Dog Food Allergy Test and Elimination Diets:

Pet owners can spend hundreds if not thousands trying to just figure out what the problem is with their dogs health and in so many cases it’s food allergies... so owners will try protien and grain elimination diets, they’ll try every exotic meat source under the sun because their dogs are constantly getting hot spots and chronic ear infections and/or symptoms of dietary sensitivity which also include vomiting, flatulence, or diarrhea other common allergy symptoms include coughing, wheezing, sneezing, itchy skin and loss of hair and appetite. These are all common symptoms of food allergies. 

You can try to cover up the signs and symptoms of food allergies but if you’ve got problems caused by what you put in your mouth every day, the best treatment is to stop putting that in your mouth every day. 

In my research it seems Retrievers including the Golden Retriever, German shepherds. Dachshunds, Cocker Spaniels and Poodles seem to be commonly affected dog breeds with food and environmental allergies such as grasses and even fleas.  I have also seen a lot of food allergies in the Doodle mixes like the Goldendoodles, Australian Labradoodles and Multigen Labradoodles. 

I recently discovered the Dog Food Allergy and Intolerance Test Kit and I am hopeful that this could seriously be the one up pet owners need without spending hundreds of dollars on costly vet bills trying to treat your dogs allergy symptoms and also months of trying to figure out which foods work using the elimination diet approach. Not to mention switching your dogs foods all the time that alone can cause stomach upset and diarrhea. So it can be hard to tell if it’s allergies or just a new food?

Trying both the food allergy test and the elimination diet would probably be your best bet but I would definitly start with the allergy test… just to get yourself started in the search for a few diets that work best for your dog and then rotate those diets along with your probiotics. 

Allergy Test Home Environmental and Food Intolerance Test Kit for Dogs and Cats

You can get the allergy test kit on Amazon, you mail in a clipping of your dogs hair/coat and then you get the results back in 2-4 wks.

Read the Allergy Test Amazon Reviews – Click Here..

For many pets, the most common culprits are wheat, corn, soy, rice and sugar beet pulp – as well as various by-products, preservatives and cheap fillers that can deplete the immune system over time – but which are often used in low quality pet foods.

Many pets have problems with lamb, which is a ‘warming’ (yang) food in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which can cause a pet to feel hot, red and itchy and thus exacerbate hot spots and related skin and coat problems– especially when it’s consumed long-term. Better alternatives to lamb are ‘cooling’ or ‘neutral’ meats like duck, turkey or beef.

Question and Answers:  Dog Food Allergies and Solutions

Q: What about a raw or cooked diet for my dog, will that help with allergies? 

Answer: The upside of a home cooked diet is you know exactly what’s going in it and you can control exactly what you’re feeding them.  The disadvantages are it’s also a lot of work and, sadly, most people won’t do it right. They don’t do the research needed and basically,  their just not educated enough on what a dog needs and end up feeding their dog or cat an unbalanced diet.
Some dogs and people do very well with the raw diets and some dogs don’t but I just wouldn’t recommend it for everyone. I will however recommend the deyhdrated raw dog food brands over the strictly raw food diets for dogs because there’s less of a chance of making mistakes and its just safer and easier. 

There are some GREAT premade raw, freeze-dried & air-dried dog food diets that do contain all the nutrients a dog needs for a well balanced diet that you can feed your dog or supplement your dogs diet with like the Honest Kitchen Dog food or Stella & Chewy’s Freeze Dried Super Meal Mixers. All you do is add hot water. 

(The Top 5 best and most recommended brands listed below.) 

If you wanna try the Raw Diet then I recommend doing your research first.  Here are some Top Selling Books about Raw Dog Food Diet that you should check out. 

Recommended Raw Website Link: Raw Feeding Primer: 10 Simple Rules To Get Started

 

Q: Can I prevent my dog or puppy from developing food allergies?

Answer: I don’t think anyone is going to tell you that you can prevent food allergies if your puppy is predisposed. My opinion is that if you provide a diet that has some variety in it, so they’re getting a natural rotation that helps to maintain gut health and I also recommend for young puppies and kittens you supplement their diet with a probiotic especially during and after antibiotic treatment.

Some experts also believe Antibiotics may make dogs more likely to become allergic over time due to the imbalance they cause in the gut.

I recommend a tablespoon a day of yogurt with live cultures or powder supplements like FortiFlora or ProBios

So, for puppies, I try to avoid antibiotics and use probiotics everyday for at least the first six months to one year and give them a diet that’s fairly high in variety.

You should find 2-3 diets that they do well on and rotate them. 

Buy FortiFlora Probiotic on Amazon! 

 

Q: How do I know if my dog has food allergies, or something else is causing the problem?

Answer: There’s a food allergy test that’s now available could be your first step, you just send in a clip of your dogs fur and the lab will tell you what your dog is allergic too and then the most common recommended solution is of course the elimination diet…  where you take the dog off the food it’s eating and put them on a new food that they’ve never had before.  I’ve seen people even try alligator and yak for their dogs because they’ve already tried everything else.

Once the dog has improved, then you start reintroducing the old foods one at a time that you think caused the problems in the first place. If your dog has a reaction, which usually takes a few days to a few weeks, then you know he has an allergy to that food. This can be a frustrating, time consuming and an expensive process and not everyone is super great at it… so the test is also an amazing option and a great place to maybe start!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO START AN ELIMINATION DIET

What’s the Best Dehydrated Dog Food?
Top five raw, freeze-dried & air-dried dog foods

1. The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Organic Grain Dog Food
2.  Stella & Chewy’s Freeze Dried Super Meal Mixers
3. Wellness CORE Air Dried Grain Free Natural Dog Food
4. Sojos Complete Natural Grain Free Raw Freeze Dried Food Mix
5. Primal Freeze Dried Pet Foods

The main benefit is the fact that dehydrated dog food (whether freeze-dried or air-dried) retains most of its nutrients, while the cooking process of dry kibble that uses high temperatures destroys most of the nutrients in pet food.

Furthermore, many vets agree that dehydrated dog food is also better for digestibility.

When discussing dehydrated raw dog food, Dr. Karen Becker (DVM) says the following:

“I also like this type of food for its digestibility and also for the different protein sources available… It’s a great choice for animals with gastrointestinal sensitivities or that are recovering from GI surgery.”

HONEST KITCHEN DOG FOOD

10 LB BOX MAKES 40 LBS OF FOOD

 

 

The Benifits Of Freeze Dried Dog Foods

There are alot of benefits to the best dehydrated dog food especially when compared to natural raw dog food diets. 

Bonus.. . you don’t need a degree in dog nutrition to know you’re feeding them a well balanced diet.. because these are premade for you.
Just add warm water….and your dog will THANK YOU! 

SOME OF THE BENIFITS:

• Freeze-dried dog foods are easier for dogs to digest
• They offer the water content of canned food but with more benefits to their health
• It’s easier to prepare and safer to prepare than natural raw food diets
• Dehydrated dog food last longer on the shelf than raw food
• There is no refrigeration required
• They offer more diverse protein sources than most other commercial kibble which is helpful if you’re trying the elimination diet or your dog is allergic to the most common proteins.
• Little to no loss of vitamins and minerals during the cooking process.

STELLA AND CHEWY’S MEAL TOPPERS

Add a scoop of Stella & Chewy’s Freeze Dried Dog Food Meal Mixers to your kibble for a raw boost of nutrition & taste.  Chicken Meal Mixers’ 95% cage-free chicken, organs and bone plus organic fruits & veggies. Stella’s and Chewy’s has lots of other formulas and options for example Duck, Salmon, Cod, Turkey, Beef etc..

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