The information provided below will hopefully help to explain the findings from your pet. Please let us know if we can provide you more answers and/or information.
Allergies are correlated to ectoparasites (flea), food, or environment. Commonly seen signs with allergies are ear infections, itchiness, licking or chewing at paws, stained fur in areas of over grooming, inappetance, vomiting, and diarrhea. We’ll be pursuing a diet trial over the course of the next couple of months.
There are two basic ways to achieve a hypoallergenic diet for your pet, these both relate to the protein ingredient of the diet; despite the marketing hype grain is not considered by most Veterinarians to be a likely source of adverse food reactions in dogs or cats.
1) Hydrolyzed diets which are specifically processed to be universally hypoallergenic; these are only
available through Veterinary outlets. This is considered the ‘Gold Standard’ for use by Veterinary Dermatology specialists
2) A novel protein source such as a limited ingredient food with a single protein source; these may be available through commercial or Veterinary outlets.
I recommend a hydrolyzed protein meal, or a novel protein (such as fish, rabbit or venison). In this time period of a diet trial, strict adherence to diet is important. Even the monthly Heartgard, which has chicken flavoring, can skew results. You must also take into account treats and flavored medications or supplements as possible allergen sources. Read the label carefully and check for any flavorings that are protein based (chicken, turkey, beef, pork, etc). Any flavored chew toys, treats, table scraps, or flavored medications may compromise the integrity of the diet trial.
For the diet trial, please feed only the prescribed food, hypoallergenic treats, or treats containing only the specific novel protein chosen (e.g. if feeding a salmon based novel protein diet only feed salmon based treats. Don’t forget to check the ingredients). During this trial, the only things entering your pet’s mouth should be strictly controlled by you. For a 3-in-1 heartworm/flea/tick preventative that adheres to the rules of the diet trial, Simparica Trio is recommended.
A diet trial can take up to 6-8 weeks to show any results and may take up to 6 months. Progress should be checked in that time period. A follow-up to the diet trial should be scheduled 2 months after a full transition to the hydrolyzed/novel protein.
As with any diet change you should gradually transition from one food to another over the course of 3- 5 days, increasing the percentage of the new diet each day. It takes some time for ‘old metabolites’ to be eliminated from your pets body so the response time for any hypoallergenic diet trial is usually at least 2 months and sometimes as long as 6 months. Therefore your pet may still need medications for dermatitis during this time period.