Does Your Dog Have A Chicken Allergy?
How Do I Know If My Dog Is Allergic Against Chicken?
There are multiple signs that your dog might be allergic against chicken. Observing your dogs food intake, his stool and checking his skin is a good start to see if your dog might have an allergy against his food. Remember to always check-in with a vet before taking things into your own hands!
When I first got my dog Luke, I always had trouble making him eat his food. He would love treats and bones but I just couldn’t get him to eat his daily food. Of course he loves wet food, but his dry kibble would always stay in his bowl. That was the first “red flag” I noticed about his eating behavior. The other problem I’ve encountered was his stool. He constantly had soft stool. I went to different vets, who recommended different types of food, which I tried but with the same result. Luke never encountered any skin rashes from his food, but excessive scratching or hair loss in larger patches might be an indicator that your dog has an allergy.
After months of soft stool and trying around food the vets recommended, one vet mentioned food allergies in dogs. I tried the “elimination diet” where you stop eating a suspect food. I started by giving my dog only beef for a few weeks, then salmon, then lamb, then chicken etc. you get the idea. Trust me that process was tedious, but I learnt so much about dog food. BUT I was still not satisfied with the consistency of his stool. I eventually noticed that his stool was especially soft, when it had chicken or any type of poultry in it. I started paying more attention to the ingredient list on the back of his food. I researched food brands that do no include ANY chicken or chicken fillers in dog food. You might think: Oh that’s easy, just buy the beef flavor. Oh boy was I wrong. You can not imagine how many food brands include chicken as a filler. Even if you buy salmon, lamb, beef dog food, it includes most likely chicken filler like: chicken meal, fat or other poultry by-products.
Once I found a brand that did not include any type of chicken in the ingredient list, my dogs’ stool cleared up almost instantly. Below I am listing the top 3 chicken-free food brands. I usually switch around brands every couple of months to give my dog some variety of flavor.
1. Rachel Ray - Beef, Potato & Bison Recipe
The first chicken-free brand I tried was the Beef, Potato & Bison recipe from Rachel Ray. My dogs’ stool improved almost instantly but he didn’t like the flavor too much. He is a picky eater, so it took him some time to get used to it. He would usually eat a little bit for breakfast and then finish it throughout the day or have it for dinner. We stuck with it for a few months but I didn’t like that he would never finish his food. My dog is more on the skinny side and I was afraid that he might loose weight by skipping one meal a day.
2. Castor & Pollux - Wild Caught Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe
I started looking for alternatives in supermarkets. You would literally see me standing in the pet aisle for hours, reading the ingredient labels of dog food. I found that Castor and Pollux offers chicken-free dog food. I like to order my dog food online, because I typically get 15lbs+ and it is difficult to carry it to the car and to the house. If you do not like to order online, you can always check your local supermarket if they have the brand.
3. Natural Balance - Salmon & Sweet Potato Formula
After a few months I started looking for another brand, just to switch it up for my dog and to make him excited about his food. Eventually, we started buying Natural Balance. Let me tell you: he LOVES this flavor. The Salmon and Sweet Potato Formula really encouraged my dog to finish his bowl every day. I have never had so much success with any other food brand but the Natural Balance works for us. I like that they have small and big kibbles. Depending on what size your dog is, you might buy one over the other.
I know it can be very stressful knowing that your pup is not doing well. I hope that these three options will help you to find dog food that your dog likes without any reactions.
Happy munching!
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