Guide to Dog Food Allergy Symptoms
Dog food allergy symptoms aren’t specific which makes it hard to diagnose food allergy by just looking. Dogs that suffer from an allergic immune response can exhibit different symptoms.
The top 3 dog food allergy symptoms that are seen most frequently are: - Dermatological symptoms
The most important sign is an itch, which is not bound to a particular time of year. When your dog’s skin is itching he will be excessively scratching, licking his feet, rubbing his skin against surfaces, etc. You can also see skin infections, hair loss and repeating ear problems.
- Gastro intestinal symptoms
Like vomiting and diarrhoea. It seems that dogs with a food allergy have increased bowel movements up to twice the amount of non-allergic dogs. - Respiratory symptoms
Breathing problems, sneezing, sporadically your dog could show signs of asthma
Less frequent your dog could show: - Loss of appetite
- Musculo-skeletal problems
- Behavioural problems
These symptoms are general for dog allergies and it is not easy to determine whether your furry friend is suffering from a food-induced allergy or another type of allergy (such as for instance contact allergy or inhalant allergy).
Four clues that may point towards a dog food allergy are:- Your dog has allergy symptoms year-round (there is no seasonal effect)
- Your dog is very young and has moderate to severe skin problems.
- Your dog’s itchy skin has been treated with antihistamines or steroids and this did not work
- Your dog has recurrent ear problems, particularly yeast infections
And another complicating factor is that your dog may have BOTH: a food-induced allergy next to atopy or dermatitis. Therefore it is important to rule out other causes or to treat these upon diagnosis.
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