Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Home-Made Dog Food for Dogs with Allergies

About ten percent of the allergies seen in dogs
are caused by allergic reactions to food. They
are also a major cause of itching and scratching.
The way a pet becomes sensitized to a particular
food agent, which in turn creates a complicated
antibody response in the dog's intestinal tract,
is not very well known. Despite our lack of
understanding of how food allergies affect our
dogs, there are many things we are certain of -
the symptoms, and how to diagnose and treat food
allergies.

Food allergies do not respect gender as they
affect males and females equally. The first signs
of allergies can be detected as early as five
months and as late as 12 years of age within the
dog's life span. But most cases become visible
when the dog is between two and six years old.

Dog food allergy symptoms are similar to most
other kinds of allergies seen in dogs with which
the primary symptoms are itchy skin that mostly
affects the face, feet, ears, forelegs, armpits,
and the area around the anus. Other symptoms can
include but are not limited to increased
incidence of bowel movements during the day,
chronic ear infections, hair loss, hot spots and
skin infections that respond to treatment but
reappear once antibiotics have been discontinued.

Food allergies can be diagnosed properly when
the dog participates in a food trial. A food
trial lasts for at least 12 weeks, during which
time the dog is fed a food source containing
protein and carbohydrates that it has never eaten
before. Rabbit or venison are hardly ever used in
commercial dog food and are good choices of
proteins. Potatoes can also be used as the main
carbohydrate source.

For the full 12 week period the new food source
must be the only thing that the dog consumes,
plus water of course; meaning no treats or pig's
ears. In addition, the dog should not be allowed
to roam because it could munch on external
sources of food or garbage.

During the 12 week trial; if the dog shows signs
of marked reduction or elimination of the
symptoms then the dog is placed back on its
original diet. If symptoms of allergy returns
after the original diet has been replaced then
the allergy diagnosis is confirmed.

A great way of avoiding allergic reactions in
dogs is by feeding them a home-made meal. You can
occasionally feed your dog a new ingredient to
find out the main source of the allergic reaction.

During this special diet and change of
ingredients if allergic symptoms should subside,
then meat that has been given to the dog in the
past can be added - some great ideas might be
beef or chicken -- for two weeks. If there are no
symptoms during this time, you can add a
different ingredient. But, if the dog begins to
show symptoms again, you can assume that the
addition of the latest ingredient brought on the
allergic reaction.

Home-made diets are a way of ensuring that
proper ingredients like vitamins and mineral are
used in the correct amounts.

----------------------------------------------------
Rod Angus runs the very popular website Dog Food
Recipe Answers. Want to learn more about dog
nutrition? Discover more with a *free
mini-course* at
http://www.dogfoodrecipeanswers.com/dog-food-aller
gies

For information on Proper Nutrition And A Healthy
Diet proven to improve health and behavior LIKE
MAGIC

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=183455

>