ALLERGIES AND FOOD-WHAT'S THE CONNECTION?

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Is it the food?..Environmental contaminates?...Seasonal?...

Food allergies account for about 10% of all the allergies seen in dogs and cats. It is the third most common cause after flea bite allergies and atopy (inhalant allergies). With the advent of lamb and rice diets many people feel that they are preventing or treating food allergies. The fact is that nothing could be farther from the truth. There is nothing special about lamb and rice diets except those two ingredients were normally not present in pet foods. Animals had not eaten lamb or rice before, and therefore, had not developed an allergy to it yet. If the main ingredients in pet food become lamb and rice, then it would stand to reason that the most common problem foods could become lamb and rice. The determinant of whether a food is likely to cause a food allergy or not is based on the structure and size of the glycoprotein in the food. In addition, many lamb and rice-based foods contain many other ingredients, and if the animal has a food allergy to any of them, this lamb and rice food will do nothing to treat the food allergy.

There is a distinction that needs to be made between food allergies and food intolerances. Food allergies are true allergies and show the characteristic symptoms of itching and skin problems associated with canine allergies. Food intolerances can result in diarrhea or vomiting and do not create a typical allergic response. Food intolerances in pets would be similar to people that get diarrhea or an upset stomach from eating spicy or fried foods.

The entire process of a pet being sensitized to a particular agent in food and the complicated antibody response that occurs in the intestinal tract in pets with food allergies are not very well understood. Food allergies affect both males and females and neutered and intact animals equally. They can show up as early as five months and as late as 12 years of age, though the vast majority of cases occur between 2 and 6 years. Many animals with food allergies also have concurrent inhalant or contact allergies.

Despite our lack of understanding of the actual disease process, there are many things that we do know including the symptoms, how to diagnose food allergies, and also how to treat them.
But a correct diagnosis is essential to determine the correct treatment.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Liz, food allergies are always associated with skin issues and never with digestive problems. Here is some good sound veterinary information about food allergies in pets:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_food_allergies.html

You will notice from this article that food allergies also take a long time to develop, and never result from simply changing a dog's diet. A food intolerance is simply a problem that an individual animal (or person) may have with a particular type of food...that individual's digestive system just has trouble with something in that particular food. In contrast with food allergies, this is very common when changing a dog's diet, particularly a puppy's, and often corrects itself as the dog's system adjusts to the new food. My own doodle had digestive issues with new foods well past his 1st birthday, and now has no trouble with the very things that used to give him diarrhea or cause vomiting. Pepper's system may just be more sensitive to change; here in the Food Group, we have found that the higher the quality of the dog's diet, and the more variety that is introduced, the more tolerant of change the dog's digestive system becomes.
The ear infections may or may not be related to food...it depends on what kind of coat your doodle has. Dogs with curly, wooly, non-shed coats often suffer from frequent ear infections. This is due to moisture and hair in the ears, and the subsequent scratching which can aggravate it. It also depends on whether it is a yeast or bacterial infection. There are lots of discussions here on DK about ear infections...do a search by clicking "Forum" at the top of any page, and enter "ear infection"...you will get more info than you need, lol! If the ear infections are related to food, the most common culprits are wheat, soy, corn, or beet pulp in the food, none of which is in Pepper's kibble.
Just as your primary care physician is not an expert on allergies, your general practice vet is not, either. Sometimes, years of experience can help a vet to determine if something is an allergy, but allergies are poorly understood even by medical & veterinary practioners. People in general have a tendency to call any kind of physiological reaction to anything an "allergy", but this is very wrong. An allergy is a measurable chemical reaction by the body's immune system. The article I linked above will tell you all you need to know about food allergy symptoms. If Pepper is not experiencing these, I would not be concerned about a food allergy.
Good luck, and I hope this helps.