Allergies

[ajcstr]

What are the most common protein allergies among dogs. Seems like a lot of foods contain chicken or salmon - how common are allergies to these?

[moon]

I've been researching and there's a theory that the meat protein isn't the cause of most dogfood allergies, but rather grain mites in the dog food...

[DaneMama]

I think that people arbitrarily place the blame of food allergies and intolerances on animal protein sources. When in reality it's nearly impossible to pinpoint the culprit in a diet consisting of 20-50+ ingredients. It might even be a combination of ingredients that work together. Who really knows for sure?

If one has an allergy prone dog they should give home prepared diets (raw or cooked) heavy consideration. A limited ingredient diet is not only healthier but gives the owner more control over what their dog eats.

[ajcstr]

I am actually trying to rotate to avoid allergies at this point.

[DaneMama]

I am actually trying to rotate to avoid allergies at this point.

Rotate kibbles? How does that help with allergies? I'm merely curious...

[Ania's Mommy]

Rotate kibbles? How does that help with allergies? I'm merely curious...

Back in my kibble days, I remember being told (more than once) that it was a good idea to rotate food because if you fed the same thing for a long period of time, your dog could develop allergies to it.

[ajcstr]

Back in my kibble days, I remember being told (more than once) that it was a good idea to rotate food because if you fed the same thing for a long period of time, your dog could develop allergies to it.

Right, rotate the proteins. Theory being they are more likely to develop a chicken allergy if they always eat foods containing chicken. Fromm has some nice single source protein (chicken, pork, beef) wet foods that I plan to rotate but the kibble is a little tougher because so many have chicken or salmon. To be totally off the "anal" chart, I am not giving her anything with lamb or duck JUST IN CASE she does get an allergy, I'll have some proteins she has never eaten.

http://www.floridachowchowclub.com/R..._Dogs_Food.htm

[dmastery]

A single source of meat protein isn't the cause of most dog food allergies, perhaps a dog could be allergic to other source of protein. Dog food by product contained other ingredients beside chicken or salmon. For example “chicken by-products” could be from turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc, instead of a single source like chicken.

http://homemadedogfoodsite.com/ingredients-dog-food/

[magicre]

dogs can also be allergic to other ingredients in dog foods, such as alfalfa, wheat, certain fruit sources, or vegetable sources, which are used for their vitamin and mineral properties....

it doesn't have to be the actual protein....it can also be the processing...

my dogs could not eat kibble that had chicken in it, yet if i cooked chicken, they were fine.

[ajcstr]

A single source of meat protein isn't the cause of most dog food allergies, perhaps a dog could be allergic to other source of protein. Dog food by product contained other ingredients beside chicken or salmon. For example “chicken by-products” could be from turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc, instead of a single source like chicken.

http://homemadedogfoodsite.com/ingredients-dog-food/

I thought that would have to be labeled "poultry by-products".

Chicken by-products have to be from chickens (like McNuggets)