If you suspect that your dog has a food allergy, then it is time to act immediately. Food allergies can range from mild to severe and its symptoms depend on the dog’s age and sensitivity to foods. Such a condition can adversely affect your pet’s life and can make things quite difficult for it, for at least a while. Hence, it is important to find treatments that help alleviate the symptoms of food allergies in dogs.
- Right diagnosis: The first step to finding treatments that help alleviate the symptoms of food allergies in dogs is the right diagnosis. There are many triggers for such allergies in dogs, so you must narrow down the cause of the problem. The veterinarian will consider various aspects including fleas, the environment, and food. In the case of food allergies, given below is the following line of treatment.
- Identify the food: First and foremost, it is important to identify the food that is causing the allergy. If you can narrow it down, then avoidance is the best way to keep your dog away from such an allergy and its symptoms.
- Change the diet: Food allergies may not be as common as flea or environmental allergies, but it is seen fairly regularly in dogs. Typically, the allergy will surface immediately after the dog eats a new type of food. However, it is not uncommon that a dog develops an allergy to a food that they have been eating for years too. Among the best treatments that help alleviate the symptoms of food allergies in dogs, the top one would be the elimination diet. So, in this case, you can begin to use a protein and carbohydrate source different from the current one. The vet may suggest a novel protein such as kangaroo, venison, oatmeal, or even potato.
- Hypoallergenic diet: The next line of treatment is to adopt a hypoallergenic diet. A hypoallergenic diet includes hydrolyzed proteins that attempt to make the digestion process easier. The protein in the food is broken down into smaller chunks so the dog’s immune system does not recognize the problem-causing ingredient. As it is the immune system that triggers a response when it comes to certain ingredients, by breaking the protein down, the response is prevented. This thus saves the dog from experiencing the symptoms.
- Stop feeding treats: As you are employing the best treatments that help alleviate the symptoms of food allergies in dogs, it is important to ensure that you stop all other foods. This means that cookies, treats, human food, and every other snack must stop. This will help you to identify the problem-causing food. As the allergy symptoms are eliminated, you can begin adding the food back to observe if any of the new foods cause trouble.
- Nutritionally-rich foods: Always make sure you provide healthy and nutritionally-rich foods. This will help to promote a mucosal barrier that will strengthen the immune system in your dog.
Stay watchful and note small changes in the behavior and skin of your dog. This will help in identifying the problem-causing food.
