If your dog is prone to stomach upsets or skin problems, our guide to the best dog food for allergies offers a broad range of delectable recipes that can assist with a number of ailments in 2022.

Whether you have a puppy, an adult or a senior dog, whether your dog likes dry dog food, fresh food or wet dog food, there are a few things to consider when you go shopping. If you've been feeding your hungry hound a good quality dog food that's widely available on the market but notice that they've been itching and scratching more than usual, have red and inflamed patches of skin, or are experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, stomach bloating, or excess gas, it's best to consult with your vet to see if food is the source of the problem.

Food allergies in dogs are a difficult problem to solve

Dogs' environmental allergies are normally treated by limiting your pet's exposure to the offending allergen and then beginning them on a treatment to desensitize their body to the material progressively.

Although there is no guarantee of success, these measures can help many canine allergy patients ease their symptoms.

Food allergies, on the other hand, are a particularly difficult condition. After all, you can't really limit your pet's accessibility to food for more than 12 to 24 hours at a time!

As a result, food allergies must be managed by changing your pet's diet is very particular ways to help eliminate allergens while still meeting your dog's nutritional demands.

Signs of Skin Allergies in Dogs

Food allergies in dogs are frequently characterized by a set of symptoms that are rather constant. However, because these symptoms might be mistaken for those of other ailments, you should take your dog to the veterinarian for an assessment if you feel a food allergy is at work.

Fortunately, while food allergies are distressing and unpleasant to cope with, they are rarely life-threatening as they are in people – which is a bonus!

Whereas people commonly have a swelled throat or trouble breathing after swallowing an allergen, dogs are more likely to experience skin problems as a result of allergic responses.

Allergies manifest differently in dogs than in humans. It may appear natural for us humans that an environmental/inhalant allergy causes sneeze, but a food allergy causes vomiting.

The following are some of the most typical signs of food allergies in dogs:

• Itching, particularly around the ears or feet
• Constant licking or biting of the paws
• Hair thinning
• Skin diseases 
• Ear infections 

Other, less frequent symptoms that may indicate a food allergy are:

• Inadequate development in young dogs
• Wheezing
• Coughing/Sneezing
• a lot of gas
• Vomiting/Diarrhea

Temporal considerations might also reveal information about your dog's health. Because dogs are often exposed to food-borne allergens, their symptoms do not increase or decrease as they would if they were exposed to an environmental allergen such as pollen, dust, or dander (which are more common during certain seasons).

Can Dog Food Help with Skin Allergies?

There are two kinds of dog food for dogs with skin allergies. There are hypoallergenic dog meals available, as well as limited-ingredient diets.

There is no such thing as universal hypoallergenic dog food. Because of the nature of allergies, one type of dog food may be labelled hypoallergenic for one dog but not another.

For a dog that is sensitive to chicken, any meal that does not include chicken is considered hypoallergenic. However, another dog may be sensitive to rice rather than chicken and so have different needs, affecting what is considered hypoallergenic for that individual dog.

Hypoallergenic dog food is a form of dog food that avoids common allergies; nevertheless, what is genuinely hypoallergenic depends on your dog and its individual condition. Because common allergies may be avoided by eliminating different things, different foods can be hypoallergenic. 

Veterinarians frequently recommend hypoallergenic dog diets. They are similar to hydrolyzed protein dog food in that they are broken down into amino acid building blocks. The allergen becomes invisible after being hydrolyzed. This is not to say that your dog will not experience an allergic response.

Diets with Limited Ingredients

Diets with fewer ingredients include meals with fewer ingredients. With certain meals, it is easy to identify the component causing an allergic response. They are available without a prescription and may be purchased without seeing a veterinarian.

An alternative to store-bought is making your dog meals at home from scratch; this way, you know exactly what is in them and are assured it has not come into contact with the allergens.

Best Wet Dog Food for Skin Allergies 

When compared to kibble, the most refined wet dog diets include more protein, fewer carbohydrates, and no cancer-causing preservatives. They're also easy to chew. As a result, canned meals are an excellent choice for puppies, tiny dogs, and elderly dogs.

• First 5 ingredients: Duck, Chicken, potatoes, vitamin E supplement, Flaxseed
• Type: Grain-Free
• Design: Fresh ingredients
• Profile: Maintenance
• Best For: Adults

• First 5 ingredients: Chicken, chicken broth, turkey, chicken liver, peas
• Type: Grain-free
• Design: Multiple options (pate or stew)
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + puppies

• First 5 ingredients:  Beef, beef liver, beef broth, tricalcium phosphate, ground flaxseed
• Type:  Grain-free
• Design: Fine-chopped pate
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + small or medium breed puppies

Best Grain Free Dog Food For Skin Allergies

Grain-free dog meals often include more protein than grain-based dog foods. However, many are prepared with grain replacements like legumes (potatoes, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, etc.) which can disrupt the end food's nutritious balance. This is due to the fact that the two most popular components are utilized to substitute maize, rice, and other cereal grains.

