How to Diagnose a Food Allergy in Dogs

Last time we talked about some of the symptoms of common dog food allergies. But because some of these symptoms can be similar to signs of other types of dog allergies, it can be a challenge to be certain that your dog is actually suffering from a food allergy. Other conditions such as bacterial infections, yeast infections, atopy, flea bite allergies, hypersensitivity to certain intestinal parasites, and mange can cause similar symptoms to a food allergy in dogs.

You can look for certain clues to indicate a possible food allergy. For example, if your dog has been troubled by recurring ear infections, that may be one sign that she could be allergic to something that she is eating. If your dog is relatively young and suffers from moderate to severe skin problems, that could be another clue. And finally, if your dog is suffering from allergies but it is not allergy season, then it could be a sign of food allergies. However, there are more certain steps you can take to diagnose a food allergy.

Diagnosing Food Allergy in Dogs

The diagnosis for a food allergy in dogs is very straightforward, but it is very important that you identify all other potential problems, and treat those first before trying to diagnose food allergies. Once that is done, it is time to move on to testing.

The best way to determine the source of a food allergy is to follow an elimination diet or a food trial. This particular test requires you to eliminate all foods that your dog is currently eating for at least twelve weeks, long enough for the symptoms to go away, and then reintroducing her original food to see if the reaction develops again.

Once you remove the original diet, you would feed your dog a diet containing proteins and carbohydrates from a source she has never had before. For example, you could give her food containing ingredients like duck, rabbit, venison, or potato. These are usually not found in your typical commercial pet food. For your convenience, there are a number of such commercial dog foods available from manufacturers such as Innova dog food. There are also other allergy formula dog food that you can try.

Homemade diets are often used in the food trial since you have greater control over the ingredients used.

No matter which diet you choose to follow for the trial, the important thing to remember is that it must be the only thing your dog eats for the entire twelve weeks. This means no…

• treats
• animal parts (rawhide, pig ears, cow hooves)
• vitamins and supplements
• flavored medications (no heartworm preventatives either)
• toothpaste
• flavored chew toys

Nothing but the chosen diet and water!

Where possible, try to keep the dog confined in an area where you can make sure that she does not accidentally eat something from the garbage or from somewhere else.

After the twelve weeks have passed, your dog’s symptoms should have disappeared, or at least significantly reduced. Now it is time to put her back on the original diet. It may seem a bit unreasonable to deliberately trigger the reactions that made your dog so uncomfortable, but remember, you are trying to determine the source of her allergies so that you can avoid them in the future.

If the symptoms return once she begins her original diet then that is a pretty good sign of a food allergy in dogs.

If there were no changes in her symptoms while she was on her new diet during the food trial, but you still firmly believe that she has a food allergy, then you need to start a new food trial with a different food source. So if you went with rabbit in the first trial, you would try duck this time.

Treating Food Allergy in Dogs

The food trial helped you to determine what ingredients caused an allergic reaction in your dog. But it also served to identify what type of food you can feed your dog to avoid allergies caused by her diet. Once you have determined what your dog can safely eat, stick to that diet until you notice any adverse effects.

Dogs and Allergies is a series of articles discussing the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of various types of dog allergies. Move on to the next article, Remedies for Dog Allergies, or go back to the previous article, Symptoms of Common Dog Food Allergies.

Best,

Omar Reyes

Remember, you can either buy a commercial dog food like Innova, or you can make your own food at home using recipes like those from Rover’s Recipes.