Scratching and itching…..there are some things you just don’t want to see your dog doing

More and more people are looking for hypo-allergenic, free-from, and allergen-free foods. Subsequently, due to the anthropomorphic nature of humans and pets, these food variants are appearing more frequently in the pet food market as well.

Hypo-allergenic foods are ones which contain one, novel protein source, and a single source of carbohydrates. They are usually are free of dairy, red meat and soya – ingredients all thought to be common causes of food intolerances.

Food intolerances or sensitivities are often referred to as allergies, however there are differences between allergies, sensitivities and intolerances.

An allergy is a reaction which occurs when the body produces the allergy antibody (IgE) in response to contact with a substance that is normally harmless.  Once an allergy has developed, only a very small amount of allergen will produce a reaction.

Signs of an allergy include symptoms such as continuous scratching or biting by the dog, or constant licking of the feet and legs. This can escalate to additional problems such as hair loss, reddening of the skin, and obvious pain or discomfort. If these symptoms occur, it is best to seek advice from your veterinary surgeon.

An intolerance occurs when the body cannot digest a particular substance.  This is often due to a lack of an enzyme that acts on a particular nutrient.  Intolerances usually only cause problems when large amounts of the food are eaten, and a typical reaction to an intolerance is vomiting or diarrhoea.

When a dietary intolerance is suspected in skin or intestinal conditions, an exclusion diet is recommended to determine which product is causing the reaction.  It is often advised to try a new protein source (e.g. chicken, lamb, turkey, rabbit, etc) that the animal has not previously been exposed to.  When switching over to a new diet, it is important that the new food should be introduced gradually over a seven day period, slowly adding more and more of the new diet mixed in the old food.

A food sensitivity occurs when an existing medical problem is triggered or made worse by the ingestion of certain foods.  The food is not the cause of the problem, and the symptoms are not due to an allergic response.  Skin problems are often multi-factorial in cause and may remain in check while the combined effects remain below the threshold.  Sensitivity, which produces an exaggerated response to a particular food, may push the combined effects of several causes over this threshold and lead to the appearance of symptoms.  Reduction of the effect of any one factor should reduce the total effect back below the threshold and thus resolve the problem.

The CLINIVET range of petfood is particularly suited to dogs and cats that have previously displayed a reaction to a protein or substance in the food.  Many animals are now known to have an allergy, or intolerance, to wheat gluten, dairy and/or soya products.  As the CLINIVET range is formulated without these products, and contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, you may find that moving your pet onto CLINIVET may lead to an improvement in your pet’s coat and skin condition.

CLINIVET is a petfood company, based in Northern Ireland, supplying super premium petfood to the retail and veterinary market. Our dogfood and catfood contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and is formulated without wheat gluten, beef, lamb, dairy or soya products. Have you tried CLINIVET petfood for dogs and food for cats yet?

CLINIVET sells our own brand of pet supplies from our online pet shop. We offer a home delivery service on all pet supplies and pet food products. Please visit our Buy Online section for more information.

For further enquiries, please contact CLINIVET.