Grain Allergies In Dogs: Symptoms and treatment
Written by Dr Claire Stevens
Food allergies are not limited to humans — dogs can also have allergic reactions to certain foods, such as grains and beef. Allergic reactions include symptoms such as itchy skin and hair loss, as well as gastrointestinal issues which can be very unpleasant for you and your pet! Since grains are commonly added to dog foods, some dogs may be exposed to them in excess over time. Consequently, grain allergies can start at any age, sometimes even after your dog has been fed the same diet for years without incident.
Symptoms
Symptoms that are frequently associated with grain allergies include red, itchy skin, hair loss associated with constant scratching and chewing, ear infections, and inflamed pads on the underside of paws, often combined with obsessive licking. Other symptoms include gastrointestinal upsets that can cause vomiting, gas and diarrhoea.
If your dog is experiencing skin allergies or any other allergic symptoms, you should seek advice from your vet. Once the vet has ruled out other common causes of these symptoms, they may suggest changing your dog’s food to a hypoallergenic diet.
Immune Mechanism
Food allergies are caused by a response from the immune system to something it considers harmful, even though it may in fact be harmless. The body’s natural defence mechanism kicks in to protect the body from the perceived threat — in this case, grain. This response causes inflammation which materialises as an allergic reaction. Since we see variations from dog to dog, one dog may be fine eating grains in their diet for their entire lives, while another may experience skin flare-ups or other ailments whenever he consumes grains. If you suspect your dog may be allergic to grains, consult with your veterinarian who will advise you on the best plan of action.
Treatment
Your vet will conduct a thorough physical examination and may also do a blood test and other diagnostic tests like skin scrapings and a fecal analysis.
Should your vet suspect a food allergy, next you will need to determine what the problematic ingredient is so that it can be removed from your dog’s diet. Once the cause of the problem has been found and removed, your dog should recover relatively quickly.
This may require a process of elimination, which is best conducted under the guidance of your veterinarian. This typically involves switching diets to a hypoallergenic diet, such as the Hypro Premium range to see if the symptoms persist after trialling it for 6-8 weeks. Your vet may prescribe medication such as a medicated skin cream or antihistamine tablets to help ease the allergic symptoms while you work through the process of determining what is responsible for the allergy.
If your dog continues to be exposed to an ingredient that he is allergic to, it will result in a weakened immune system over time, which may, in turn, lead to chronic skin and ear infections, as well as other health issues. Feeding your dog a grain-free diet may offer a simple solution to alleviate skin allergies and other allergic reactions.
Corey 2 months ago
Going through with with my pit. have been using a prescribed shampoo which only seems to make it worse the day after. Thinking about switching food because the only other option i know of is the allergy shots.
Mrs Jill harknett 10 months ago
Hi we changed our dog to grain free but he doesn’t seem to be doing well on it , he’s 8 yrs old , but he seems to be tired a lot more and constantly wanting more food I think he missis the grain ,
we tried the grain free because he itches his ears and his feet , & had ear infection , which had antibiotics for , then yeast infection in ear , which we have drops for , not sure whether to go back to the hills gastrointestinal prescription diet dog food , as he was on this long time fine till these things started , any advice please? Ps vet recommended hypoallergenic hills ZD dig food which he dosent like
Sonni 12 months ago
I just rescued my little girl, she’s 1yr old and noticed she digs like mad and her skin is terrible, after watching and observing her and what she was currently eating im just about sure its the food. I’m hoping to get this under control!! shes suffering terribly from this so fingers crossed!!
Belkys 1 year ago
my 3 year old German shepherd have bad allergies. she is itchy all the time from ears , paws and loosing hair. I took her to the vet try changing her food for Hill’s diet and no luck.
any suggestion ?
Johnny Camilleri 1 year ago
Hi there,
So sorry to hear about your dog’s issues. Causes for these are difficult to determine and can be multifactorial. We would suggest having your vet rule out any medical causes initially. Medical issues can stem from endocrine issues, infection, dermatitis etc. Allergies from food can occur in dog’s but they are actually not all that common. If food is the likely culprit, the gold standard would be through an elimination diet or to feed a therapeutic hypoallergenic food. Our Hypro Premium Grain Free is great for dog’s with sensitivities using lower allergenic ingredients.
Jean 2 years ago
My nearly 2 year old has increased itching. She was frequently having to have her anal glands cleared and a friend suggested giving her bran from the health food shop with her food. I have also put her on a pork dry biscuit complete diet as another suggestion was a lot of dogs are allergic to chicken. We have been to the vets who want to charge a fortune for regular treatment without the allergy being identified but I don’t want to be giving her medication for the rest of her life if it can be resolved by changing her food. I think also taking the bran away could be worth a try as her itching and constant paw licking has got worse since we introduced it.
