Dog Food Allergies & Intolerance

Bernie’s Perfect Poop may naturally help alleviate dog food allergies & dog food intolerance

You may feel that your dog’s food doesn’t sit right with him. He itches and scratches, or constantly has an upset tummy. Is it a dog food allergy? Is it dog food intolerance? Whether your dog has food allergies or food intolerance, Bernie’s Perfect Poop may help.

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Good dog gut health is critical for your dog’s overall health. When your dog’s gut is healthy, your dog is healthier. You may often wonder if your dog is allergic to his food or if he has a dog food intolerance. There is a difference. A dog food allergy is the result of an immunological response. It’s typically considered a chronic condition.A dog food sensitivity or intolerance is not as much an immunological response as it is an irritation that can lead to dermatological or gastrointestinal issues. Whether food allergy or food intolerance, if your dog’s gut is healthy, their immune system will be stronger and fight against dog food allergy and dog food intolerance.
A high-quality fiber combination like the Miscanthus grass, flaxseed and pumpkin found in Bernie’s Perfect Poop can help strengthen your dog’s digestive system. When your dog’s gastrointestinal tract is healthier and balanced, the fiber allows nutrients to be absorbed at the proper speed. This means fewer proteins that are not broken into amino acids and that your dog’s body considers a foreign intruder. It’s then when you have to worry about dog food allergy and intolerance.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop combines prebiotics and probiotics to help create the perfectly balanced gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is the key to ensuring the food your dog eats doesn’t become an intruder to your dog’s body. When food is broken appropriately, it turns into amino acids. These amino acids travel through their small intestines and into their body. If the enterocytes (special cells in their body) see these amino acids as a problem, though, they’ll fight back (an allergic reaction). Additionally, if the proteins are not fully broken down into amino acids, your dog’s immune system will recognize them as intruders and want to fight back with a histamine response. A healthy microbiome will ‘talk’ to your immune system and help prohibit these ‘foreign intruders’ from soliciting an allergic response or an intolerance reaction. Pre- and Probiotics help your dog’s intestinal walls stay their healthiest and prevent undigested proteins and amino acids the enterocytes reject from triggering an allergic reaction while in the digestive process.
Each cell in your dog’s body needs nourishment and nutrients. When your dog can break the food you give him down, he’s able to best absorb nutrients and fuel his body. When he eats protein from his food, enzymes break the proteins into smaller pieces (amino acids). When your dog’s body considers these amino acids as a threat, his immune system will react by sending out histamine to attack those amino acid proteins. The proprietary blend of seven digestive enzymes in Perfect Poop will break your dog’s food down as it should be to ensure maximum absorption and metabolization.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop is a 4-in-1 combination of fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes. Perfect Poop is also non-GMO. There’s research that suggests GMO foods are on the common list of food allergens.

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What other pet parents say

Less Farting & No More Weepy Eyes! My 2 dogs are generally healthy and eat a high quality, grain-free diet. Despite that, my more sensitive, allergy-prone pup regularly had gas and chronic weepy eyes. Since using Bernie’s for a month, the flatulence has completely cleared up and the weepy eyes have gotten much better. Both dogs seem to like the flavor and eat it with gusto when we sprinkle it on their food! – Rachel

What is dog food allergy and dog food intolerance and what are the symptoms?

Just like in humans, a dog food allergy or a dog food intolerance can happen. The truth is that dog food allergies are not quite as common as may be thought—only about 10% are food-related. A food allergy or food intolerance results in an immune response. The immune response could be a mild itch or irritation or could even be severe and result in anaphylaxis. The nerve-wracking thing is that just like in humans, food allergies can come out of nowhere and your dog can become allergic to a food he’s been eating for years.

The difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance though is that one is an immune response and one is not. An allergic reaction makes your dog’s body send histamine in response to its belief that a protein in your dog’s food is an intruder to his gut. An intolerance is similar in that your dog will have a reaction; it just won’t be a release of histamine. Histamine typically elicits scratching and itching excessively but can also cause swelling, hives, sneezing and even infections of the skin and ears. Intolerances are not chronic like an allergy. They typically bring about dermatological reactions like skin and hair issues or gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea and vomiting, though it can be confusing. Allergic reactions generally are immediate and responsive. Intolerances are more chronic and cumulative in their symptomatology. Food intolerances are not typically life-threatening, but food allergies can be life-threatening.

