What’s The Best Dog Food For A Sensitive Dog?
Like humans, dogs are prone to allergies and an upset stomach. They itch, they scratch, they get ear infections, and they may even vomit or suffer from diarrhea. If your dog displays an unusual attitude towards different kinds of food or an unusual behavior after meals, your dog could be suffering from life-threatening food allergies. While it is wise to consult a veterinarian immediately, you should first try to find out the causes of your dog’s allergies.
The moment your dog acts differently, observe his behavior and look for rashes, dots on the skin, and other symptoms. The vet may not always be able to tell what has been bothering your dog right away and he or she may prescribe antibiotics to relieve the symptoms. Anti-biotics will only control the allergy but it is unable to cure it indefinitely. The best way to cure a food allergy in dogs is to take note of your dog’s diet, find out what has been causing his allergies and making sure he steers clear from allergic foods or ingredients.
If you were to look at a typical dog food label, you would be horrified. Complicated scientific terms and long words may easily intimidate you: for example, many types of dog foods contain unpronounceable ingredients like BHT or BHA (butylated hydroxytoluene or butylated hydroxyanisole), ethoxyquin and propyl gallate; these may be causing your dog’s problems. There are brands of pet food that offer special sensitive formulas, or you might want to consider switching to holistic dog food on a permanent basis, since they do not make use of these unnecessary and unnatural preservatives in the first place.
Another possibility is that your dog may be having difficulty digesting either the meat component or the grain component of the food, and introducing him to food with a different protein source than the one to which he has an adverse reaction, may immediately eradicate the problem. For instance, beef is tough to digest for some pooches, so you might want to switch him to a more easily digestible food like fish and sweet potatoes or oatmeal. Alternatively, many dogs do not do so well after eating corn or wheat or soy, but will happily respond to beef or lamb. The grain-free variety of food is perfect for such dogs.
You could also opt to prepare your own homemade dog food. This is a little bit trickier since you will have to find the proper balance of nutrients and ingredients (minus the allergen/s) in order to ensure that your dog gets optimum health. You may have to work closely with your vet on this so you can formulate the best possible nutrition plan for your sensitive dog.
Perhaps it may not be a case of sensitivity at all. Perhaps the act of switching to a different food itself is the main culprit. When changing your dog’s diet, give him time to adjust. Introduce the new food gradually over the course of several days, because when rushed, it can in fact take a toll on the poor dog, and it will not even matter if he’s sensitive or not.
Not every dog is the same, just as not every person is the same. Some are more sensitive than others, and it will take a fair amount of trial and error, not to mention vigilant observation, to figure out the best course of action to take and the best dog food to sooth your sensitive dog.
