Specialized Dog Food for Skin Irritations

Many skin problems in dogs are actually caused by allergies to foods. Once the food allergy happens the dog's skin is more susceptible to other skin issues. Along with medication, a change of diet can provide significant relief from skin problems. Finding a diet that you can maintain your dog on long term can involve an elimination diet. Many limited ingredient diets are available commercially, making it easier to find the right foods for your dog to ease skin issues.

  1. Food allergies

    • Some dogs have allergies to the foods they eat just like people. The allergy to the food manifests by causing a histamine reaction, histamines alert the body something is attacking it. This reaction can make the skin and GI tract very irritated. The dog's skin can become red, swollen, itchy or even break out in pustules or sores. If the dog continues to eat this same food that he is allergic to the histamine reaction will continue leaving the dog in a constant state of reaction. This will result in a dog that has skin and GI issues as well as just not feeling very well.

    Skin problems

    • The histamines from the allergic reaction can affect the skin, causing it to become red, swollen, and itchy. The dog will itch his skin and traumatize it. Once the skin becomes traumatized it becomes a nice place for bacteria to set up shop, resulting in not just irritated but now infected skin. In many cases antibiotics and medicated baths can be necessary to control the infection. The cause of the itching and subsequent infection has not been addressed, however, and the cycle of itching and infection will begin again.

    Immediate relief

    • If food allergy is the culprit behind your dog's skin issues, you can try an elimination diet. Start by feeding a bland diet of plain rice and boiled chicken, or cottage cheese. Try different combinations of each to find something palatable. These foods are very mild on the stomach as well as nutritious, so they are generally tolerated well by sensitive tummies. Feed this to your dog and continue treating the skin with medications until the skin issues resolve.

    Elimination diets

    • Add food items back to the diet carefully. Try potato or peas for starch, maybe eggs or lamb for protein. Each time you introduce a new food item wait several weeks before adding another to see if symptoms reoccur. If they do go back to the food that was tolerated well. Some dogs never move past simple boiled chicken and rice. If he does well on it by maintaining his weight, no symptoms, and has a good energy level you may have found the diet of choice for your dog.

    Long term

    • Dogs on a limited ingredient diet should stay on the diet and not receive any table scraps that may cause a flare-up. Many limited ingredient foods are available at pet stores, making it easier to keep a dog on this type of diet long-term. It can take months for a limited ingredient to show its full effect at controlling an allergy.