Allergy is a type of immune response in the body that occurs when a pathogenic substance enters the digestive tract. In the case of allergies, the animal has various manifestations that require immediate treatment.
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Food allergies in dogs
Symptoms of food allergies in dogs can be very different, but they are often manifested as follows:
Sneezing, coughing, sinus discharge; Deep breathing and rhythm violations, which can lead to the development of asthma; Loose stools and vomiting. They may appear together and individually; Dizziness; Otitis media with external passage and damage to the soft tissues of the areola;
Licorice, purulent conjunctivitis
The most common symptoms of food allergies are itching and skin rashes all over the animal’s body. If left untreated, rashes can lead to eczema and bleeding ulcers. In some cases, there may be swelling of the dog’s limbs, spleen, digestive system, and tongue. If left untreated for a long time, food allergies can damage the immune system and purulent conjunctivitis can lead to complete blindness.
External manifestations of allergies
Externally, how do allergies manifest in dogs? Due to its characteristics, it has a lot in common with food. The main external manifestations of common are rashes all over the pet’s body. Also, various ear infections can develop which become chronic over time. If you start giving your pet antibiotics, these manifestations disappear temporarily, but after a while they come back. On the basis of external manifestations alone, it is almost impossible to distinguish food allergies from other possible reactions that may occur in the animal’s body.
The detection of food allergies is straightforward, but it is important to understand that many of the diseases that dogs often suffer from have similar symptoms, making the diagnosis more complicated. Therefore, before starting any treatment, you should try to find out if your pet is suffering from any disease. For example, if a dog itches and loses hair, it can be caused by scabies, rashes, overly sensitive skin, various intestinal parasites, bacterial infections, and fungal infections.
Some foods that cause dog allergies
Meat; Milk; Fish; Eggs; Soybeans; Wheat; Corn; All of these foods are found in store as dog food, so allergies are very common. This is because plant and animal proteins have the same structure, regardless of their different sources. So, if you buy food for a dog with a protein allergy, your pet may get sick.
Fighting allergies
If the dog has a food allergy, the treatment is useless here. In this case, the only solution to the problem is the elimination diet.
The first step is to feed the animal with any other food that you have not given to your dog before.
Your dog should eat unusual foods for at least three months. It is advisable to choose foods that are high in protein and carbohydrates that the pet has not eaten before.
For example, if the previous diet consisted of beef, you could try a rabbit or deer diet. There are several such feeds on the market.
If allergies persist for a long time, what is the best way to feed your dog? In this case, you can try foods that use proteins and carbohydrates in such a small molecular size that they simply cannot cause allergies. You can completely eliminate dry foods from the animal’s diet and start giving home-made food.
If the dog is allergic to dry food, if you have several pets, it is advisable to move all animals to a new diet. In this case, the dog should be fed in a separate room so that a dog with allergies does not get access to food from healthy people.
Do not let your pet out on the street alone and do not force it while walking so that it is always under your care.
Feeding recommendation
Dog food allergies, the symptoms of which we already know, never go away completely, but with a properly selected diet, its manifestations can be completely eliminated. The first step is to stop feeding pets familiar foods, after which you can start drawing a new menu. For example, if your dog’s allergic reaction is caused by eating rice, you should stop giving it, not just rice. However, any other product contains this ingredient.
You should try to make it as balanced as possible when choosing a new diet. It is best to feed those products with the same nutritional value as the previous feed. If you do not follow this advice, the lack of any substance can cause fatigue, which in turn will only exacerbate the situation.
Which foods should be included in the dog’s diet?
What is the best way to feed your dog with food allergies? This question is of interest to many people who have dogs at home. Nutritionists say it is not the products themselves that are important, but the principle of animal feeding. It is based on eating foods that the pet has never tasted or eaten for a long time. You should only use one type of meat and grain to prepare food for your dog.
This feeding method will help determine which substance caused the allergic reaction if a new ingredient is added to the diet every two weeks.
