Everything You Need to Know About Pet Food Allergies
Let’s face it, while many pets think of food as fuel and would devour anything you put in their bowl, some pets are picky eaters. When they look up at you with their pleading eyes that you can never resist, you head out for the nearest pet supply store to get your fur baby a new tasty meal.
It works out most of the time, but sometimes, you find your pet feeling sick or having rashes, which makes you wonder if they could be suffering from food allergies.
What Are Food Allergies in Pets?
Like humans, pets get food allergies when their immune system rejects or misidentifies certain ingredients in their food. It may cause skin irritation or gastrointestinal issues, or in some unfortunate cases, both. But it’s important to remember that many other illnesses could cause your pet to have these issues.
It’s important to rule out each one before diagnosing it as a food allergy, because unpopular to common belief, food allergies aren’t common among animals. Though it is possible, it’s more likely that your pet’s stomach aches and itchy skin could be something else altogether.
Food Associated with Food Allergies
Many pet companies like to make you think that grains and other plant-based ingredients could give your furry friend allergies. The types of food associated with allergies are actually other animal proteins such as beef, chicken, dairy, fish, and eggs.
However, keep in mind that there aren’t many tests that show that these kinds of food can cause allergies. Tests also do not show that pets are allergic to other ingredients like gluten and other vegetable-based processed food. Overall, animal proteins are associated with food allergies simply because these are the most common ingredients many pets have consumed over the years.
Possible Signs and Symptoms of Food Allergies
Pet food allergies can have symptoms ranging from simple skin irritation to stomach infections, but these signs and symptoms can also mean many other illnesses. Itching, skin irritation, and ear infections that your local pet supplies store can’t remedy could be a symptom of food allergies.
Still, it could also be an issue concerning fleas or other environmental bacterias that require better pet grooming. Food allergies in pets can also have stomach or gastrointestinal problems, but these symptoms could also mean a more significant issue within their internal organs.
Bringing Your Pet to the Vet
Since vet schools and pet companies haven’t found the most accurate way of testing for food allergies in pets, the most commonly used method for diagnosis is changing your pet’s diet.
A dietary elimination trial means purchasing your vet’s prescribed pet food that your dog has never had before. Moreover, it only comprises essential ingredients that give only the right amount of proteins, minerals, and vitamins your pet needs.
From this point on, it’s trial and error. If the prescribed diet has drastically improved your pet’s health, then it only means the new diet has stripped off the ingredient that gave your pet allergies.
Of course, your furry friend can’t stay on their special vet food diet forever, so the process of adding and removing more common ingredients begins. At the end of it all, you may or may not find the components that caused it all.
Final Thoughts
Food allergies can exist among pets, but it’s not a common disease for them. Symptoms of food allergies can also mean other kinds of illnesses that your pet is suffering from and requires closer attention from the vet.
What’s important is to always keep an eye on your beloved pet with everything they do, whether it’s picking something off the ground to eat or getting themselves dirty while playing.
Finding the right food for your pet that they won’t get allergies from can be tricky, but with the Earthwise pet store in Bentonville, you can discover more than just a range of pet food. This one-stop-pet-shop not only provides an array of pet supplies, but you can also take your pet for grooming or self-wash. Visit us today to learn more about services!