Aburrell 2 years ago
Hi Jean, sorry to hear you are having trouble with your dog and itching. Dogs can have sensitivities to many things, sometimes foods and sometimes it can be environmental. Our Hypro Premium range is a hypoallergenic formula and having no grains and fillers, means that the high quality ingredients used are all beneficial to your dogs total health and wellbeing starting from the inside. Our Hypro Premium is a complete and balanced meal which means there is no need to add any other products to the meal. If you needed some samples to try her on, please contact us and we can send some out to you. Allergies can be difficult to diagnose and you may need a few vet visits to try and get to the bottom of it.
Jazmine 2 years ago
Hi
I have a 7-8 month old mix I adopted from the shelter a few days ago they gave me some ointment to put on these red itchy spots on her but it doesn’t seem like it’s made a difference it’s really upsetting and I’m not sure what to do
Aburrell 2 years ago
Hi Jazmine, dogs can have allergies to many things. It could be caused by something she is in contact with or something she is eating. Perhaps if things don’t improve, a trip to your local vet would be suggested to try and get to the bottom of it.
Amber Johnson 3 years ago
Hello,
My 9 week old labradoodle puppy has been itching ever since we got him. He seems to have a very upset stomach too. His poos seem normal but today his nose started to get runny. I think he is allergic to something in his food. We are using Natures Balance kibble and started to transition him onto Royal Canin Puppy kibble over the last 2 days. I wondered whether to try kangaroo..
Roxanne Godsell 3 years ago
Hi Amber, it would be best discussing this issue with your vet. That way you can get to the bottom of what may be causing the health issues and
then buy food according to what’s best for your pup.
Timikia Smith 2 years ago
Wow i have a 12 week old Golden Doodle and the kennel that i got him from fed puppy show and i have a shitzu/terrier that eats dry puppy pedigree. My doodles nose has been runny and so snotty. Went to vent and was given antibiotics but it’s not helping. Now that i see your post i bet it’s the dog food that has my coopers nose running
Aburrell 2 years ago
Hi Tamikia, I am glad you have taken your new baby to the vet. Those symptoms do not sound normal and definitely need a vets attention to find the underlying cause to correct it. Some dogs can express food allergies in many different ways. We have many breeders that use our Hypro Premium Turkey and Lamb puppy food to raise their litters on to give them a great start to life. If you were interested in transitioning your pets to our Hypro Premium range, feel free to contact us if you wanted to try some samples before you place an order.
Diana Requeno 3 years ago
My 7 year old maltese keeps biting himself and scratching and i’m sure that it’s the grain i’m his food.
Roxanne Godsell 3 years ago
Hi Diana,
We have sent you a direct email regarding your enquiry.
Peter Talbot sykes 3 years ago
We have a 1 year old bulldog, he was previously on raw food from his owner, and they had just started to introduce him to wet food. Since then he can not keep wet food down and sometimes has problems with dry food. We have been giving him chicken breast and rice but the expense for this is not ideal. Could it be the grain in his fire causing this?
Roxanne Godsell 3 years ago
Hi Peter, sorry to hear that your bulldog is having issues with different foods. We would advise that you have this checked by your vet to work out what the issue might be.
Karen solari 3 years ago
My dog is always itching and biting but she has no fleas, I’m thinking it’s the grain in her food maybe.
Roxanne Godsell 3 years ago
Hi Karen,
Thank you for your comment on this subject.
We have sent you a message via your email.
Nancy 2 years ago
Hi, I’m having same problems with my 8 years old chihuahua. Try to change the food, but no success..
Aburrell 2 years ago
Hi Nancy, some small dogs can be quite fussy with their food and need some different methods to tempt them to try new things. There is a blog on our page that can walk you through some options. If you wanted to try some samples of our food, feel free to contact us to arrange some to be sent to you to try.
Susan 2 years ago
Most definitely mine I was treating with flea shampoo and cleaning their bedding they are blankets spraying organic flea and tick spray all over the baseboards I was using a very expensive of a $20 shampoo for mange and ringworm and all that good stuff changed all her treats and discovered she was taken off the grain free food put on Now we are back to salmon grain free & Special spray to control the itching hydrocortisone and so forth we are in day 2
Lesleigh 3 years ago
My 16 month old female maremma has royal canin dry food. Her other food is cooked chicken breast & turkey mince. She keeps getting gastric so i stop dry food give chicken & rice then slowly reintroduce dry food. She gets the runs & sometimes vomits both are yellowy colour. Im convinced its the dry food. I am not sure what dry food to try.
Roxanne Godsell 3 years ago
Good afternoon, thank you for your comments on the “Grain Allergies in Dogs” article on our website and
we’re sorry to hear that your pet is not coping with her current diet.
We are happy to send you some of our samples from our Grain Free range for you to try.
If you’d like us to send them, please send through your postal address and we’ll get them sent out to
you straight away.
Kind regards,
Roxanne