It is estimated that approximately one in 10 dogs suffers from skin problems. Scratching, rubbing, chewing, biting, and licking of the skin and fur will make your dog’s life a misery. It is a sign that there is an underlying problem that needs treatment. There are medications which your vet can prescribe which will suppress the itching but these have side affects and shouldn’t be used long
term. The best solution is to discover the cause of the problem and eliminate it.

As noted in a previous blog article “Three Different Sources of Allergies in Dogs” persistently itchy skin in dogs can be caused by fleas, inhaled substances, and sensitivity to a particular food. In this article we’ll look at food sensitivity in more detail and suggest a diet which can determine which food is the problem.

Dog’s Allergy Elimination Diet

In order to find out which food is the problem you need to eliminate common problem foods your dog has been eating and replace them with an uncommon food for three weeks to see if the dog itches less. If the dog shows improvement after the 3 weeks,
then you can start adding back other foods, one at a time. If any food you add back causes your dog to start itching again then you know this is the problem food which you need to eliminate permanently from your dog’s diet.

If there is no improvement after 3 weeks, the allergen may be a grain such as rice or wheat (pasta, bread, most dry dog food). Continue with the Allergy Elimination Diet but eliminate grains for 3 weeks. If there is still no improvement, then food allergy
may not be a major problem. Talk to your vet about this diet and about Atopica medication and other treatment options.

The basic facts are:

• The foods most likely to cause an allergic reaction are animal derived proteins (meat).
• The proteins most likely to cause an allergic reaction are beef, lamb, pork and chicken. Do not feed these during the 3 week elimination period.
• Feed only one animal protein source for 3 weeks.
• Choose a protein which your dog has very rarely or never eaten before, such as: fish, rabbit, kangaroo, or goat.
• Fish is easiest because you can vary the fish given (i.e.: tuna, salmon, roughie, etc) and you can use fresh, tinned or frozen.
• Other non animal protein sources such as beans are allowed.
• Fruits and vegetables are allowed.
• Starches are allowed but not too much as these are the second most likely allergen.

Guest Author: After a long career in IT, Terri now divides her time between bookkeeping for the family business and volunteer work with Dog Rescue Newcastle.