Got Dog Pet Food Allergy Problems? Or is it Something Else?
Food allergies represent about 10% of all dog allergy problems, but there are solutions. Symptoms can appear immediately or develop slowly over a period of days, weeks or even months. 70% of food allergies in dogs occur after the dog has been eating the same food for years.
An allergic reaction to a food requires a second or subsequent exposures before an allergy will surface.
The symptoms are all-year-round and chronic, with skin and/or ear problems. If treatments with antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine, or with prednisone or other steroids show little to no effect, then the possibility points to a food allergy issue.
The telling signs
An allergic reaction to dog food may show a variety of symptoms, including but not limited to:
--Itchy, irritated skin
--Licking or biting areas of the body excessively especially feet, legs, armpits (axillae) and groin area
--Rubbing of the face with paws or against other objects or surfaces
--Hair loss and/or patches of red, scaly skin or hot spots
--Excessive head-shaking
--Gastrointestinal Problems
--Vomiting and/or diarrhea
--Loose or mucous-y bowel movements more than twice daily
--Excessive flatulence!
--Irritated eyes and possible discharge
--Ear problems and possible discharge
--Unusual hyper-activity or aggression
What's going on?
These symptoms are the result of the all-important immune system being hyper-sensitive and over-reacting to allergens or antigens to which it is exposed. Over-vaccination and poor nutrition are often at the root cause of our pet's allergies.
Why is it happening?
The real question is why is there an allergy to food? Besides the reasons explained about what's going on, why is not exactly known with 100% certainty but there is a lot of agreement as to the reasonable probability.
When the food being introduced is not of the fresh variety, meaning it has been processed with heat and often chemicals, the exposure to processed ingredients no longer allow the digestion process to recognize the food as "normal". The body then tries to develop a defense against what it considers something to be defensive against. Once an allergy is formed, cross-reaction to whole foods may then occur. Interestingly, it is quite possible that your pet, who is "allergic" to proteins in a heat-processed diet, will do just fine on the same protein fed raw or just slightly cooked.
The Key to Help Minimize or Solve the Food Allergy Problem
The greatest gift you can give is every chance at good health! The gift of good health starts with a very high quality of nutrition that affects every aspect of your dog's well-being along with a high quality supplement that will cover all the nutritional bases. We will discuss the supplement at the end. The lack of a quality diet frequently leads to poor skin health making skin vulnerable to inflammation.
Time to Evaluate and the Course of Action to be Taken
To help rule out allergies not associated with food, such as flea bite allergies (one single bite can cause a reaction for up to seven days) and atopy, by far the most common cause of allergies in dogs, the veterinarian will often suggest a hypoallergenic or homemade diet for many weeks to months to see if there is any improvement in the symptoms.
Allergy Culprits and Offenders
Dogs with food allergies will react to one or more diet ingredients. Common culprits are: dairy products, fermented cheese, fish, wheat, whey, corn, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, soy, and -- one of the biggest offenders with other possible ramifications -- preservatives. Once thought to be a substitute hypo-allergenic food, many animals have also shown to be allergic to lamb as well.
Dry food seems to create the worst reactions, while the same ingredients from a can show to be less likely to cause a reaction. Why? Again, the heat processing comes into play as to the reason, since dry food is heat-processed twice, once during the cooking and again during the extruding process.
A Natural Raw Food Diet as Close as Possible to Food's Natural State is Best.
The diets of our pets are far different from their ancestors' primarily raw protein diets with a lot of variety. Raw pet food diets have been shown to help the natural defenses against many common ailments such as hot spots, flea infestations, continual shedding, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal problems, gum problems, dental disease, immune disorders and degenerative diseases.
Your dog's digestive system is designed to metabolize raw natural foods consisting of enzyme-rich raw meat, raw bones and natural probiotics - with all the nutrients. NO pesticides, NO steroids, NO hormones and NO antibiotics. Food with nutrients processed out is more for convenience than for nutrition.
Heat Destruction, Chemical Additives -- Not What Nature Intended
Some lost nutrients are returned through chemical additives in the standard quality pet food. Heat processing of pet food, standard in the pet food industry, changes or destroys many important nutrients -- up to 100% loss of certain vitamins, up to 60% loss of certain amino acids, up to 10% loss of certain fatty acids. Probiotics and enzymes can be destroyed, and fats can be toxic or rancid. Yes, manufacturing accepted guidelines allow certain toxins and treated rancid fats to be used in the manufacturing of many commercial pet foods. This is no where near the benefits a raw dog food diet offers.
And, Don't Be Fooled
Every pet food manufacturer wants to appear to be producing a truly quality product when this is not the truth in many instances. When you see on the label "premium", "super premium", ultra premium", "gourmet", what do you think the difference is? The answer is nothing. It is marketing hype that anyone is welcome to use without having to meet any particular standard.
Unfortunately, most vets receive little to no education at university on dog diet other than what the commercial dog food company reps tell them! So now you know why the subject may never have come up at the veterinarian's office.
We will tell you at the end how you can compensate for diet deficiencies.
It's one thing to give a dog or cat food that will allow them to grow and stay alive. However, like with humans, it's quite another to find the perfect balance to improve immune function, cognition, behavior and prevent cancer. In the case of allergies and disease, it is the immune function that is under attack. You want organic, you want natural, you want the best natural food for your pet,
You can make your own homemade dog food and you will know for sure EXACTLY what your furry child is eating. By feeding your dog a diet rich in raw foods, nature is providing the best - naturally balanced - nutrition. 100% hormone-free, human-edible fresh raw foods for your dog or cat may help treat nutritional imbalances that are the underlying causes for allergy, digestive troubles, obesity and disease.
Grains Can be an Allergy's "Best Friend and Supporter"
Grains are a big source of allergies in dogs. Pesticide and herbicide residues are found on over 50% of produce and on even a higher percentage of grains, and grains make up the majority of many a dog food company's food sources. Many people find switching to an all natural raw food diet causes allergies in their dogs to disappear. This is not uncommon. Feeding a raw food diet to your dog is cheaper than commercial pet foods when you factor in enormous savings by avoiding vet visits to fix your dog's allergies.
Alternatively, there are commercial natural dog foods available that contain natural, holistic and hypo-allergenic 100% human grade ingredients, grain-free and low in carbohydrates, that you can take advantage of. Look for those with more exotic or unusual ingredients as these are less likely to cause problems.
Here's what you can be doing RIGHT NOW to help your dog fight allergies
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