Hey,

Happy Wednesday!

It’s around this time of year that I feel particularly blessed. Not because of the rising temperatures, longer days, or the even unfurling of Spring’s natural glories. 

It’s because I don’t have any allergies.

I see people walking down the street with eyes and noses streaming, avoiding trees like they were particularly violent and abusive ogres. My wife is popping antihistamines daily to control her symptoms. Whereas I, at worst, get a mild nostril tickle from the airborne pollen.

Many of you will have dogs with allergies. Most of you will probably be aware of this, while some may not.

These allergies usually show themselves either through skin-related symptoms, such as rashes, itching, licking or paw-biting, or gut-related symptoms, such as vomiting and diarrhea. 

Allergies are a result of the dog’s immune system mistakenly seeing something as harmful. This can often be an ingredient in their food. They can also be intolerant to an ingredient, which means a dog can’t properly digest that food, rather than having an immune response to it. This can cause gas, bloating, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Annoyingly, some of the ingredients most likely to cause an allergic reaction are among the most common in dog food: beef, chicken, lamb, fish, corn, wheat, soy and yeast.

If your dog is having a suspected allergic reaction, there are some things you need to remember:

• It’s not necessarily their food causing it. Food is only the the third largest trigger of allergies.
• If it is the food, it’s not a quality issue. If your dog is allergic to chicken, they’re allergic to the best chicken on Earth.
• Speak to a veterinarian, don’t just consult Prof. Google or Dr. Internet-Forum.

If your dog has allergies, there are steps you can take. The most obvious is to avoid that ingredient. You can also opt for one of two types of dog food: ‘hypoallergenic’ or ‘limited-ingredient’.

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Hypoallergenic dog foods are made with “hydrolyzed” protein, which can make the allergen virtually invisible to your dog’s immune system.

Limited-ingredient foods, as you can guess, contain fewer foodstuffs. This helps narrow down the cause of an allergy, and also benefits dogs with multiple allergies. 

You can check out our Best Dog Foods for Allergies for suggestions and advice. And you can read more here about dogs and allergies.

I leave you with my sincerest hope that you and your dog are allergy- or symptom-free, and that your handkerchiefs remain unused until winter.

Until next time,

Andrew

Editor
The Dog Food Advisor
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