Is Fresh Food Better for Dogs with Allergies?
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Time to read 5 min
Is Fresh Food Better for Dogs with Allergies?
Allergies are as uncomfortable and threatening for dogs as they are for their human counterparts. Symptoms include itchy feet, bloating snout, patchy hair fall, loose stool, and other digestive issues. They've become much more common since the onset of processed kibble taking a larger share in the daily diet of dogs.
While seasonal changes and other environmental factors may cause allergy attacks, daily diet also plays a crucial role in controlling and managing allergy development and attacks thereon. It is a tough choice when it comes to deciding what to feed to overcome these food allergies, especially with so many options available out there.
Below, we will look at identifying food allergies, how the onset of commercially packed food has led to the beginning of an era of allergies, what makes fresh food – fresh, and finally, what to look for when wanting to make the switch to fresh food to help your dog fight allergies.
Identifying Food Allergies
Food allergy develops when your dog's immune system recognises a specific food ingredient as an allergen that causes reactions. According to BMC Veterinary Research, here are some common symptoms of food allergies in dogs.
- Allergic dermatitis: shows up as itchy skin, mainly affecting ears, belly, inner thighs, paws, and eyelids.
- Hives or urticaria: Hives may develop within 4 to 8 hours of exposure of injured skin to air, characterised by red bumps that are hot and itchy. There also may be hair loss.
- Diarrhoea: In some cases, the dog may show signs of acute diarrhoea and vomiting.
- Frequent ear infection: Your dog may develop chronic ear infections due to repeated exposure to the food they are allergic to.
- Swollen face: There might be swelling in your dog's lips, eyelids, or ear flaps.
Take immediate cognisance of the situation and consult your veterinarian immediately.
How Commercial Dry Food Can Lead to Allergies
Opinion in the professional circle is that the onset of allergies has increased after the large-scale adoption of dry kibble food as the main consistent meal for dogs. Commercially-oriented food is laden with preservatives and synthetic antioxidants to improve shelf life.
Although respective food authorities approve the preservatives, they are not short of harming health on consistent consumption. For example, sulphite-based preservatives hinder the absorption of crucial vitamins such as thiamine or vitamin B1 that naturally cause health complications.
On the other hand, synthetic antioxidants such as BHA (Butylated Hydroxytoulene) and BHT (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) are added to food to preserve the lipid and protein structure. However, these both are also recognised by multiple state authorities as cancer-causing and allergen material.
TL;DR: Generally approved ingredients in commercial dog food are recognised as causing cancer and inducing allergies.
What Constitutes Fresh Food
Fresh food is usually raw or cooked at standard temperatures that preserve the nutrients and the food's micro and macrostructure. Another feature is not having any preservatives that help artificially extend shelf life.
Fresh food is also categorised into three main categories: (1) raw, (2) retorted (3) frozen. Of these, raw is challenging to handle. It is dangerous in households where human family members may be susceptible to allergic reactions. On the other hand, safe frozen food is extraordinarily costly and is only sometimes available in stores, etc. It also takes up precious freezer space that could be utilised for other purposes.
Retorted fresh food is a sweet spot in this with the benefit of feeding fresh, nutritious, preservative-free food but one that does not break the bank for everyday feeding. Perfekt has a great collection of fresh food options to choose from that are also very affordable.
Reducing Allergies with Fresh Food: What to Look For
For dogs with food allergies, switching to a fresh food diet is observed to be very beneficial. A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2021 showcases how puppies put on just a 20% fresh food diet or a maximum of 80% dry kibble diet have shown significantly lower chances of developing allergies in later life stages. A simple change goes a long way towards the well-being of your beloved dog.
Just a 20% fresh food diet or a maximum of 80% dry kibble diet have shown significantly lower chances of developing allergies in later life stages.
It would be best to look to eliminate parts of their diet to ascertain sources of allergic reactions to your dog.
Next, look at the ingredients label to ensure the specific allergens are not present in the food.
Keep track of changes happening to your dog, such as inflammation reduction, hair loss reduction, reduction in itching, better and consistent bowel movements, etc.
Aim to feed novel protein sources, i.e. something that your dog has never tried, such as duck, rabbit, turkey or even fish in many cases. As much as novel protein is beneficial in resetting the gut and restoring its health, they might be costly as the protein sources are not popularly raised for food. Have a look at these affordable novel protein options from Perfekt.
Further Reading
Conclusion
As much as manually eliminating individual ingredients from a dog's diet might seem right, one has to be wary of homemade dog food that comes with its own perils.
One could take the route of trying novel protein sources. Perfekt uses a small list of ingredients and single-source novel proteins such as Duck and Turkey to help pet parents with these issues. Their Prime Duck recipe is especially marked for hypoallergenic diets. It is worth checking out to help your dog overcome allergic reactions and help reset gut health.
Daily diet plays a major role in the health of your dog - feeding even just 20% fresh food might impact it's whole life trajectory.
Explore various novel protein sources which you can feed along with well balanced complete meals.
Keep in close contact with your veterinarian if you notice any allergic reactions. Keep a meticulous record (through the process of elimination and re-introduction) of what is affecting your dogs health.
For any assistance reach out using the button below.
Products Featured In This Blog
For how long do I have to feed hypoallergic food?
There is no set time line for this. However, it is recommended that you keep a close track of what foods are affecting your dog and then plan a meal accordingly.
Are all your meals allergy-friendly?
No. Each formulation has it's own set of ingredients and we completely encourage you to read them before feeding Perfekt to your dog(s). We make standard products that are suitable to a wide range of dogs. However, there are cases where your dog is allergic to a particular ingredient and for that we encourage you to be highly aware of what you are feeding IF your dog has a history of allergy attacks.
I need help with helping reduce my dog's allergy attacks. :(
We're here to help you out! Reach out to us on WhatsApp and we will take your case history and suggest the best plan forward.
