Dog Food Allergies Are Not Invisible

I think I can appreciate why dog lovers go to a big box store or their local grocer and purchase a bag of cheap dog food. I understand that money is tight and some people need to save every penny they can. However, I wonder if they are really saving money buying a grocery / box store brand name.

It’s not a surprise to most people that companies are trying to stay profitable in these trying times and are cutting corners with the ingredients of their food to facilitate this. An example might be reducing the amount of quality meat in the dog food and replacing it with a less expensive alternative. They know that fillers like corn meal and wheat can make a dog feel just as full as a quality protein. To make sure they eat it, the companies will even add more fat to give it flavor so dogs are sure to gobble it up.

Some of the dogs will be able to eat this food and have no apparent side effects from the filler ingredients. They can devour the food every day and no one will even notice a problem. You’re probably wondering why I have an issue with this.

Perhaps we can view this from another angle, what if we ate junk food for the rest of the year? Would you feel any different after eating like this for a week or perhaps even two? This is similar to what we are providing our pets when we make them eat by-products and fillers. Some dogs seem not to have any issues eating these types of foods and really like them because of the additional fats. Wow, that sounds really tasty, doesn’t it?

Sometimes though, the dog allergy symptoms might take weeks to occur with your dog scratching at places where there wasn’t a problem earlier. Maybe this itching was caused by other issues like fleas and no one thinks of the food as a suspect. Eventually, the subtle scratching becomes worse and before you know it, a dog food allergy is in full effect.

The next thing you know, its time for your best friend to have his annual check-up at the vet, but by now he scratches on a regular basis, but you’re not really sure why. Your vet decides to give your pup a steroid in hopes of relieving the dog allergy symptoms, but they recur because this doesn’t stop the underlying cause.

I’ll admit that I’ve painted a grim picture here, but I have seen it happen with my own eyes. Sometimes, that inexpensive bag of dog food can cause dog food allergies which, a month or two down the road, you may not relate to changing your pet’s food.

Joseph Reeton writes about how the best dog food for allergies and also helping people make dog food allergies end.