Dogs with food allergies: novel protein dog food

the history

I have a boxer / bull mastiff mix named Leo, who struggles with itching and scratching all the time. There came a point where I felt really bad for him, not just because he’s my best friend, but because I can tell he was uncomfortable. I finally had enough, I looked up my vet’s phone number and went to the vet. Leo had rashes on his belly and kept licking his paws until they were getting infected.

The first thing the vet asked me was: “What kind of food do you give him?” I responded with “a healthy meal without corn or by-products.” He said “that’s good, but what is the formula?” I told him it was chicken. He said you could try feeding me a novel protein, something other than chicken, beef, or lamb, which are common ingredients found in dog food. The vet told me that most people come in and think their dogs are scratching for fleas, but it turns out that it is usually the food they eat. He said that if I try to feed a healthy dog ​​food a novel protein, my dog ​​will most likely react better because he has never been exposed to that specific meat source. The vet said that, just like humans, dogs can become allergic to any ingredient at any time. He had mentioned a few food options that I could feed, but I insisted on going home and doing my own in-depth research to see which dog food would be right for my dog. I came across a lot of very healthy foods that didn’t contain grains, but I still didn’t know which direction to go. I finally narrowed it down to a couple of limited ingredient diets that contained a novel protein as the first ingredient, which might work for my dog. The types of dog food I found were very simple, gentle on the stomach and skin.

Progress

Week after week, Leo became a whole new dog. His skin problems have improved a lot and the areas of dermatitis between the legs disappeared. His rashes near his belly had also disappeared.

The solution

Turns out Leo was just having a reaction to the chicken. Now, it’s not that chicken is a bad ingredient, it’s that chicken is a cheaper protein and in most of the foods I ate, chicken was the main ingredient. After switching to a novel protein, the skin cleared up.

The conclusion

If your dog has skin problems, take a look at the ingredients on the package of dog food he feeds and see what the sources of meat are. If you see chicken, beef, or lamb, that is likely the problem. Also make sure there are no corn, wheat, or soybeans. Grain free would be a good option with a single novel protein.