If your dog is constantly scratching, rubbing against things, and shaking their head, a food allergy may be the culprit. One of AL’s top animal hospitals is Animal Health Center in Enterprise, and below, their best vets provide a guide to finding and treating food allergies in your furry family members.

Food Allergy Signs

Call an animal hospital as soon as you notice any of these common signs of food allergies in dogs:

• Chronic Inflammation: If ears or other body parts become inflamed for no apparent reason, a food allergy is one of the likely culprits.
• Gastrointestinal Issues: If excessive diarrhea is an ongoing problem, a food allergy or intolerance may be to blame. An animal hospital can recommend dietary changes or other actions to help determine the cause.
• Excessive Scratching: Constant scratching and fur biting are telltale signs of an allergy. Contact your pet hospital to determine if it’s a food allergy or something else.

Finding the Culprit

To test for food allergies, an expert in veterinary medicine will prescribe a new diet for your dog made up of ingredients they’ve never eaten. If the problems go away, they will then re-introduce the old ingredients one by one to see which, if any, cause a reaction. Blood tests won’t work for dog allergies, so the elimination test is the most common route for an animal hospital looking for an allergy. Your dog can develop an allergy even to foods you’ve been feeding them for years, so not all allergies only happen when a new food is introduced.

Think your dog might have a food allergy? Call (334) 347-0544 to make an appointment with a veterinary medicine specialist at Animal Health Center in Enterprise, AL. Their full-service animal hospital can handle everything from pet surgery to emergency care and has served the area faithfully for over 50 years. Check them out online to read more about their state-of-the-art facility.