Understanding Puppy Food Allergies
Puppy food allergies occur when your puppy dog’s immune system over-react to certain food ingredients, commonly protein sources such as meat, grains and dairy products.
The bad news is, once your puppy dog has developed an allergy to a certain type of food ingredient, it will likely never be cured thou it can absolutely be managed.
Symptoms of puppy
food allergies and food intolerance
- Excessive scratching or licking
- Ear infections
- Rashes
- Vomiting
- Runny nose
- Diarrhea
- Poor coat condition with excessive shedding
- Signs of abdominal pain
- Flatulence
Puppy food allergies
are rare
Puppy food allergies under 1-year old puppies are even rarer because allergies tend to develop over time, after repeated exposure (or lack of exposure) to certain ingredients.
Most cases of allergies occur when owners subject their dogs to one kind of food, usually under one brand for most of their meals over a long period of time. The best solution? Prevent food allergies in the first place by feeding your puppy a wide and varied diet.
While dry kibble is cheap and easy to feed, mixing it up between canned food and natural homemade recipes will not only deters allergies but also improve and maintain your puppy’s overall health. Besides, can you imagine having the same dry kibble day in and out? Yuck!
Being certain
If you suspect your dog might be suffering from food allergies base on the checklist above. Your best bet is to discuss your concerns with your vet mainly because many other health related aliments share the same symptoms too.
Take for example; persistent scratching due to skin irritation and a poor coat could be resolve with Omega-3 supplement. Often, improvement will be visible within a couple of weeks although it could take as long as 12 weeks of supplementation to fully resolve.
Other health related symptoms could be more urgent or fatal even. Determining the cause with your vet ASAP will be your safest option.
Diet for allergy suffering dogs or puppies
Lamb, millet, yam, mackerel, duck and venison are great diet choices of protein intake for allergy suffering dogs as they have a reputation for rarely being the cause of food allergies.
In the event of a suspected allergy reaction, switching to the above group of food will help determine if the previous diet contains any source of allergen.
Difference between puppy food allergies and food intolerance
Food intolerances are result of poor digestion and absorption towards certain food ingredient. While it is rare for puppies to develop food allergies under a year old, food intolerance on the other hand can occur at any age.
Take for example; many dogs have difficulty digesting dairy products but could still tolerate small amounts of cheese and yogurt. If your puppy happens to get her paws on and eat a sizable chunk of cheese, the following symptom of vomiting could be a sign of indigestion or food intolerances.
Food intolerances and food allergies shared a lot of similar symptoms so again, a trip to the vet is your best bet to be sure.
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