Food Allergies Can Cause Severe Discomfort and Misery For Your Cocker Spaniel
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Dog Food Allergy Or Dog Food Intolerance?
Dog food allergies are often confused with food intolerances, but there's a distinct difference between the two.
Dog Food Intolerance
A food intolerance arises where the body cannot tolerate a particular food, resulting in chronic vomitting and diarrhoea.
With a food intolerance, there's not normally any immediate skin reaction.
However, if your dog is unable to process certain foods, it is possible, over the longer term, that this could result in a deficiency of necessary vitamins and minerals. Aside from ill-health, a deficiency of essential nutrients may cause skin problems for your Cocker Spaniel, such as itchy and flaking skin, and could lead to a dull coat and patches of hair loss.
It's important, therefore, to ensure your Cocker Spaniel is fed a well-balanced diet to compensate for any food intolerances. Your vet, or a canine nutritionist, may be able to help you with this.
Dog Food Allergies
A dog food allergy is simply that - an allergy to a particular food which, when eaten, results in an allergic reaction such as itching and skin problems.
Your dog can develop an allergic reaction to food at any time during his life, but it's more likely to at around 2 years or over. Your dog may suddenly become allergic to foods he's eaten regularly without having suffered any adverse reaction in the past.
Dog food allergies are not too easily identified as the symptoms can be mistaken for a number of other problems, including; flea bite allergies, intestinal parasites, mange, and yeast or bacterial infections.
If you suspect your dog has a food allergy, it's important that you discuss with your vet first to eliminate all other potential health problems before treating your pet for dog food allergies.
Symptoms Of Dog Food Allergies
Diagnosing the cause of your dog's allergy may not be so straightforward as there may be no specific symptom that directly would indicate a particular food allergy.
Diagnosis involves a trial of exclusion diets until the allergic reactions disappear.
The symptoms of dog food allergies may come and go.
You may see a distinct improvement, for example, in your dog's skin, only to discover that he's developed another allergic reaction, ie an ear infection.
Unlike a food intolerance, if your Cocker Spaniel has a dog food allergy, it probably won't cause him sickness and diarrhoea, but there will often be many other symptoms, such as:
Itchy skin
Itchy paws - If you see your dog biting and nibbling his paws it may be wise to check for dog fleas or other parasites. If you're certain he's free from parasites, your dog may be suffering from an allergy which is causing his paws to itch.
Dry, flaky skin
Excessive hair loss and/or patches of baldness
Skin rashes and hives
Ear infections (in particular, yeast or bacterial infections)
Skin infections - usually caused by scratching
hot spots
Increased bowel movements
Itching is the most common symptom of dog food allergies. A dog food allergy may cause itching on your dog's muzzle, paws, forelegs, ears, armpits and bottom.
Itching is also associated with many other canine health problems, which can make diagnosing an allergy quite difficult.
If your Cocker Spaniel regularly suffers from an ear infection it may be a sign that he's suffering from a food allergy. Don't waste any time, take him to see the vet who will be able to offer a correct diagnosis and treatment.
Foods Which May Cause Dog Food Allergies
Common foods that are said to trigger an allergic reaction in dogs include the following:
Beef
Chicken
Eggs
Dairy
Wheat
Corn
Soy
Unfortunately, most commercial dog foods contain some or all of the above ingredients!
Testing For Dog Food Allergies
The simple answer to treating both food allergies and a food intolerance is to provide your dog with a diet that is totally free of the food items that are causing the problems.
With a food intolerance the reaction is fairly immediate, making it easy to identify the offending food and banish it from the diet.
However, with canine food allergies, reactions may not be so immediate, and symptoms can vary, often making the cause of the allergy more difficult to identify.
The most recommended method of testing for an allergy is a food exclusion trial and there are several ways this testing can be carried out.
Option 1
Feed Your Dog Only Lamb and Rice - Nothing Else!
Feed your dog lamb and rice - remove all other foods from his diet.
As lamb doesn't normally cause allergic reactions in dogs, it may be a good idea to begin with changing your dog onto a diet of lamb and rice. Remove all other foods from his diet during the 12-week exclusion trial. This means no treats, (training or otherwise) no scraps from the table, and make sure that any bread or food scraps meant for the birds are placed out of reach on a bird table.
Putting your beloved Cocker Spaniel on a diet of only lamb and rice may sound harsh but don't give in - it's for his own good.
Monitor your dog closely during the exclusion trial - symptoms should begin to ease as all other food is removed from his diet.
If the symptoms don't show any sign of easing, try him on a diet of rabbit or salmon and rice instead.
If the symptoms do ease, however, and there's no allergic reaction for at least 2-3 weeks, you can try adding another food to his diet - eggs perhaps. Continue to monitor him closely for another 2-3 weeks. If there's still no reaction, it's unlikely he's allergic to eggs.
If, however, the allergy symptoms return after re-introducing a particular food (we'll stick with eggs as an example), it probably means that your dog is allergic to eggs.
Remove eggs from his diet and you'll more than likely remove the allergy!
However, as your dog may be allergic to more than one food, the above process should be continued until all restricted foods have been re-introduced into his diet.
Option 2
An alternative method (although rather tedious) is where one food at a time is removed from your dog's diet and then reintroduced after 12 weeks. During those 12 weeks, symptoms are monitored to see if there are any significant changes.
For example, if you remove beef from your dog's diet and his symptoms improve, that could be an indicator that he's allergic to beef.
If the symptoms reappear when you reintroduce beef into his diet, that's proof positive that he's allergic to beef.
As your dog may be allergic to more than one food, this method can take many months to complete.
Option 3
Starting your dog onto a diet of commercially available hypo-allergenic dog food may be the easiest option. This food is carefully prepared with foods such as lamb, salmon, or rabbit, which are less likely to cause dog food allergies. They are also usually gluten, wheat and dairy free; however, it's best to check the label before you buy - it should clearly state that the food is hypo-allergenic.
Option 4
Alternatively, you may decide you'd prefer to prepare your dog's meals yourself.
If you decide to use your own homemade dog food, it is really important that you consult your vet, or a vet nutritionist, to ensure your Cocker Spaniel's diet is well-balanced and contains the essential vitamins and minerals to keep him healthy.
Before Trialing An Exclusion Diet
Before you trial an exclusion diet, you need to be certain that the symptoms shown are the result of a dog food allergy and that your dog is not suffering from an underlying medical illness.
We strongly recommend that you speak to your vet first for a proper diagnosis. If your dog is suffering from a dog food allergy, then your vet may be able to recommend a specific diet and/or vitamin supplements to use during the trial.
