Dog Allergies and What Role Does Diet Play in it?
Why are there more and more allergic dogs? Lately, we have the feeling that almost every second dog is allergic.
Dog allergies and what role does a healthy dog diet play in that? Why are more and more dogs allergic? Lately, we have a feeling that almost every second dog is allergic. Dogs scratch, bite, lose hair, lick their paws, and this goes on for months. The dog gets a little better after a corticosteroid injection or some antihistamine tablets. Both are only symptomatic therapy and do not solve the problem, but only "quiet" the symptoms a little. The dog is suffering, the owners are constantly at the vet, expensive allergy tests are being done.
All in all, allergy is a very frustrating condition for the animal, the owner and the veterinarian. It is usually very difficult to determine the cause of allergies. Guess which food, plant, chemical from the environment is the cause of the allergy. Even testing for specific substances (allergotests) rarely determines the exact cause. In other words, very often it turns out that the dog is allergic to everything. A disorder in the immune system that occurs as a result of problems located in the intestines.
Intestines are the largest immune center of the body. Intestines irritated by inappropriate food that is difficult to digest, contains harmful chemicals, food that has a bad effect on healthy microflora, become the place where hypersensitivity reactions begin. What actually happens is that the organism is irritated by some specific substance. It begins to react non-specifically to other substances to which it would not normally react if there was no specific allergen.
Allergies in dogs can be manifested on their skin In dogs whose allergies are manifested through various skin changes;
- hair loss,
- itching,
- redness,
- ear infections
and the therapy focuses only on them, antibiotics and corticosteroids, the condition in the intestines only worsens. As a result, the allergy worsens. Initial success with corticosteroids often turns into a worse condition in the short term. That is why it is extremely important to solve the cause - which is a bad condition in the intestines. By bad condition in the intestines, we mean primarily the intestinal microflora, because when this, physiologically present population of bacteria is in a good ratio and balance, allergies will also disappear.
The first and most important step in the fight against allergies is to choose suitable and high-quality food.
Food that is:
- easy to digest - fresh raw meat contains enzymes that help food digestion
- natural - does not contain additives (taste and smell enhancers, dyes, etc.)
- rich in prebiotics and probiotics (maintenance of healthy microflora)
What is most often it happens that dogs end up on food whose bag says something like hypoallergen in big letters. And now that you understand that allergies start from a disturbed situation in the intestines, because the intestines are the largest immune organ. You will understand how wrong it is to feed dogs with hypersensitivity problems with food that has been processed for a long time, the nutrients have been changed beyond recognition, the body cannot break them down, they accumulate in the body, irritate the immune system and become an allergen. Another very important thing - for dogs with allergy problems, it is extremely important to avoid foods rich in carbohydrates, not only cereals but also potatoes, peas, turnips, etc. Carefully study the declaration of the food you give your dog, one sentence that claims that it food for dogs with hypersensitivity problems should not mislead you. And finally - don't believe anyone who tells you that allergies are likely to be a lifelong problem for your dog. Contact us and we will help you sort out the condition of the most important and largest immune organ of your dog - the intestines.
Petra Galetić, dr.vet.medVisit Von Barf Web shop