What does a food allergy look like on dogs skin

Food allergies in dogs

Treatment

If the food trial confirms that your dog has a food allergy, your vet might recommend feeding your dog their new diet for life, as long as its a complete food that contains all the necessary nutrients. Your dog shouldnt have any other food or treats at all. Keep all human food and other pet food safely out of reach.

Once your dog is settled without symptoms on their special diet, you can try adding ingredients back into their food (one at a time) to try and find out what they are allergic to. If your dog doesnt show any symptoms, this is a safe food. Alternatively, if your dogs symptoms come back after eating a certain food, its likely they are allergic to it. This will help you select a dog food that only contains safe foods. If you want to do this you should follow your vets advice.

Some dogs with a food allergy will also have allergies to things in the environment, this may cause atopic dermatitis (allergic skin disease). In this case, they might improve a bit on a special diet but they may need other treatments as well to help keep their skin symptoms controlled.

Skin Disease Due to Food Allergies in Dogs

Dermatologic Food Reactions in Dogs

Dermatologic food reactions are non-seasonal reactions which occur following ingestion of one or more allergy causing substances in an animals food. The physical reaction is frequently excessive itchiness, with resultant excessive scratching at the skin.

While the pathogenesis of these reactions is not fully understood, immediate reactions and delayed reactions to food are thought to be due to a hypersensitive immune response. On the other hand, food intolerance is a non-immunologic idiosyncratic reaction due to the metabolic, toxic or pharmacologic effects of the offending ingredients. Since it is not easy to distinguish between immunologic and idiosyncratic reactions, any negative response to food is generally referred to as an adverse food reaction.

Symptoms and Types

• Non-seasonal itchiness of any body location
• Poor response to anti-inflammatory doses of glucocorticoids generally suggests food hypersensitivity
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Excessive gut sounds, passing of gas, and frequent bowel movements
• Malassezia dermatitis (fungal skin infections), pyoderma (bacterial skin infections), and otitis externa (inflammation of the outer ear)
• Skin plaques broad, raised flat areas on the skin
• Pustules pus-containing raised skin inflammations
• Erythema redness of the skin
• Crusts dried serum or pus on the surface of a ruptured blister or pustule
• Scale flakes or plates of dead skin on the skin's surface
• Self-induced baldness due to scratching
• Abrasions/sores on the skin due to scratching
• Leathery, thick, bark-like skin
• Hyperpigmentation darkening of the skin
• Hives swollen or inflamed bumps on the skin
• Giant wheals (elongated marks) on the skin
• Pyotraumatic dermatitis infection of the skin wounds due to scratching excessively, and bacteria entering the wounds

Causes

• Immune-mediated reactions result of the ingestion and subsequent presentation of one or more glycoproteins (allergens) either before or after digestion; sensitization may occur as the food passes into the intestine, after the substance is absorbed, or both
• Non-immune (food intolerance) reactions result of ingestion of foods with high levels of histamine (an antigen known to cause immune hypersensitivity) or substances that induce histamine either directly or through histamine-releasing factors
• It is speculated that in juvenile animals, intestinal parasites or intestinal infections may cause damage to the intestinal mucosa, resulting in the abnormal absorption of allergens and subsequent sensitization to some ingredients

Diagnosis

Your veterinarian will perform a complete physical exam on your dog, including a dermatological exam. Non-food causes of dermatologic disease should be ruled out. Your veterinarian will order a blood chemical profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis and an electrolyte panel to rule out other causes of disease. You will need to give a thorough history of your dog's health, onset of symptoms, and possible incidents that might have preceded this condition, especially regarding any changes in diet, and any new foods added to your dog's diet, even if temporary.

Food elimination diets are advised for dogs thought to be suffering from adverse food reactions. These diets typically include one protein source and one carbohydrate source to which the dog has had limited or no previous exposure to. A clinical improvement may be seen as soon as four weeks into the new diet, and maximum alleviation of clinical signs may be seen as late as thirteen weeks into the food elimination diet.

If your dog improves on the elimination diet, a challenge should be performed to confirm that the original diet was the cause of disease and to determine what ingredient in the original diet triggered the adverse reaction.

Challenge: feed your dog with the original diet. A return of the signs confirms that something in the diet is causing the signs. The challenge period should last until the signs return but no longer than ten days.

