Anti allergy dog food or hypoallergenic dog food should be given to pets that show symptoms of allergies. Common allergens in foods are soy, wheat, yeast, dairy products, beef, eggs and chicken.
Symptoms of Allergies in Dogs:
- Loss of appetite
- Sneezing
- Discharge from the eyes and the nose
- Skin irritations
- Respiratory problems
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Diarrhea
- Scratching
Ideal Dog Food for Your Pet
In the past dogs survived in the wild and ate raw meat, bones and plants. This is considered the perfect diet for pets as it contains all the necessary vitamins and minerals that ensure optimal health. Commercial dog foods lack certain nutrients because these food products are often overcooked and highly processed. They also contain cheap fillers such as gluten, wheat and soy along with harmful additives, colors and preservatives. These ingredients undermine the dog’s immune system and result in food allergies.
It’s best to feed your dog a raw diet, a B.A.R.F (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) diet or a high quality commercial food product that’s free of fillers, colors, preservatives and chemicals. The food should contain protein as the main ingredient.
Myths and Facts about Anti-Allergy Dog Foods
It’s commonly believed that food allergies and food intolerance is the same condition but this isn’t true. Food intolerance is the inability to digest and process a certain ingredient. On the other hand if a dog is allergic to a certain ingredient, his immune system will produce antibodies in response to that ingredient after it has been consumed for a long period of time. It’s also believed that foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids aren’t effective against allergies. In reality such foods help decrease the respiratory symptoms that are caused by allergens.
Omega 3 for Allergic Pets
Omega-3 fatty acid rich foods such as flax seeds, almonds and sea foods should be fed to pets suffering from allergies. The pet should also be fed an elimination diet to determine the food that’s responsible for the allergy. Although these diets formerly consisted of lamb and rice, protein sources such as fish, rabbit, duck and venison are now considered better alternatives. Besides these ingredients, duck and potato diets are recommended by vets for pets suffering from allergies.
Hypoallergenic Dog Food
You may think that hypoallergenic dog food is safe for your allergic pet. However, if such food is commercially prepared, most of the nutrients in the food would be destroyed by the manufacturing process and it would contain fillers and preservatives. Therefore, commercially prepared hypoallergenic food isn’t always the best food for your pet. The only healthy dog food that will restore proper immune system functioning is food that’s based on the diet of wild dogs.
Treatment
The disappearance of allergic symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean that the allergy is cured. The underlying cause of the allergy should be identified and preventive measures should be adopted to protect the pet from allergic reactions in the future.
You should also conduct a vet check to confirm that any alterations in your pet’s diet don’t deprive him of essential nutrients.