Hypoallergenic Dog Food Diet

There are many benefits to a hypoallergenic dog food diet. Food allergies in our canine friends are just like food allergies in us. A food allergy is simply an adverse reaction of one's body to a particular food or even a particular ingredient in a food. When this particular food or ingredient is ingested it will cause an itchiness on certain places of the body or even all over the body.

Food allergies may also cause reactions such as: blood in stool, increased frequency in defecation, an increase in flatulence and even fecal mucus. All of these effects are unwanted, so it is a good idea to find out if your canine has any allergies early on in their lives, if possible.

A canine can have an onset of allergies anywhere from a few months old to up to twelve years old. There are certain ingredients that dogs are more commonly allergic to than others. These seven ingredients include: beef, milk, eggs, chicken, soy, wheat, and corn. If you want to go strictly by statistics, beef and soy are the two at the top of the dog allergy list. If a dog is found to allergic to one of these ingredients, they will often times be allergic to one or more of the other ingredients as well. These sorts of canines may also be allergic to other things in their environments like pollen and the like.
If you have a canine that is allergic to any of the fore mentioned ingredients, you may want to consider putting them on a commercial hydrolyzed protein hypoallergenic diet.

These dog foods contain proteins that are broken down to an extent to where they are no longer capable of causing an allergic reaction in the canine. These diets are often known as prescription diets because they are usually purchased only through your veterinarian. There are certain pet supply stores that these foods can be purchased over the counter without a prescription. These foods are more expensive and more limited antigen diets. So, it is a good idea to try the limited antigen diet before trying this sort of diet for your canine.
If you do decide to put your canine on a hypoallergenic food diet, be sure to follow that diet strictly. You cannot give your dog anything else while on one of these diets. That means no table scraps, no treats, absolutely nothing that is extra. Keeping them on a strict diet may help to save their life. Remember that there are a lot of additives in rawhide chews and other canine treats.

Get the information you need to protect your pet. Many commercial foods can cause not only allergies, but can actually decrease your pets comfort, quality of life and shorten their life span. To keep your pet healthy and strong you should get the facts about dog food and the harm some foods can cause your pet. 

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