Dogs love to eat. So much so that often they even get to know the sound of the dog food bag opening and immediately spring up in anticipation of the meal being poured into their bowl. A lot of dog owners will mix wet and dry dog food together, and no matter what it is they are being served dogs always eat ravenously when it is put in front of them. What goes down is not always agreeable though, and there are some dogs that should not be eating certain foods. Here we are going to look at how can you tell if your dog has food allergies.  

The most obvious one is going to be if what goes down comes back up shortly after, but regurgitation is not much of a commonly seen example for food allergies in dogs. A dog may be allergic to food and not have much of a noticeable allergic reaction at all, but still have attached health risks because of it. We will get to the symptoms you can spot when your dog has had some type of food and something is clearly wrong, but before we do it might be best to talk about why a dog can have food allergies.  

Dog allergies are most often a reaction to the protein in the food, and this can occur with beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, or corn. The last 3 of those ingredients are quite common in dry dog foods so it is not like you can give your dog that type of food and be assured that there is no chance of them having an allergic reaction when they eat it. So, if you have brought a puppy home for the first time it is better to buy the dog food you are inclined to and then see how your new dog does with it.  

See the Signs  

We should mention as well that German Shepherds, West Highland White Terriers, and Labrador and Golden Retrievers are more likely to have dog food allergies because these breeds are known to have overactive immune systems. Something to keep in mind with how can you tell if your dog has food allergies, but what will be important is that you are able to see the signs of them. So, let us spend the rest of this blog entry laying out the most frequently occurring and observable of these dog food allergy symptoms.  

Recurrent diarrhea is one that can allow you to make a direct connection between a food and your dog being allergic to it. These allergies can manifest themselves in the skin too, so if you your dog licking their feet excessively and experiencing swelling in the extremities of their paws too that can be a sign. Itchy ears can also be a sign, as can weight loss although losing weight unexplainedly can be the result of a tapeworm infection too.  

We will conclude by saying that if your dog loses its appetite then that may also be a sign you need to do a restrictive diet for dogs. That can also be helpful for how can you tell if your dog has food allergies.