Food allergy is one of the most common illness in today's society.
They can cause anywhere from mild to severe discomfort, sometimes keeping you from going about your daily activities.
You should, therefore, consider your dog can also experience food allergies.
Since food allergies are not only restricted to humans, you should monitor your dog because allergies can cause severe discomfort in your dog and in severe cases, it can be life threatening.
It is very important that you be aware of the signs and symptoms of dog allergies as it can be hard to detect.
Because your dog can't talk and tell you what they're feeling, it's important to know how to detect dog allergies in order to manage them properly and also to effectively treat them.
Dogs today are fed a variety of processed food making it the third most common cause of allergies.
As with human allergy, the dog's immune system overreacts to certain kinds of foods causing the immune system to release histamines to fight off the offender.
These offenders or usually harmless, but the immune system overreacts and mistakes it as harmful.
If your dog is suffering from an allergy attack, you'll notice they have itching in several parts of their body.
They will experience itching in the face, paw, limb, belly, and can also experience recurrent ear infections.
They will not be as active as usual, refuse to eat and may even vomit.
One of the main causes of food allergies come from processed dog foods.
The dog foods available today contains artificial colors, flavor enhancers, toxic pesticides, and chemical additives that can cause allergic reactions.
Allergies in dogs can also come from proteins found in beef, chicken, chicken eggs, wheat and dairy products.
As you can see, the ingredients mentioned are also the most common ingredients found in dog food.
It is important that you try changing 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 help identify what ingredient your dog is allergic to.
Once the allergen is identified, the vet can recommend a change in diet from regular dog food that contains allergens to hypoallergenic dog food.
Although hypoallergenic dog foods can be costly, you can be sure your dog will be a lot happier.
You can also choose homemade raw or natural dog food exceptionally high in nutrition.
Many dog owners report their dogs eat less of this food since there are no added bulk fillers.
Since raw or natural foods are naturally dense, your dog will consume only what it needs to maintain healthy energy levels.