need to speak to your vet to identify the problem-causing grain and immediately eliminate it from your dog’s diet.
Eggs
Many dogs are allergic to eggs, as a result of which their immune system has an overactive response to proteins. It could mainly be a reaction to the egg yolk. It is easy to remove eggs from your dog’s diet and add in alternative sources of protein.
Chicken
Just like beef and other meats, chicken can be a food allergen for dogs. Dogs can be reactive to plain chicken meat as well. However, it is important to determine whether your dog is allergic to meat in general or specific meats.
One thing you need to note is that not all allergies are triggered by food alone. You need to first accurately diagnose what the cause of the problem is, in order to pin it down as a food allergy. You should reach out to your vet to see what the cause of the allergy is and narrow the problem down for appropriate treatment.