If the challenge confirms the presence of an adverse food reaction, the next step is to perform a provocation diet trial: going back to the elimination diet, begin by adding a single ingredient to the diet. After waiting a sufficient amount of time for the ingredient to prove either agreeable or adverse, if there is no physical reaction, move on to adding the next ingredient to your dog's diet. The provocation period for each new ingredient should last up to ten days, less if signs develop sooner (dogs usually develop signs within 12 days). Should symptoms of an adverse reaction develop, discontinue the last added ingredient and wait for the symptoms to subside before moving forward to the next ingredient.

The test ingredients for the provocation trials should include a full range of meats (beef, chicken, fish, pork, and lamb), a full range of grains (corn, wheat, soybean, and rice), eggs, and dairy products. The results of these trials will guide your selection of commercial foods, based on those that do not contain the offending substance(s).

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Treatment

Avoid any food substances that caused the clinical signs to return during the provocation phase of the diagnosis. Antibiotics or antifungal medications may be prescribed by your veterinarian if secondary pyodermas or Malassezia infections are taking place.

Living and Management

Treats, chewable toys, vitamins, and other chewable medications (e.g., heartworm preventive) that may contain ingredients from your dog's previous diet must be eliminated. Make sure to read all ingredient labels carefully. If your dog spends time outdoors you will need to create a confined area to prevent foraging and hunting, which can alter the test diet. All family members will need to be made aware of the test protocol and must help keep the test diet clean and free of any other food sources. Cooperation is essential to successful treatment of this disorder.

Types of Dog Allergies and How to Treat Them

Have you heard someone tell you that their dog has allergies? Has your veterinarian suggested that allergies could be a problem for your dog? Do you suspect that your dog has allergies? If so, then youve probably realized that allergies in dogs are not quite as simple as we might wish. For starters, there are several different types of allergies that could be causing your dogs symptoms.

Allergies are a misguided reaction to foreign substances by the bodys immune system, which, of course, people and pets can suffer from. There are quite a few different types of allergies in dogs. Skin allergies, food allergies, and environmental allergens all pose challenges for dogs and their owners, and to make things more complicated, the symptoms of all these different types of allergies can overlap.

Symptoms of Allergies in Dogs

The symptoms of allergies in dogs may vary depending on the cause. A dog that goes into anaphylactic shock, for instance, will have a drop in blood pressure followed by shock, which is very different from a skin condition.

In general, however, the following symptoms could be a sign of an allergic reaction.

• Itchiness
• Hives
• Swelling of the face, ears, lips, eyelids, or earflaps
• Red, inflamed skin
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Sneezing
• Itchy ears
• Chronic ear infections
• Itchy, runny eyes
• Constant licking

Some of these symptoms could also be a sign of another condition. Make an appointment with your veterinarian if you notice changes in their behavior to get an accurate diagnosis.

Types of Allergic Reactions in Dogs

Allergic Dermatitis in Dogs

Skin allergies in dogs, known as allergic dermatitis, is the most common type of allergic reaction in dogs. Skin allergies in dogs are mainly caused by one of three things: fleas, food allergies, and atopicor environmentalallergies.Flea allergy dermatitis is an allergic reaction to fleabites, and some dogs are allergic to flea saliva, which can cause their skin to become red, inflamed, or scabbed because their skin will feel extremely itchy. Its the easiest type of allergic dermatitis to treat, since you can apply flea medication for dogs to help heal their skin.

Another cause of skin allergy in dogs is from food allergies and sensitivities. Just like humans can be allergic to certain foods or ingredients, dogs can be allergic, which can cause itchy skin. Dogs with food allergies usually have itchy ears or paws, sometimes along with gastrointestinal symptoms. Dr. Klein, Chief Veterinary Officer for the AKC, says that food allergies are not as common as you might think. True food allergies result in an immune response, which can range in symptoms from hives, facial swelling, and itchiness to gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and diarrhea or a combination of both.

Environmental allergens can also affect the skin and be the cause of allergic dermatitis. Things like dust, pollen, fungus, and mold can cause these reactions, but in most cases, these allergies are seasonal. As with food allergies that affect the skin, the most commonly affected areas are the paws and ears (but also include the wrists, ankles, muzzle, underarms, groin, around the eyes, and in between the toes).

