Posts Tagged ‘food allergies’
Dog coat as a measure of Holistic Health
January 14th, 2010
A dog’s coat is a dip stick for its health. A dull, shedding, flaky coat can be a symptom of poor nutrition or caused by an undiagnosed disease. Allergies can also cause itching skin and bald spots. Visually assessing the coat is a valuable tool in measuring the holistic health of the dog.
The first factor to consider in a dog with a poor coat is its diet. Every dog is different and a food that is a perfect fit for one dog may not supply everything that another dog needs exactly. While feeding a dog the commercial dog food equivalent of Mcdonalds keeps them full and provides the major macronutrients a dog needs, it may not supply all of the additional vitamins and minerals a dog needs to thrive. It also may not provide the proper balance of nutrients a dog needs. Upgrading the food of the dog may help to improve the coat of the dog and also its holistic health.
A supplement that frequently works wonders on a dog with dry skin and coat is fish oil. Fish oil supplements from the local health food store work well. It usually comes in gel capsules that can easily be emptied over the dog’s food. The additional fatty acids help to lubricate the dog’s coat for improved luster. Sardines packed in water are also an excellent source of fish oil to add to a meal.
There are also herbal supplements that can improve the coat from within. Oregon grape is one herb that is often used to improve skin or there are different herbal supplements that can be purchased.
Food allergies and environmental allergies can cause dry skin, itching and baldness. The most common symptom of food allergies is generalized itching. Itching can become severe enough that the dog creates open cuts on its skin. Obviously this causes hair loss. The skin can also become crusty and flake. The prevalence of more severe allergies occurs in certain breeds, like French bull dogs. Food allergies can be conquered through testing or pinpointing allergens.
When the diet of a dog is judged to be sufficient but the dry, flaky coat persists, this can be a sign of an underlying disease. Endocrine disfunction like hypothyroidism or cushing’s disease can manifest as a poor coat. Other symptoms of disease in conjunction with the coat merits testing. A veterinarian can test for thyroid function and this can be treated with herbs in mild cases. If the herbs prove to be ineffective, the synthetic hormone thyroxine may be prescribed. While I am an advocate of natural remedies and healthy lifestyle choices for disease prevention, thyroid hormone may be necessary for a dog with an endocrine disorder to live a happy, healthy life. Often this type of disorder is caused by the body having destroyed thyroid tissue due to an autoimmune response. The body may have a very limited margin to heal naturally in cases like this. Symptoms often resolve quickly following hormonal therapy.
A healthy coat not only signifies a healthy dog but it also reduces the need for vacuuming! A healthy coat will shed less than a dry, itchy coat. Any dog would be eternally grateful for relieving that insufferable itch.
Home Cooking for Dogs and Food Allergies
October 13th, 2009
Home cooking for dogs is about as much science as it is art. While the basics are simple (cook food for your dog and don’t poison them), the nuances keep sprouting up all around while learning to cook for dogs. My first concern was dog allergies from food.
Dog Food Allergies
After home cooking for my dogs for about two weeks, I noticed that the dogs became really itchy. I mean, waking up in the middle of the night to scratch and consequently waking me up, too, kind of itchy! Initially, one of my dogs was moderately itchy while on kibble but after the myriad of foods I had fed them, both of them were crazy itchy.
My poor dogs were obviously victims of food allergies as their diet was their only recent lifestyle change. Dogs usually aren’t born with a food allergy but begin to develop it as they eat the food repeatedly. Symptoms of allergies may be subtle like paying a lot of attention to their feet to open sores on the skin that could lead to secondary infections. Frequently the dogs display excessive scratching. Dog food allergies might also cause intestinal upset, but I’m sure most owners avoid these foods after one bad run in. In some cases, food allergies may manifest as acute respiratory problems. Please use your discretion if you think your dog is having trouble breathing and take them to the vet!
Identifying the source of food allergies is challenging if it is a food allergy at all. As dogs can’t talk, they have no way of informing us which foods make them itch. If one is not keen on taking the dog in for medical allergy testing, a practical and systematic approach will be necessary. Try to observe the dogs while feeding them a restricted diet and carefully adding sources of possible food allergies. If testing for protein allergy, for instance, use the same starch in the recipe.
My first suspicion for my dogs’ allergies was the source of starch. Starch tends to often be the culprit for food allergies. After eating brown rice the itching seemed to increase, so I switched them to potatoes. In nature, a dog would be much more likely to dig up a tuber as opposed to eating rice that needs to be processed with opposable thumbs.
If it is not the starch the next probably suspect is the protein source. Dogs tend to develop allergies to food products they eat regularly. Since the most common protein in dog food tends to be beef products, that can be a source of dog allergies. Sometimes finding a food with fish protein or something less common like duck or rabbit can resolve an allergy.
If after testing, there still seems to be an itching problem, there may be other problems going on in the puppy.
Introducing New Foods
If you find a recipe that seems to keep your dog happy and not itchy that’s great! But a dog can’t be expected to eat the same recipe for their whole lives. Home cooked dog food is not all-inclusive like kibble or commercial food. It only contains the vitamins and minerals in those particular foods unlike supplemented commercial foods. New allergy approved foods will have to be added to the doggy menu.
Simply make sure each food does not produce a reaction in the dog. Add foods one at a time and monitor them for up to a week looking for adverse reactions. Make small changes and record the results.
Some dogs, like people, have more severe allergies. French bull dogs are notorious for their itchy skin that may be cause by their environment or their food and may require steroids. While moderate allergies may just produce a lot of feet licking or scratching, skin allergies caused by food can include scaly skin, baldness and sores. These dogs often have many allergies that will take plenty of perseverance to resolve.