Dog Food Allergy Myths

By Dr. Jennifer Coates, PetMD

Allergies are a common problem for dogs. Typical symptoms include itchiness resulting in excess scratching, biting, or licking, and sometimes chronic or recurrent skin/ear infections. While dogs most frequently suffer from allergies to environmental triggers (e.g., pollen, molds, and dust mites or flea bites), allergic reactions to food are possible, and are frequently a source of greater controversy.

Diagnosing canine food allergies is not easy. It typically requires a food trial during which a dog eats ABSOLUTELY NOTHING other than a food containing protein and carbohydrate sources to which he has never been exposed before. Another option is to only allow your dog to eat food that has been processed in such a way as to make it hypoallergenic. A food trial needs to continue for at least eight weeks before its success or failure can be evaluated. This is easier said than done!

I think the difficulty we have in definitively diagnosing food allergies in dogs is at least partially responsible for some of the myths that have developed around the condition. Let’s look at a few, along with the truths behind them.

Myth: Dogs are typically allergic to corn, wheat, soy, and other plant-based ingredients.

Truth: In a study of 278 cases of food allergies in dogs where the problem ingredient was clearly identified, beef was by far the biggest culprit (95 cases). Dairy was number two at 55 cases. Wheat came in third with 42 cases. Soy and corn were actually minimal offenders, coming in at 13 and 7 cases, respectively.

In fact, protein sources are more often to blame than grains. Beef, dairy, chicken, egg, lamb, soy, pork and fish were responsible for 231 of the food allergies, while wheat, corn and rice combined accounted for only 54. (Some dogs were allergic to more than one ingredient, which is why these numbers total more than 278.)

Myth: “I’ve changed my dog’s diet several times and he’s still itchy, so he can’t have a food allergy.”

Truth: Dogs are allergic to particular ingredients, not to brands or types of food. So if your dog is allergic to chicken, and each of the foods you have tried contains chicken, he will still be itchy. Look very closely at the ingredient list; it will usually contain multiple protein and carbohydrate sources. It is not unusual for a food that is labeled “lamb and rice,” for example, to contain chicken or other potential allergens as well.

It is difficult to guess correctly as to what your dog might be allergic to, which is why veterinarians typically reach for foods with novel ingredients like venison and potato (your dog’s dietary history is important for picking out the right one), or specially processed, hypoallergenic foods.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Rosie L.

9:41AM PST on Jan 20, 2012

thanks

send a green star

Jessie D.

9:14AM PST on Jan 20, 2012

good to know, shared, thanks

Andrea A.

2:26AM PST on Jan 6, 2012

Thanks for sharing.

Brenda T.

3:23AM PST on Nov 27, 2011

Thanks.

Mike S.

9:01PM PST on Nov 20, 2011

Excellent article. It's interesting that corn often has a bad reputation when it actually is quite beneficial, albeit slightly harder to digest. I've also noticed many dogs simply don't do well on beef - convincing their owners is another story!
Thanks again
Petfood Direct NZ

Sandi H.

6:03AM PST on Nov 15, 2011

this advice from a dogfood subsidiary? please . . . no more . . .and *ruth, please read about the veal industry. . . blessings to all

Brittany L.

6:03PM PST on Nov 12, 2011

Colleen P.,

I totally agree with you and it is unfortunate that people still find bliss in being ignorant. I still want to get my voice out there, though. I know that alot of people out there read one story and take it to heart- Maybe that is what bothers me. I, myself, am a Vegan and so of course, meat or any animal by-product of any sort is not included in my diet. Maybe that will clear up confusion for some people. As for wolves.. I wish people would take more things into consideration than diet! If they've ever experience wolves in the wilderness or on several very thourough documentaries, they will see what REALLY minuses their life spans. They fight prey three times or more in size to survive, they fight opposing wolf packs, human inflicted injury/death/illness, habitat loss, pollution, disease, and more. It's a shame that people can't do their homework, eh?

colleen p.

6:25AM PST on Nov 12, 2011

Brittany L.
don't try to use science. people will just say you are being paied off by the meat industry to say "dogs cannot digest carbs well" then they will say it's not true because the domestic dog has been eating veggies and rice for thousands of years and that is why they live to 20, and not die at 10 like a wild wolf.

and because one barley eating working dog lived to 23, means the pamperd city dog eating the vegan diet is better off than the stinky mean working dog who eats meat, who'll live to 10 as well.

Ruth C.

9:17AM PST on Nov 10, 2011

By process of elimination of foods we found that beef was causing our Maltese to have that reddish brown matter from his eyes. I had been giving him a product to eliminate this and it never did entirely, so I stopped and watched how he responded to different foods. He no longer has the problem since I stopped all beef. After months of clear eyes we gave him a couple of pieces of our fillet mingon and there it was again. He prefers chicken, pork, and veal anyway and never misses beef.

Past Member .

6:49PM PST on Nov 9, 2011

I've done elimination diets with cats with great success. Now that seems like luck. In fact, I was just plain lucky to discover at least one food causing an allergic reaction with my dog which happened to be corn. Whether he has issues with other foods remains a mystery since he also has environmental allergies for which he has not been tested and is symptomatic year round. Good nutrition is important to any animal's health, but you can drive yourself crazy trying to hunt down all the sources of their misery.