Dog Food Allergies - Could it Be Your Dog's Food?

Especially during the warmer months dog owners see an increase in their dog's scratching activity. Your dog may be scratching under his neck, at the ears, or biting his feat incessantly. It drives owners crazy to see their dogs in such distress, imagine how the dog feels? The first reaction is to think your dog has fleas and you should check to eliminate that possibility as well as checking to make sure there isn't some toxic environmental issue causing the problem. But, after eliminating all other possibilities your dog is still scratching then your dog may suffer from dog food allergies.

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A healthy animal may not have trouble eating most foods. However, if you feed the same food daily for years there is potential for an intolerance to develop, especially if you are feeding a cheap, poor quality commercial pet food. Any individual animal can become allergic to any food - a protein source, a fruit, a vegetable. Just a small amount of an offending food could be enough to trigger reactions in some animals. In others, reactions occur simply from constant feeding of the same food. Basically, an allergy in all its forms is a reflection of a system starving for higher nutrition and health.

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There are too many dog food ingredients that could be causing allergy symptoms in your dog but these are just a few of the foods to consider:

Beef and beef by-products

Milk

Corn and corn oil

Wheat and wheat by products

Yeast, and yeast-containing foods

Truthfully, allergies are one of the hardest when it comes to pinpointing the source. But, food is a practical place to start. Feed your animal something it is not used to. Try feeding oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and some meats that your dog never eats.

If you are already feeding a homemade diet then you know what types of meat and veggies you are feeding and can replace them easily with other nutritious foods. But, if you are still feeding a commercial dog food, just check the ingredients on the can and don't feed your dog any of the foods listed, instead replace them with other sources. For example if the can says that there are beef and beef by products then switch your dog's food to a lamb and rice diet.

You may even have to try a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet is NOT a balanced diet but you can try it for a couple of weeks to see if this clears up the allergy problem. If it does then you can start adding things back into the diet and check for any allergic reactions.

Diets that contain poor and inappropriate ingredients, and unfortunately this represents a good deal of what is sold as commercial pet food, create animals who do not function properly. Their systems are constantly besieged with toxicity. The symptoms that arise from this are related to dog food allergies.

The best preventative measure that works for most dogs is, rather than eliminating food and dealing with food allergies when your dog is showing symptoms, just feed a better diet and one that has a ton of variety.

Dog Food Allergies - Could it Be Your Dog's Food?

For more ways to keep your pet healthy and allergy free by feeding the right foods and using alternative remedies please Click Here

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