Allergies
Q. My Airdale has been diagnosed with allergies to Beef, Pork and Soya, please can you advise on a suitable dog food to try. I have so far used Burns fish, duck and vension. Can you suggested another brand which may be better?
This is a difficult combination of allergies. Diagnosis of allergies is never easy and usually a feeding trial will be necessary to identify the allergens concerned. I am presuming that that is indeed what has happened and that your vet has arrived at the diagnosis in this way. If your dog has a true food allergy (as opposed to a food intolerance) then the slightest trace of the allergen can be enough to trigger a reaction. Allergies are usually to proteins, rather than fats or carbohydrates. Most standard petfoods will be unsuitable as even something like a chicken variety will have other proteins included in the recipe to make up the right amino acid profile dogs need nutritionally. If you do find a recipe that contains no pork, no soya and no beef then you could still risk a reaction being triggered by animal fats that may contain traces of protein – pork and beef fat are very commonly used sources of fats. Pork fat does not usually tend to trigger reactions with any degree of regularity but there is always that possibility. There are diets that contain no pork, beef, soya and that contain only pork fat as the source of animal fat, such as Hill’s Science Plan Sensitive Stomach or Sensitive Skin but you should certainly not experiment before discussing the options and risks with your vet. There are specific foods available that can be used for dogs with allergies. These foods are made from ingredients that have been broken down into such small particles that they will not cause an allergy. An example would be Hill’s Prescription Diet Canine z/d Ultra. You should talk to your vet as regards how suitable this product would be for your dog before changing your dog’s diet so that your pet’s full clinical history can be taken into account.
By Libby Sheridan (Hills Pet Nutrition) (Professional Advisor)
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