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FOOD ALLERGY

What is food allergy?

Food allergy is one of at least five specific allergies or hypersensitivities known to affect dogs.  We all know of people who are allergic to certain foods, e.g  strawberries or nuts.  It is only relatively recently that food allergies have come to be recognised in dogs.  The  signs are usually itchy skin or an upset bowel.  Other more subtle changes can also occur including hyperactivity, weight loss, lack of energy or even aggression.   In other words, just like children!

What are the signs? My dog just seems to itch and occasionally have diarrhoea.

Many dogs will occasionally react to something they have eaten.  This may be a sensitivity to a particular type of food.  The symptoms are often not a true allergy, just  a mild tummy upset.  Once you have associated the upset with that particular food and avoid it in future, the problem is usually solved.

Food allergy is different.  Antibodies are produced against some part of the food. In an allergic animal the immune system over reacts and produces antibodies to substances which normally should be tolerated in the body. 

Are some ingredients more likely to cause allergies than others?

The most common food allergies in dogs are dairy products, beef or gluten (from wheat).  Every time food containing these products is eaten the antibodies react and symptoms either in the form of a gastro intestinal upset or, more usually, skin irritation occur.

Are these the only food constituents likely to cause food hypersensitivity?

No, virtually any food or food ingredient can produce an allergy.  Proteins are the most common cause but other substances and, as with children, additives can also be responsible.

How is the condition diagnosed?

Until relatively recently feeding an elimination diet was the only means of determining the presence of a food allergy.  This is a diet chosen which contains none of the ingredients of the previous diet.  This had to be fed for a minimum of 3-4 weeks.  If the symptoms improved on the new diet, one meal of the old diet is fed to see if the symptoms return.  The problem was that since the elimination diet may not be as palatable as the original diet, there was always the possibility that your pet could sabotage your best efforts and even one mouthful of say, beef, could undo weeks of work.  If you had other pets in the house eating normal food this could easily happen.

Today there are blood tests available which will give a relatively accurate indication of whether the dog is allergic to constituents in his diet.

How is the condition treated?

Once the offending constituents have been identified a diet is organised that does not contain these particular substances.  Originally one had to make one's own diet, for example chicken and rice was always popular for dogs with beef protein allergies. Today there are a number of commercially available, palatable, hypo allergenic diets on which the dog can be fed for the rest of his life.

Occasionally commercial diets containing the right constituents may not be available or alternatively your pet does not consider them palatable, in which case you may be forced to prepare a home cooked diet.

Can the problem be cured?

Unfortunately at present it is not possible to cure the dog with an allergy to food and thus as outlined above the problematic constituents just have to be avoided.

Is it likely that my dog could develop other food allergies?

It is not uncommon for dogs that have developed an allergy to one particular food to subsequently develop other food related allergies so if signs start to re-appear do not immediately jump to the conclusion that your dog has eaten some of the forbidden food.  It may be that unfortunately other food related allergies are appearing.