Treating Your Dog's Food Allergy with a Vegan Diet

These days, we are seeing more and more dogs with skin issues. For example, dogs like Max, a playful Weimaraner, who constantly itched due to a food allergy, developed skin infections, and frequently suffered from ear infections. Fortunately, his condition improved significantly with the use of Yarrah’s organic, vegan, wheat-free dog food. Below, we explain how Yarrah’s food can help many dogs with food allergies overcome their symptoms.

What Allergies Are Common in Dogs?

The most common allergies in dogs are food allergies and atopic allergies (atopy). In the case of food allergies, your dog’s immune system overreacts to certain ingredients in their diet, such as beef, chicken, lamb, pork, eggs, wheat, or dairy proteins. This leads to symptoms such as itching, skin infections, ear infections, and digestive issues. Atopic allergies, on the other hand, are caused by environmental factors such as tree pollen, grass pollen, or mites, with similar symptoms.

Most Common Food Allergies in Dogs

Vegan food, such as Yarrah’s, contains only plant-based ingredients, meaning it does not include animal proteins or animal fats. According to the article “”Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats” the most common food allergies in dogs are caused by the following ingredients. Next to each ingredient, you’ll find the percentage indicating how often it causes a food allergy. Dogs can also be allergic to multiple ingredients, which is why the total does not add up to 100%.

• Beef - 35%
• Dairy products - 17%
• Chicken - 15%
• Lamb - 14.5%
• Wheat - 13%
• Egg - 4%
• Pork - 2%

In addition to these ingredients, dogs can also have food allergies to soy, rice, maize, and fish, though, according to the same research, these are much less common than the ingredients listed above.

A study published in the Journal of Animal Nutrition found that many dogs with food allergies showed significantly fewer symptoms after switching to a plant-based diet, as they were no longer consuming animal proteins.

In addition to Yarrah’s standard vegan, plant-based diet for dogs, we also offer a vegan wheat-free option. This food contains no animal proteins, and it also excludes wheat. By feeding this to your dog with skin issues caused by a food allergy, many dogs will experience relief from their symptoms after some time. This is not because their allergies are cured, but because they are no longer exposed to the ingredients they are allergic to.

Improving Gut Flora and Overall Immunity in Your Dog: Effective Against Atopic Allergies

Yarrah’s vegan, wheat-free food is packed with ingredients such as soya beans, green peas, lupine, sunflower seed flakes, brewer’s yeast, baobab, and dried seaweed. These ingredients are known for their prebiotic or probiotic properties, meaning they significantly improve gut flora, which results in a stronger overall immune system and, consequently, fewer skin inflammations.

Your immune system is largely “created” in your gut, specifically in the Peyer’s patches. Among other benefits, your dog’s skin immunity improves as gut flora becomes healthier. This leads to a reduction in symptoms of atopic allergies, simply because the inflammations in the skin are suppressed by the improved immunity. While severe symptoms may not completely disappear with this diet, you will notice that your dog requires less medication to stay symptom-free. Does your dog have mild symptoms from an atopic allergic reaction? There’s even a chance they could become entirely symptom-free just by switching to this food.

Is Vegetarian Food Healthy for a Carnivore Like a Dog?

The article “Vegetarian versus Meat-Based Diets for Companion Animals” summarises several studies that show a balanced vegetarian diet does not cause health problems in dogs. Dr Andrew Knight, a leading veterinarian, concluded that dogs on a vegetarian diet displayed similar blood values and overall health as those on a meat-based diet.

The key is that the composition of the vegan food must be balanced to meet the needs of the dog. It is therefore not advisable to prepare a homemade vegetarian diet for your dog.

When Can You Expect Improvement in Your Dog's Food Allergy Symptoms?

In dogs with a wheat allergy, symptoms can improve within a few days of starting a wheat-free diet. For other food allergies, it typically takes around three weeks for the old, allergy-causing proteins to leave the body. After that, the body often needs another week to heal from skin wounds. In general, you can expect to see significant improvement after four weeks.

What If You Don't Notice an Improvement in Your Dog's Food Allergy Symptoms?

If there is no noticeable improvement after 8 weeks, it is very unlikely that your dog’s skin issues will improve with this food alone. The reasons for this could be:

• Your dog is allergic to another ingredient. This can be investigated through an elimination diet. Before starting this, it is advisable to seek advice and guidance from vet Nanda, a pet nutrition expert, or your own vet.
• Your dog has an atopic reaction that requires additional medication to be managed. Your vet can determine this through a blood test.
• There may also be another underlying issue that is not related to an allergy.

Therefore, it’s important to contact your vet if your dog’s symptoms have not improved. They can perform additional tests to make the correct diagnosis for your dog.

Conclusion: Food Allergies in Dogs

If your dog is suffering from skin issues, this could be caused by a food allergy. Consider switching to Yarrah’s organic, vegan, wheat-free dog food. This offers your dog a simple yet effective chance at a symptom-free and healthy future. Best of luck!

More Information About the Author of This Article

This article was written by vet Nanda from Dierenkliniek Online. On her website, you can find a wealth of information about various medical issues in dogs and cats, and how you can treat them yourself using over-the-counter remedies.

You can also contact vet Nanda via WhatsApp for advice at a fee, should you need it. This could be helpful if your dog or cat is ill or facing a medical issue, and you're unsure what to do next. You can find the costs and details on how to get in touch with vet Nanda on the website.