Food Allergies in Dogs
Food allergies in dogs: signs, causes, and the only test that works
Between one and seven per cent of dogs have a food allergy. The signs are mostly on the skin, the usual culprits are the everyday proteins, and there is no blood test: the diagnosis is a diet.
Allergy or intolerance?
An intolerance is a digestive problem: the dog cannot process something, often for lack of an enzyme. An allergy is an immune reaction to a protein the body has met before and decided is a threat. From the outside they can look alike; the difference matters because an allergy can be triggered by a crumb.
The signs
Itching around the face, belly and flanks
Ear infections that keep returning, often both ears
Paw licking, scooting and an itchy bottomOnly one in six to one in three food-allergic dogs has digestive signs as well: wind, intermittent loose stool, or vomiting close to mealtimes. A dog with a perfect stool can still have a food allergy. It usually starts young, within the first year in 30 to 50 per cent of cases, and by three years in most. Labradors, Golden Retrievers, terriers, Boxers and several flat-faced breeds are noted as predisposed.
The usual suspects
A meta-analysis found that around 75 per cent of allergic dogs react to beef, dairy or wheat, and about a quarter to chicken (meat or egg), soya or lamb. Not because those proteins are bad, but because dogs eat so much of them: an allergy is a learned reaction, and the immune system learns from what it sees most.
Rule out the look-alikes first
Fleas, mites, environmental allergies (pollen, dust mites), and secondary yeast or bacterial skin infections are all more common than food allergy and look the same. Storage mites in dry food are a particular trap. Your vet will work through these before a food trial, and treating an infected ear or skin is needed alongside any diet, not instead of it.
The elimination diet
One protein the dog has never eaten, one carbohydrate, nothing else, for six to eight weeks and up to twelve. No treats, chews, dental sticks, table scraps or flavoured medication. Then re-challenge with the old food: if the signs return, the diagnosis is made. A commercial single-protein complete food is the practical version; home-cooked meat and rice is neither balanced nor sustainable for that long. The step-by-step guide.
Two routes: novel or hydrolysed
A meat the dog has never met: ostrich, kangaroo, goat, horse, quail. A dog is very unlikely to be allergic to something it has never eaten, so there is almost nothing for the immune system to have learned to react to. Our Sensible and Pure ranges are built on this.
A common protein broken into fragments too small to recognise. Prescription foods, worth discussing with your vet if the list of never-eaten proteins is short.
Do not use hypoallergenic food as prevention. It does not prevent allergy, and a dog fed kangaroo "just in case" has used up kangaroo as an option for the day it needs a truly novel protein. Healthy dogs should eat common ingredients. The vets’ argument in full.
- your dog is itchy: parasites and environmental allergies are more common and look the same
- ear infections keep recurring; they need treating as well as investigating
- there is weight loss, persistent diarrhoea or vomiting alongside the itching
Choosing the protein
List everything your dog has ever eaten, including treats, and pick a protein that is not on it. Tell us the list and we will say which of our recipes gives the cleanest trial.
Ostrich Dry Dog Food (Africa)Ostrich, grain-free
Horse Dry Dog Food (Montana)Horse, grain-free
Pure Kangaroo (Australia)Kangaroo, 100% meat
VET Hypersensitivity (Quail)Quail, vet diet
Based on "The search for the right diet" by Cornelia Günther, veterinarian, and "Sensitive stomach in dogs and cats" by Pascale Huber, veterinarian, Happy Dog veterinary team. General information, not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Not sure what to feed your dog?
What is your dog’s name and what breed are they?
What’s the main issue affecting your dog?
Choose the one that feels most important right now.
Has your dog reacted to any foods in the past?
Select all that apply.
Has your vet diagnosed any conditions for your dog?
Select all that apply.
What symptoms are you seeing day-to-day with your dog?
Select all that apply.
How old is your dog?
We’ll match them to Puppy, Junior, Adult or Senior automatically.
