The Aussie - Spring 2019

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What are the Symptoms of Dog Food Allergies? The most common symptoms of a food allergy in dogs is red, irritated, itchy or inflamed skin, or itchy ears. Usually this results in your dog having an endless cycle of itch - scratch - lick, making them feel miserable! You might see a rash, but usually the skin will just be red and sore, o\en swollen, and some?mes scabby or scaly. These areas are o\en called 'Hot Spots'. The most common areas for this type of itching to be most intense is on the face, feet/paws, back legs, belly, and the tail area. Some?mes there can be patchy hair loss around these hot spots. There are other condi?ons can also cause itchy skin and hair loss though, so its important to get the right diagnosis. Con?nuous and vigorous scratching some?mes sets up an infec?on and if the skin or surrounding area starts to feel hot, ooze pus, or gets swollen then you need to get your dog to the Vet. Recurring ear infec?ons, or intensely itchy ears which cause your dog to shake his head repeatedly are common as well. Other symptoms occasionally appear as a result of dog food allergies, but they are much more rare and could indicate an altogether different health problem as well. These include • Irritated eyes with/without discharge • 'Runny' nose or discharge, sneezing or wheezing • Behavior problems such as hyper-ac?vity or unusual aggressiveness Other signs that your dog's discomfort is due to a food allergy include: • The symptoms are chronic and present all year round and are not influenced by seasonal changes • Your dog has been treated with an?histamines and/or steroid medica?ons and it hasn’t really helped. Some of the visual signs of an allergy What dog food ingredients might cause allergies All dogs are different and what causes a reac?on in one dog might be well tolerated in another. But there are some ingredients which are more likely to trigger dog food allergies than others. • Beef • Chicken • Pork • Fish • Eggs • Dairy Free range and/or organically raised livestock and wild-caught fish who are not given ar?ficial growth hormones or an?bio?cs are less likely to cause problems. Grains such as: • Corn • Soy • Wheat Gene?cally modified grains are more likely to cause allergies than those that are grown organically. Added extras! Dog foods, can contain an a lot of 'addi?ves'. Many owners are finding these ingredients increasingly seem to be the root of many dog food allergies and include: ¥ Ar?ficial Preserva?ves ¥ Ar?ficial addi?ves ¥ Ar?ficial colours ¥ Contaminated ingredients, o\en grains, which contain pes?cides, mold, insects and so on. ¥ Sucrose There are a few ingredients most o\en used in human food that are also known to cause food allergies in dogs. These include fermented cheese, yeast, beef sausage, canned tuna, egg whites and even tomatoes. Another good reason to watch what human food your dog eats!
Ways to manage dog food allergies The best way to put an end to your dog's food-associated allergies is obviously to stop feeding the ingredients that 'trigger' the reac?on. But of course, that's easier said than done! The simplest first step is to change to an en?rely different formula and brand, try to find ingredients that are not the same as the ones in the food causing the trouble. For example, if you're feeding a chicken formula right now, try beef. Maybe go for a grain free, or a hypoallergenic recipe. Some?mes this is enough to fix the problem. It may be the case of changing the brand and looking for one with fewer addi?ves. Organic dog food is o\en an op?on, although some?mes the costs might make you try other alterna?ves first. More exo?c or unusual ingredients like these are less likely to cause problems as dogs generally haven’t been exposed to them previously. It's important not to jump from one dog food to another once you have found the root cause. Trying one food a\er another is likely to cause MORE problems as the chances of another allergic reac?on are higher at this ?me and you'll possibly be 'sensi?sing' your dog to new ingredients. Aussies and food allergies Some Aussies do have allergies to various foods. Although it doesn’t seem to be a common problem. Many owners do feel that their dogs seem beUer on certain diets, although Aussies do tend to have their own dietary preferences and these are not always our first choices! Also, remember that dog food isn't all that your dog eats. There’s treats, biscuits, bones and maybe even table scraps. Cut back to one type of treat, make it one that contains as similar ingredients as possible to the main meal. With more treats and biscuits being adver?sed as free of ar?ficial addi?ves, these could be an op?on. Then be pa?ent. Allergy symptoms don’t clear up within a few hour, even if you have managed to eliminate the trigger. It can take weeks for all of the allergen to leave the body, but you should no?ce a difference within a few days. If all this fails… If this isn't successful, then the next step is either an elimina?on diet, or a trip to the vet's office for allergy tes?ng. Allergy tests should be able to determine the cause and that obviously makes it easier to get the diet in line. The other op?on is the elimina?on diet. This basically means you completely eliminate the diet your dog is currently ea?ng. It should be replaced with a new diet consis?ng of protein and carbohydrate ingredients that its never encountered before. You'll then slowly re-introduce the 'old' ingredients, one-byone, un?l the symptoms reappear - that way you know what caused it! Your dog needs to be on this elimina?on diet for about 12 weeks and it's important you only follow this route under the supervision of a Vet, or specialist to make sure the diet is balanced and the dog remains healthy. And the cause is… Once you've isolated the ingredients causing your dog's symptoms, you can then plan a diet that does not include these items. There are several commercial dog foods that contain natural, holis?c and hypo-allergenic ingredients that you can use. Look for those with ingredients such as lamb and rice, duck and potato, even venison, buffalo, ostrich, quail and so on. Although challenging to find the cause of a food allergy, once you have solved the mystery, you have one happy dog enjoying food and life.
Page 1 and 2: The Aussie Spring 2019 edition Lead
Page 3 and 4: The Aussie Well it’s countdown no
Page 5 and 6: The winners of each class then goes
Page 7 and 8: SCATC always strives to find ways t
Page 9: Scratch it! In the last ediJon of
Page 13 and 14: It is poor policy to put a new bree
Page 15 and 16: Flying High Can Aussies fly? Of cou
Page 17 and 18: Who's smarter? At first glance, dog
Page 19 and 20: Although a dog show, Crufts is wher
Page 21 and 22: We’ve all been there—huddled in
Page 23 and 24: Urban Myths It is an urban myth tha
Page 25 and 26: Wimbledon Tennis is just around the
Page 27 and 28: Basic strategy How you respond to a
Page 29 and 30: The lull before the storm. The Auss
Page 31 and 32: This ‘poem’ was sent to ‘The
Page 33 and 34: The old saying is let sleeping dog
Page 35 and 36: Many of you will know that when you
Page 37 and 38: Caroline Nicholsson This ar?cle was
Page 39 and 40: Omega-3 By ensuring your dog’s in
Page 41 and 42: Final Word Don’t forget…. Dogs

The Aussie - Spring 2019

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