Your furry friends developing allergies over time is quite common. In fact, 10-20% of dogs are affected by allergies worldwide. These allergies can be caused by many things, including food, dust, etc.
It isn’t shocking that dogs, just like humans, can get allergic to certain food items or ingredients they have been consuming for years. Besides, if you have been feeding your dog dry kibble, there is a high chance of this happening.
So, what should you do if your dog has a food allergy? How to properly introduce a barf diet for dogs?
The following article focuses on food allergies and how to take care of dogs suffering from them. Read on to find out!
Top Tips to Take Care of a Food Allergic Dog
Here are some tips that should help you out if your dog has food allergies.
Spot the Allergy
The first step to helping your dog deal with its allergies is identifying them. It is pretty easy to tell, but it is critical to identify them on time. Take a look at some common symptoms dogs start showing when they get allergies.
- Itchy skin
- Hot spots
- Watery eyes
- Chronic ear infections
- Bronzing on the lips
- Hair loss
- Inflamed nail beds
- Hives
Once you spot any of these above symptoms, it is likely that your dog has a food allergy and has to be taken to the veterinarian.
Identify allergens accurately
The misidentification of allergens is also another mistake made by dog owners, allowing them to miss out on an underlying food allergy completely. Your dog might be allergic to certain food substances but not enough to trigger a visible reaction.
The pollen and other impurities present in the air might irritate the allergy even more and trigger specific visible allergic reactions.
Pet owners might mistake this for a dust allergy, altogether leaving out the food part of it. Therefore, visit your vet and identify the allergens accurately.
Food elimination diet
Your vet will most definitely suggest a food elimination diet to identify what is triggering the reaction accurately. This allows you to understand what your dog is sensitive to and rule out all these items from its diet.
Once you have ruled out all the allergens, gradually introduce your dog to an alternate raw food diet. Commonly referred to as the barf diet for dogs (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food), raw food is free from additives and preservatives that your dogs are generally allergic to in dry food.
Moreover, this diet is much closer to the diet of your dog’s ancestors, wolves, allowing it to boost your dog’s immune system and get rid of allergic reactions.
Start slowly by introducing a single type of meat at once: rabbit, goat, buffalo, etc. These meats are generally not allergenic, meaning they might be an excellent place to start. Gradually bring your dog’s BARF intake to 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ to feed them the healthiest possible food combination.
Wrapping up
You have to be careful while helping your dogs with their allergies. One of the most trusted ways to build up their immune system and eliminate chances of future allergies is integrating a barf diet for dogs.
You can consider the above tips and leverage them to take good care of your allergic dog; after all, a happy dog is equal to a happy man, right?