Allergies3 min read
Is it a food allergy? The signs that point at food
by Ben, co-founder
There's no single sign that shouts "food allergy". What there is, is a pattern - and if your dog fits it, food is worth testing properly rather than guessing at.
The pattern that points at food
- Itching that doesn't care what season it is. Food is in the bowl all year; pollen isn't.
- The classic sites: ears, paws, face, armpits, groin and belly. Recurrent ear infections on their own can be the only sign.
- Tummy trouble riding along - soft poos, gurgles, more than the usual two poos a day, the odd vomit. Skin plus gut together nudges the odds towards food.
- An early start. Classic environmental allergy usually appears between one and three years old; food reactions can start at any age, including under one.
- Steroids helped, but less than expected. Food-driven itch tends to respond less completely to anti-itch medication than environmental itch does.
The pattern that points elsewhere
- Strongly seasonal itching - fine all winter, frantic in June - says pollens and grasses.
- Back end and base of the tail says fleas, until a full course of proper flea control for every pet in the house has proven otherwise.
- Sudden intense itching in one spot can be mites or an infection - a vet visit beats any amount of diet detective work.
What to do with a match
If your dog fits the food pattern, resist the two tempting shortcuts: swapping brands (most share the same handful of proteins, so it proves nothing) and mail-order allergy tests (the evidence says they can't reliably diagnose food allergy). The test that works is an 8-week elimination diet on a protein your dog has never eaten - one food, water, nothing else. We've written up exactly how to run one, week by week.
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