Dogs and Allergies

Do dogs’ food allergies ever go away? 

To answer this question briefly, food allergies never really go away. Whether they are environmental, food related, or otherwise they are not curable but can be managed through different techniques and changes of lifestyle. As far as food allergies go, they are best managed through your veterinarian initially so that the allergen can be diagnosed. After that finding diet options can be challenging because depending on what the allergen is it can be found in almost everything that is offered at a pet store. This may cause the loving dog owner to start home cooked diet options which may lack certain essential nutrients your dog needs. Your dog may require an expensive prescription diet that they don’t really want to eat because of the taste. This is where Mighty Bites can be a solution. Since our pucks are 100% of the protein of your choice, you as a loving dog owner, do not have to worry about cross-contamination or that your fur baby may have a flare up because you were trying to make their diet a lot tastier. 

What helps dogs with food allergies? 

Finding the allergen with your veterinarian is the first step into helping your dog. Once the allergen is found then you can find diets and toppers to make sure your dog has the diet they need to thrive. Strict adherence to your dog's dietary needs is crucial to make sure your dog does not have allergy flare ups which can look like hot spots, ear infections, excessive licking or chewing at themselves, skin infections, vomiting, or diarrhea. Mighty Bites offers different types of novel proteins. Novel protein simply means something your dog may have not been exposed to, which then is less likely to cause an allergic flare up. At Mighty Bites we take your dog's nutrition seriously and want to make sure they are healthy and happy.

What causes dogs to have food allergies? 

The cause of food allergies in your dog is their individual immune system's response to a specific protein and how their immune system registers it as a harmful substance. This can cause their antibodies to attack the protein which can cause a variety of symptoms such as: hot spots, ear infections, excessive licking or chewing at themselves, skin infections, vomiting, or diarrhea. The most common food allergens for dogs are beef, chicken, eggs, soy, and wheat. At Mighty Bites, this is one of the reasons we do not offer chicken as one of the proteins in our pucks. We strive to offer your fur babies unique protein options to help combat their allergies.

What food is the best for a dog with allergies? 

This is a loaded question as every dog is different. Every dog’s immune system is different and will react differently depending on the allergen. Of course, your veterinarian will recommend limited-ingredient diets or even a hydrolyzed protein diet. A hydrolyzed protein diet is made by breaking down the protein molecules to be smaller than normal so that the immune system does not think it's an invader in your dog's body. While we cannot offer hydrolyzed protein at Mighty Bites, we can offer limited-ingredient toppers as our toppers are 100% of your selected protein. A common problem with a hydrolyzed protein diet is that it does not taste good and unfortunately due to the nature of the diet, we do not recommend adding our toppers as it would defeat the purpose of the diet.

Are dogs having food allergies genetic?

There is evidence suggesting that dog food allergies can be a combination of genes and environment. Genetics play a role in that they can predispose your dog into developing food allergies at some point in their life. If they do develop it is usually seen in early puppyhood or the first year of their life. Some dog breeds are predisposed such as Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Cocker Spaniels, German Shepards, and West Highland White Terriers. This is because of how they were bred to get the breed. A lot of these breeds are too old to even circle back and correct it. This is when you can consult breeders and how they manage their dogs and if they send out testing for their breeder dogs prior to producing litter of puppies. We at Mighty Bites love educating our customers about all the things that can go into their dog's nutrition and keeping them healthy and happy.

How common are dogs with food allergies?

Recent studies show about 1-2% of dogs in our current population have food related allergies.In the United States alone there are about 89.7 million dogs and 1-2% have food allergies may not seem like a lot but when considering how many dogs are in the US alone that is a lot of dogs with food allergies.