How long to get food allergens out of system? - Page 2

Pedigree Database

Premium classified

This is a placeholder text
Group text

Premium classified

This is a placeholder text
Group text

Premium classified

This is a placeholder text
Group text

Premium classified

This is a placeholder text
Group text

by Sam1427 on 21 April 2009 - 04:04

Allergy tests are a good idea, but they don't test for everything. Tests can be done for most foods, pollens, etc. but few of us can afford to test for everything the dog might eat or breathe or encounter.  For an elimination diet, it's best to start with either something the dog has never eaten before or something you are absolutely sure he is not allergic to. My experience - and I'm not an M.D. or vet - is that 2 - 4 weeks of the basic diet should calm the allergy symptoms. You can't be giving benadryl, cortisone or any other steroid or antihistamine when you add in a new ingredient. It will disguise any reaction and won't be a true test. Do keep a daily log of what you fed, how much, what poops were like, where the dog played that day and what he played with, any allergy symptoms, etc. It's very easy to forget something. With a log, you can go back and see what you did and what the results were.

With my allergic dog, I found out within 24 hours of adding egg to her food that she was allergic to eggs. Of course, egg was the 4th or 5th ingredient I tried. It's a very common ingredient in dog food, but it's usually not among the first 3 or 4. If you do the diet, it's a good idea to start adding the most common ingredient first, then the next common, etc. And of course, this takes weeks and weeks so be prepared to be patient and not rush things. If a dog is only mildly allergic, it may take some time to figure out which ingredient is the culprit.

Good luck!






 


Contact information  Disclaimer  Privacy Statement  Copyright Information  Terms of Service  Cookie policy  ↑ Back to top