If your dog suffers from recurring bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, and skin issues, like itching, rashes, redness, and hair loss, then the first thing you need to do is go to the vet, because it can be an immune response provoked by an allergen.
Most allergens for dogs are strictly environmental, including local pollen, fleas, and dust mites. However, some dogs might have allergic reactions to their dog food. “The most common food allergy that can afflict dogs is the protein source,” as Dr. Michelle Burch, a well-known veterinarian and veterinary consultant with Safe Hounds Pet Insurance, explained.
In fact, she added that the most common allergies oftentimes include beef, chicken, lamb, and wheat.
Dog food allergies can be reversed by effectively changing the protein source in the dog’s food. There are a few limited-ingredient dog foods that can easily provide alternate proteins, as well as formulas to address less common allergens, such as wheat, and an easy-to-audit ingredient list to help you get rid of your dog’s specific allergen from their diet.
But it mainly depends on your veterinarian’s guidance, as well as the severity of your dog’s allergy. In each case, your dog might need a specific diet to find some relief from these symptoms. Prescription diets always have a series of carefully vetted ingredients and unique proteins that are unlikely to trigger an allergic response. They are also manufactured to prevent cross-contamination.
“A family who can keep nutritional restrictions might find their dog with an excellent prognosis,” explained Dr. Burch. So let’s see what the best alternatives are:
Hill’s prescription hypoallergenic dog food
With a very clear and thorough labeling of ingredients, paired with all the needed consistency and transparency in their production process, Hill’s Prescription Diet Dog food is at the top of the list as far as allergy-friendly foods for dogs go.
Hill’s Science Diet is by far the best, earning amazingly high marks for overall satisfaction (from both humans and hounds), as well as for the brand’s capacity to address specific health needs. Dog food manufacturers generally take two general approaches when it comes to addressing a protein allergy: either by providing a novel protein that’s very unlikely to trigger an allergic response or with proteins that are “hydrolyzed,” being broken down into their constituent amino acids and removing the allergen component.
Hill’s Prescription Diet’s d/d formula prefers the first approach, using duck, salmon, and venison to avoid the most common protein allergies. It also erases other potential confounding allergens, such as soy protein and common protein additives.
Royal Canin Veterinary Royal Canin Hydrolyzed protein
Royal Canin’s prescription dog food has quite a lot in common with Hill’s Prescription Diet, which includes both novel protein and hydrolyzed options for addressing your dog’s allergies. Among our surveyed dog houses, there were definitely fewer popular, but still similarly trusted.
Both are amazing dog foods, with healthy ingredients and high-quality omega fatty acids. But if you are looking for a hydrolyzed protein food to properly address your dog’s protein allergy, then Royal Canin has a slightly wider range of options that could suit your dog’s very specific needs much better.
Dry food options can also include a version with hydrolyzed chicken, as well as a formula that has zero protein at all, instead using hydrolyzed soy protein. There’s also an interesting formula for small dogs, and two other options for weight management.
Purina Pro plan sensitive skin & stomach wet dog food
If you would rather feed your dog some wet food, Purina Pro Plan has three poultry-free recipes within their Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach line of dog food. There’s either salmon & rice, lamb & oatmeal, or turkey & oatmeal, which is packed in bags ranging from four to 40 pounds.
Blue Buffalo Basics salmon and potato recipe
For dogs with a chicken allergy, Blue Buffalo offers a full line of limited-ingredient dry and wet dog foods, all of them made with a single animal protein source. Basics from Blue Buffalo is our first choice for dogs, especially those with a chicken allergy, since the brand manufactures this dog food without any by-product meals.
This makes it a lot easier to fully avoid the chicken allergen, which could cause your dog some level of discomfort. Each serving of this super-nutritious and balanced dog food comes with plenty of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to efficiently bolster your dog’s overall health. The food is also completely free of corn, wheat, soy, dairy, and eggs, all of which are quite common allergens.
The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food
If your dog is allergic to animal protein sources, then the Farmer’s Dog Custom Fresh Dog Food could bring dog food, made without any source of your dog’s affliction, right to your door. This subscription service will allow you to choose up to four recipes, whether it’s beef, chicken, pork, or even turkey, to be fully included in your dog’s personal meal plan.
This means that if your dog is allergic to chicken, they can still enjoy the other three recipes, whether it’s beef, turkey, or pork. To efficiently steer clear of dog allergens, the Farmer’s Dog first asks you a series of questions about your dog’s current health, food sensitivities and allergies, and then its breed, age, activity level, and weight.
If you have a rescue, for example, you can approximate its age and breed composition. That’s just as fine. Each recipe is carefully made in the United States, and it was developed by veterinarian nutritionists to provide nutrients, vitamins, fat, protein, as well as fiber in each serving.
Their recipes are always made with USDA animal meat, starches, like lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. As soon as you order it, a box with individually frozen packs that last for 56 days arrives at your door.
Each of those packs can be easily frozen for up to six months, and once thawed, the food has to be consumed within four days. Depending on the size of your dog, one pack can have four servings of food.
Fromm family heartland gold dog food
For dogs with wheat allergies, a grain-free food will automatically ensure that the food you give your dog hasn’t come in contact with a potential allergen during the production process. Fromm Heartland Gold Adult Grain Free Dog Food packs plenty of amino acids, like taurine, for healthy functioning muscles, including the heart and the kidneys, antioxidants for strong immunity, as well as a blend of probiotics and prebiotics to support the digestive system.
The most important ingredient is beef, with pork and lamb as additional sources of protein, all mixed to create a meaty flavor dogs really love. The grain-free formula is made with legumes, peas, lentils, chickpeas, and potatoes as the primary starch. Among the 407 dog parents we asked, Fromm got top marks for the reliable use of human-grade ingredients, along with a high satisfaction, engagement, and enjoyment experienced by their dog.
Purina One Plus skin & coat formula dog food
Purina ONE+ Plus Skin & Coat Formula is made with salmon, especially since it is the first ingredient, along with rice flour, barley, oatmeal, beef fat, and fish oil. It also has grains and chicken by-product meal. All of them combined, there are plenty of potential allergen triggers in Purina ONE, so this is not exactly a suitable food for dogs with food allergies.
But Purina ONE+ could provide some relief from symptoms, because of environmental triggers such as pollen or fleas. It also includes vitamin E and omega-6 fatty acids, which studies have shown can help maintain a healthy coat and skin in dogs.
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