Pet
Food
Review

Dog Foods for Sensitive digestion and skin

If your dog or cat has a prolonged or recurring period of digestive upset, or suffers from excessive itchy skin, is constantly licking paws red raw or has hot spots or balding patches due to excessive grooming you need to take veterinary advice as there might be an underlying medical condition, or parasites that are the cause of the problem - don't second guess because the health of your pet is at stake here!

Having said all that, and assuming that there is no underlying medical condition then the suggestion is probably going to be made that at some point of treatment your pet goes onto a veterinary prescription diet alongside maybe some medication to calm down the condition. That's good, because we don't like to see our pets suffer.

So you embrace the new regime taking home a bag of kibble and some cans of wet food. Once home, you donate the old food to a local shelter and start the new diet immediately.

There are two problems here with this system. The first being the sudden change in diet can actually cause diarrhea in sensitive pets and the second being that you did not bother to discard the old treats, chews and biscuits. You also did not buy any new treats that are allowed but that does not actually cause any other symptoms besides an upset dog!

You got that right? OK then, so things are going better. But once the condition has stabilised, what then? Are we faced with a life sentence of buying expensive veterinary only foods?

Well, there may be alternatives which offer a cheaper alternative and the same outcome, although as with humans, where symptoms persist simply must take professional advice.

Several companies produce foods which are aimed at the growing numbers of pets with food intolerance and allergies. These seem to work on a variety of different angles.

The best source of information is the big online pet supermarkets - they have the range and the prices. So check out Pet Supermarket and Pets at Homewebsites for information and what seem to be good prices

Changing pet foods

If you decide to change your pet's diet, veterinarians recommend you do it slowly. Rapid changes in diet can cause upset stomach and other problems. When changing pet food, start by mixing some of the new food in with your pet's regular food. Over the next three to five days, gradually increase the amount of new pet food. After this transition, your pet should be more adjusted to the new food.

Some nutritionists recommend putting a dog onto a home cooked diet for a while to let the body recover, and this could be a simple mix of cooked egg and well cooked rice, or substitute egg for cooked white fish. Try this for a week or so, and if things start to improve gradually introduce the new complete food.

An elimination diet may help to highlight the cause of any underlying intolerance to a food ingredient - though this can be a lengthy process!

The elimination diet

Obtaining reliable information on the extent of food related intolerance (or as it tends to be called 'food allergy') is not easy, but there have been quite a few studies undertaken worldwide, and it is possible to piece together some accepted facts and recommendations from these studies.

Most importantly, of course, if your pet has a serious problem then you need to get a veterinary opinion on the possible causes, as not all skin and digestive disorders are food related (as we know from our own health and diet)

Stephen White, researching in the US has said 'No sex predilection has been reported for food allergy in dogs or cats. In some studies, no breed predilection was noted. In contrast, two studies found that certain dog breeds may have a risk for the development of food allergy:

Soft-Coated Wheaton Terrier, Dalmatian, West-Highland White Terrier, Collie, Chinese Shar Pei, Llasa Apsa, Cocker Spaniel, Springer Spaniel, Miniature Schnauzer, Labrador Retriever Dachshund and the Boxer. Breed data from Colorado State University shows that retrievers may be at greater risk to develop food allergy than other breeds of dogs. While the age at presentation has been reported as variable, several researchers now feel that at least 33% of their cases in dogs are of animals less than one year of age.'

A few points as to the possible course of action your veterinary surgeon may suggest:

1. Firstly, just changing from one commercial diet to another is probably not going to solve the problem, as it is difficult to know precisely what is is in a particular food, as labelling regulations are not tight enough.

2. An elimination diet is the only sure way to work out a) whether the problem is food related and b) what's causing the problem. An elimination diet is most often a bland diet of very well cooked rice with a single source of protein - Elimination diets for dogs include lamb, chicken, rabbit, horse meat and fish as sources of protein, with rice or potatoes. Successful elimination diets for cats include lamb, chicken, rabbit or venison, with rice. All other foods, treats, table scraps and tit-bits must be eliminated from the dog or cats diet. Elimination diets fail when the owner or someone else takes pity on their pet and introduces a treat before the end of the trial, the dog or cat managed to scavenge or find food from another source, the dog or cat is actually intolerant to one of the ingredients in the elimination diet or the dog or cat is suffering from factors other than food intolerance.

3. The diagnosis is conclusively proven by reproducing the symptoms by feeding the original diet after the elimination of signs on the new diet. The pet can then be fed on a commercial diet (or home-made food) without the offending allergen(s).

4. Unfortunately this is not a quick process, and the elimination diet should be continued until signs of the problem have gone. This process could take up to 10 weeks, as the study below shows:

5. If there are improvements the owner can then start to reintroduce other food items one at a time in order to determine what the animal is reacting to. Experts recommend that each new food must be introduced two weeks apart as some ingredients may cause a delayed reaction.

6. There is no cure for food allergies. Managing a food allergy means simply avoiding the causative ingredient or ingredients. Medications (such as antihistamines and corticosteroids) that reduce itching caused by other types of allergies usually don't work on food-induced itching.

Good luck!