Just like humans, dogs can suffer from allergies. Symptoms in dogs may include gastrointestinal upset, itchy skin (ears, face, feet and underbellies), hot spots, and chronic ear infections. Obviously these symptoms can cause your dog a great deal of discomfort so it’s important to isolate the cause. As a first course of action, your veterinarian may recommended that you switch to a hypoallergenic dog food. While some food allergy symptoms are the same as those caused by atopy (flea bite allergy) and inhalant allergies, changing to a hypoallergenic dog food may help you determine if something in your dog’s diet is causing the problem.
There are many potential allergens in normal dog food. Any of the chemicals, preservatives, or other ingredients used in the making of the food could be to blame for dog food allergy symptoms. Studies show that certain food substances are more likely to cause problems than others. Beef, chicken, lamb and fish are some of the more common culprits.
If you suspect that your dog’s food is responsible for your dog’s allergy symptoms, the good news is that you have plenty of hypoallergenic dog food brands to choose from. Your veterinarian should be able to recommend a good brand but they tend to mark up the price these foods by as much as 40%. You may find it cheaper to purchase the food online after doing some comparison shopping.
If you are planning to switch your dog’s diet to a hypoallergenic dog food, do so gradually to avoid upsetting your dog’s stomach. If your dog currently eats a wet dog food, switch to a wet hypoallergenic dog food. If your dog eats dry food, switch them to a dry hypoallergenic dog food. Ideally you should make the switch over the course of about a week by mixing ¼ new food with ¾ old food at first. Then, after the first three days of this, change the the mixture to ½ new and ½ old and so on. Be sure to monitor your dog’s reaction to the change in diet. If you don’t notice any changes in your dog’s digestion, the switch was a success. If you do notice problems like vomiting or diarrhea, contact your veterinarian. If you have successfully eliminated the component of your dog’s diet that was triggering the food allergies, your dog’s symptoms will be relieved.
More info about it : http://pitbullscare.com/hypoallergenic-dog-breeds/