Signs your dog may have food allergies or dog food intolerances include:

Excessive scratching
Hives
Sneezing
Eye drainage
Chronic ear infections
Hot spots
Secondary yeast/bacterial infections in skin/ears
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Excessive gas
Dull coat

Causes of food allergies and intolerances

Experts don’t have any clear-cut theories behind why dogs get food allergies or food intolerances. Some research suggests that if dog parents have allergies, a dog may be predisposed to inheriting the allergy. Genes may play a small role in that way. It’s also thought that certain dog breeds are more prone to dog food allergies and dog food intolerances than others. Still, research doesn’t really back that up either. Most veterinarians find dogs can adapt to most types of foods and look deeper at gut health.

In a nutshell, food allergies and intolerances are prevalent where dog gut health is poor because it’s about your dog’s body’s reaction to undigested proteins and foods. When your dog eats, he begins to pre-digest food in his stomach. This is where acids and enzymes break the proteins in your dog’s food into smaller pieces for full nutrient absorption. As it continues to be digested, it moves through your dog’s intestines and proteins are broken into amino acids. Those amino acids are pivotal to your dog’s overall health and travel through your dog’s gut and body through cells called enterocytes. An enterocyte is a protective cell. Suppose it sees that there’s something fishy or undigested attached with these amino acids. In that case, they’ll consider it an invader to your dog’s body and quickly try to get rid of it by allowing your dog’s immune system to tackle it.

Typically, in an allergy, that’s a histamine reaction, and that can cause itching, scratching, hives—even anaphylaxis. In a situation of food intolerance, your dog’s body doesn’t send out a histamine response but symptoms may look similar because there really are only so many ways your dog can react to a food issue. Food intolerances tend to result from a habitually poor microbiome and tend to get better when gut health is addressed.

Causes of dog food allergies and dog food intolerances include:	Can Perfect Poop help?
Poor digestion	Yes
Unbalanced gut	Yes
Early antibiotic use	Yes
Food exposure saturation	Yes
Genetic inheritance

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A severe reaction to food could be life-threatening. If your dog suffers from an anaphylactic reaction (throat closes off, breathing difficult, rapid swelling and puffing), you should call an emergency animal hospital immediately. If you can get there quickly, you should just go and call on the way.

More information about food allergies & intolerance in dogs

Good dog gut health is pivotal to overall physical health in your dog. Good nutrition is what fuels your dog’s mind and body. There are some common food ingredients experts believe may be allergens for dogs. They include: corn, wheat, rice, chicken, beef, eggs, potatoes, carrots, peanuts, beans, peas, soy, milk, yogurt and genetically modified (GMO) foods. That sounds like a lot, but good gut health can make a difference.

Fiber may help with dog food allergies and dog food intolerance

If your dog is getting enough fiber in his digestive system, his food will be best digested and his digestive tract balanced. Premium fiber like the ones in Perfect Poop—Miscanthus grass, flaxseed and pumpkin make sure your dog’s food has just the right amount of time to go through his intestines and be broken down. Fully digested food prevents particles from entering your dog’s blood circulation. That means his immune system won’t be triggered to fight with a histamine response.

Prebiotics and probiotics may help with canine allergies and canine food intolerance

Prebiotics and probiotics are key supplements to ensuring your dog’s food gets broken down appropriately. When your dog’s gut is imbalanced, the food in the digestive tract may linger and ferment.It may not get fully broken down, though, and your dog’s body may see food as a foe.

Additionally, a healthy microbiome keeps your dog healthy overall. Good dog gut health is the key to good health in general. Prebiotics and Probiotics balance out your dog’s digestive tract bacteria and microbiome. They help make sure that all food is digested appropriately and there’s a healthy balance of good bacteria that moves that food through the digestive system as it should be for maximum nutrient absorption. The prebiotic in Bernie’s Perfect Poop is Inulin. It’s a long-chain fatty acid that makes its way through the digestive system and strengthens the gut and immune system. A strong immune system won’t let undigested foods break the intestinal barrier and cause allergy reactions or intolerance symptoms.

Enzymes may help your dog’s food allergies and food intolerances

If your dog can break his food down and digest it properly, he’ll take in maximum nutrients. Digestive enzymes are essential in this process. Enzymes break the food proteins down, meaning there’s nothing for your dog’s immune system to fight back against. Enzymes also help your dog break down his food and absorb all he’s supposed to for cellular fuel, not fodder for an immune response or intolerance reaction. The right digestive enzymes also mean your dog’s food will go through his body as it should with no foreign pieces escaping the gut and triggering response.

Digestive enzymes like the ones found in Bernie’s allow your dog’s gut to be his healthiest and strongest. The stronger his gut health, the better he can digest foods and prevent allergic responses to dog food.

Other ways to help

Allergy testing/immunotherapy
Elimination diet
Diet change
Medication for symptoms as your vet recommends

Additional reading

Related terms

Dog allergy
Dog intolerance
Dog food allergens
Dog food intolerances
Canine allergies
Canine food intolerances
Canine food allergies
Dog allergic to food