All skin allergies pose the risk of secondary infection. As your dog scratches, bites, and licks at his skin, he risks opening up his skin to yeast and bacterial infections that may require treatment.

Urticaria, or Hives, in Dogs

Also known as urticaria, hives on dogs are very itchy but are not life-threatening. Hives appear as a reaction anywhere from 6 to 24 hours after exposure to allergens. This consists of itchy, swelled skin, that usually looks like a red rash. Its easiest to spot hives on dogs that are hairless or have short coats. Dogs with longer hair can get them too, but its more likely that youd be able to fee the hives rather than see them. Your vet will prescribe an antihistamine in order to treat urticaria in dogs.

Edema of Face or Throat

Swelling of the throat or face looks severe, but its actually almost never fatal. This area of swelling, which can also include swelling of the eyelids or ear flaps, is known as angioneurotic edema. Its actually pretty easily treated, and despite how it looks, its a good sign in terms of allergic reactions.

If your dog has edema of any of these areas, the time for a fatal allergic reaction has most likely passed, and they arent in as much danger. Angioneurotic edema occurs anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours after exposure to an allergen, and can also come with hives.A veterinarian will often give dogs with this reaction an antihistamine injection. Untreated, it may take a day or two for the swelling to subside.

Anaphylactic Shock

Perhaps the most alarming of all the types of allergic reactions in dogs is anaphylactic shock. Like people, dogs can go into anaphylactic shock if they have a severe reaction to an allergen. This happens when antibodies produced by the host react negatively to the allergen, dropping your dogs blood pressure rapidly and sending them into shock. This can be fatal if not treated, but luckily, anaphylactic reactions are rare in dogs.

This can be a response to any allergen, most commonly bee or wasp stings, or vaccine reactions. Because of this, your vet will always recommend keeping a close eye on your dog after theyve been given any new vaccine, drug, or food item, as they might be allergic.

If a dog has had a past incident and survived, the owner may carry an epipen, but sometimes the first occurrence can lead to death. Fortunately these reactions are very rare in dogs.

In some rare cases, a severe food allergy reaction resulting in anaphylaxis can occur, similar to severe peanut allergies in humans. The best way to diagnose and treat a food allergy is to work with your veterinarian to manage your dogs symptoms and discover the ingredient causing the reaction.

Diagnosing Allergies in Dogs

Flea allergy dermatitis is typically the easiest allergy to diagnose. It is usually diagnosed by identifying fleas on your dogs body and applying a product that kills fleas before they can bite to see if that solves the issues.

The first thing your veterinarian will do in allergy testing is rule out any other condition that could be causing your dogs symptoms. If your veterinarian feels that an allergy is a likely cause, they may propose allergy testing to try and determine the cause of the allergen that is causing the reaction. However, keep in mind it may not always be possible to determine the cause of an allergy with testing.

If you have ever undergone allergy testing, then you know that diagnosing allergies is often complicated. Its the same for dogs, but its worth it to understand what to stay away from when it comes to your dog.Food allergies are often diagnosed using an elimination diet. A food trial consists of feeding a dog one source of protein and carbohydrate for 12 weeks.

Treating Allergies in Dogs

The best way to treat an allergy is avoidance of the cause and allergen, which may not always be possible. They type of treatment depends on the type of allergy your dog has. For example, the best way to treat flea allergy dermatitis is to kill the fleas, whereas the best way to treat a food allergy or food intolerance is a change in diet.

Depending on the cause and severity of your dogs allergic reaction, your veterinarian will prescribe different things. For hives, they might suggest antihistamines, cortisones, medicated shampoos, whereas with food allergies they might suggest fish oil or other Omega-3 fatty acid supplements. For skin allergies, they might prescribe dog-safe anti-inflammatory wipes or shampoo on skin to provide irritation relief.

In addition to any lifestyle changes that might be necessary, your veterinarian may also prescribe an allergy relief medication for your dog that will help control the signs associated with the allergic reaction, such as itching and any secondary skin infections that might have developed as a result of the irritant.

If your dog has a severe allergic reaction, your best course of action is to get them to an emergency veterinary hospital as quickly as possible.