Petcurean Pet Nutrition – Diagnosis for dog and cat allergies

The diagnosis for dog and cat allergies is very straightforward. But due to the fact that many other problems can cause similar symptoms and that many times animals are suffering from more problems than just food allergies, it is very important that all other problems are properly identified and treated prior to undergoing diagnosis for food allergies. Atopy, flea bite allergies, intestinal parasite hypersensitivities, sarcoptic mange, and yeast or bacterial infections can all cause similar symptoms as food allergies. Once all other causes have been ruled out or treated, then it is time to perform a food trial using a Petcurean Pet Nutrition product.

Elimination diets and provocative testing:

A food trial consists of feeding an animal a novel food source of protein and carbohydrate for 12 weeks. A novel food source would be a protein and carbohydrate that the animal had never eaten before. An example would be salmon and oatmeal, or venison and rice, or duck and potatoes. Special Foods produced by Petcurean Pet Nutrition, are used by many dermatologists. Regardless of the diet used, it must be the only thing the animal eats for 12 weeks. This means no treats; absolutely nothing but the special food and water.

Veterinarians used to recommend that a pet only needed to be placed on a special diet for 3 weeks, but new studies show that in dogs, only 26% of those with food allergies responded by day 21. However, the vast majority of pets responded by 12 weeks. Therefore, it is very important to keep the pet on the diet for the entire 12 weeks. If the dog shows a marked reduction or elimination of the symptoms, then the animal is placed back on the original food, if the owner wishes confirmation. This is called 'provocative testing' and is essential to confirm the diagnosis. If the symptoms return after going back on the original diet, the diagnosis of a food allergy is confirmed. If there has been no change in symptoms but a food allergy is still strongly suspected, then another food trial using a different novel food source could be tried.

We must reiterate that placing a dog on a commercial lamb and rice formula dog food is not an acceptable way to diagnose or treat food allergies, if using a commercial food, you must use a food that has had limited exposure. Lamb and rice are no longer considered novel food sources and some commercial lamb and rice diets also contain wheat, egg, corn, or other ingredients that can be the cause of the food allergy.

Blood Testing: Many owners and veterinarians attempt to look to other tests to diagnose food allergies. Blood tests such as the RAST test or the ELISA test can be performed to screen for food allergies. In addition, intradermal skin testing could also be performed. Despite the fact that these tests are routinely performed and used as a diagnostic aid, there is no evidence that blood tests are accurate for the diagnosis of food allergies. Veterinary dermatologists insist that there is no merit in these tests whatsoever in the diagnosis of food allergies. The only way to accurately diagnose food allergies is with a food trial as detailed above. While the intradermal skin testing is excellent for diagnosing atopy (inhalant allergies) it is ineffective for food allergies. While the ELISA and to a lesser extent the RAST test can be used to help in the diagnosis of atopy, they have no benefit in diagnosing food allergies.  If you want to diagnose and treat food allergies you must do a food trial.

Treatment

Once we determine a positive diagnosis, then the treatment is very straightforward. The owner of the animal has two choices. They can choose to feed the animal a special commercially prepared diet or a homemade diet. If the owner chooses to feed the homemade diet, then they can periodically challenge the pet with new ingredients and determine which ingredients are causing the food allergy. For example, if the animal's symptoms subsided on a diet of rabbit and potatoes, then the owner could add beef to the diet for two weeks. If the animal showed no symptoms, then they could then add chicken for two weeks. If the animal began to show symptoms, then it could be assumed that chicken was one of the things the pet was allergic to. The chicken could be withdrawn and after the symptoms cleared up, a different ingredient could be added and so on until all of the offending ingredients were identified. A diet could then be formulated that was free of the offending food sources.

If homemade diets are used, it is essential that they be balanced, with correct amount of ingredients, vitamins, and minerals.

 Petcurean sets Tomorrow's Standards Today

For complete information, please call us toll free at 866-864-6112 (local 101)