Having a Food Allergy is one of the most common diseases in today’s society.  Consider what it is like to have a food allergy.  It is noting but discomfort while trying to complete your daily activities! You have to understand that your dog too can experience food allergies.

This is why you should monitor your pet, because allergies can cause severe discomfort in your dog and in severe cases, can be life threatening.  It is very important that you should be aware of the signs and symptoms of dog allergies as it can be hard to detect. You have to remember that your dog cannot talk and cannot tell you what they are feeling. So, it is important to remember that you should know how to detect dog allergies in order to manage them properly and know how to effectively treat them.

Dogs today eat a variety of processed foods and a food allergy in dogs is the third most common causes of allergies in dog.  As with the human allergy, the dog’s immune system overreacts to a certain kind of food that triggers their immune system to release histamines to fight off the supposed invader. The so-called invader is usually harmless to dogs but the immune system overreacting to it, mistaking it as harmful, is the problem.

If your dog is suffering from an allergy attack, they will have itching on several parts of the body. They will experience itching in the face, foot, limb, belly and they also may experience recurrent ear infections.  They will probably not be as active as usual, will refuse to eat and may vomit.

One of the main causes of food allergies in dogs is the junk that is put into dog food.  Dog foods available today which can be brought from several pet stores contain junk ingredients that can cause allergic reactions in your dogs. The proteins found in beef, chicken, chicken eggs, wheat and dairy products are the most common causes of allergies in dogs.  Strangely, these ingredients mentioned are also the most common ingredients found in dog food.  It is imperative that you try switching your dog’s diet in order to determine what kind of food is causing the allergy.

It is also important that you take your dog to the vet in order to perform a series of physical examination that will determine what kind of ingredient in dog foods are causing the allergies. Once the allergen is identified, the vet will recommend that you change your dog’s diet from regular dog food that contains allergens to hypoallergenic dog food. Although hypoallergenic dog foods can cost more than regular or popular dog foods available on the market, you can be sure that your dog will always be in shape and will live a happier life.

In addition, you can choose homemade diets but you have to remember that the vitamins and minerals should be carefully balanced in order to provide the adequate nutrition your dog needs. Your veterinarian will be able to provide you with a diet plan for your dog.

With proper management and proper treatment, your dog will be able to live a better life with minimal risk of allergy attacks.

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Tags: allergies in dogs, dogs and food allergy, Food allergies

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 3:31 am and is filed under Dog Allergies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.