Canidae Grain-Free Pure Real Salmon and Sweet Potato

• First 5 ingredients: salmon meal, menhaden fish meal, sweet potatoes, peas, canola oil
• Type: Grain-Free
• Design: 10 key ingredients or fewer
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults
  

• First 5 ingredients: Corn Starch, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein Isolate, Partially Hydrogenated Canola Oil Preserved with TBHQ, Coconut Oil, Powdered Cellulose.
• Type: hydrolyzed protein
• Design:  Veterinary Diets 
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults

• First 5 ingredients: 
• Type: Dry Food
• Design:  Sensitive Digestion, Grain-Free, High-Protein, Low Glycemic, No Corn No Wheat No Soy, Non-GMO
• Profile: Advanced Allergy Care 
• Best For: Small Breeds, Medium Breeds, Large Breeds, All Breeds

Raw Dog Food for Skin Allergies

A raw food diet is always advised, with one or two exceptions (mainly when the dog's immune system is impaired). This is due to the fact that raw food is the simplest for your dog to digest and boosts his or her immune system. A raw food diet will assist in restoring the hormones of fur loss caused by allergies and may even work as a natural hormone replacement (raw meat contains traces of hormones that dogs would be used to ingest).

• First 5 ingredients: Ground turkey with bone, turkey heart, turkey liver, herring oil, mixed tocopherols.
• Type: Freeze-dried
• Design: All-Natural
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults

• First 5 ingredients: Turkey thigh, pumpkin, turkey liver, turkey heart, carrot
• Type: Fresh-Food
• Design: Coarsely ground, limited ingredients
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + puppies

The farmers dog fresh

• First 5 ingredients: Turkey, parsnips, chickpeas, carrot, broccoli
• Type: Grain-free, Human Grade
• Design: Coarsely ground, limited ingredients
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + puppies

Puppy Dog Food for Skin Allergies

One of the most essential decisions you can make for your dog is selecting the right food. This is due to the fact that providing the incorrect food can dramatically raise your puppy's risk of acquiring health problems such as being underweight, overweight, hip dysplasia , teeth problems and more. 

Wellness Complete Health Puppy

• First 5 ingredients: De-boned chicken, chicken meal, oatmeal, ground barley, peas
• Type:  Grain-inclusive (oatmeal, ground barley)
• Design:  Growth
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: puppies, all breeds

Buffalo Life Protection Chicken and Brown Rice Puppy

• First 5 ingredients: De-boned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, oatmeal, barley
• Type: Grain-inclusive (brown rice, oatmeal, barley)
• Design: Growth
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: puppies, all breeds

Victor Nutra Pro puppy

• First 5 ingredients:  Chicken meal, blood meal, whole grain millet, chicken fat, yeast culture
• Type: Grain-inclusive (millet, sorghum)
• Design: All life stages
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Puppies

Senior Dog Food for Skin Allergies

Good senior dog food must contain above-average protein, below-average calories, and no high-risk preservatives.

Purina Pro Plan FOCUS Sensitive Stomach

• First 5 ingredients:  Chicken, poultry by-product meal, brewers rice, whole grain corn, whole grain wheat
• Type: With grain (rice, whole grain corn, wheat)
• Design: Sensitive stomachs
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + Senior

GO! senior Carnivore formula

• First 5 ingredients:  Chicken meal, turkey meal, salmon meal, deboned chicken, de-boned turkey
• Type: Grain-free, NON-GMO
• Design: High protein
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Senior 

Orijen Senior dog food

• First 5 ingredients: Whole Atlantic mackerel, whole Atlantic herring, monkfish, Acadian redfish, flounder
• Type: Fresh ingredients
• Design: Dry food
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Senior

Best Dry Food for Skin Allergies

The finest dog food for allergies can treat your pet's digestion troubles, clean up skin concerns, and leave him or her feeling ready to play.

The best dog diets for allergies come in one of two main varieties:

1. Diets with few ingredients
2. Dog meals that are hypoallergenic

Diets with Few Ingredients

Limited ingredient diets have fewer components... making it easier to identify the precise ingredient (also known as the allergen) to which your pet may be allergic. Limited ingredient dog diets are available over-the-counter... without a vet visit.

Dog Foods That Are Hypoallergenic

Although hypoallergenic dog diets are often prescribed by veterinarians, pet owners may also obtain them via online stores like amazon or petsmart.

Many are produced from proteins that have been chemically "divided" (hydrolyzed) into their basic amino acid building blocks... rendering the original allergen essentially "invisible" to your pet's immune system.

Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey and Potato 

• First 5 ingredients: deboned turkey, turkey meal, potatoes, peas, and dry ground potatoes.
• Type: Grain-free 
• Design: Fewer ingredients
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults only (not for puppies)

Taste of Wild Prey Angus Beef Recipe 

• First 5 ingredients: Beef, lentils, tomato pomace, sunflower oil, natural flavor
• Type: Grain-free
• Design: Limited-ingredients
• Profile: All life stages
• Best For: Adults + puppies

Natural balance limited ingredient 

• First 5 ingredients: Salmon, menhaden fish meal, brown rice, brewers rice, rice bran
• Type: Grain-inclusive (brown rice, brewers rice)
• Design: Limited ingredient
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults only

Don't forget the treats! 

Treats, even if they don't make up a large portion of your dog's diet, might cause allergic responses. Many treats contain allergies such as maize, wheat, poultry, pig, or beef, which may undermine your attempts to eliminate allergens from your dog's diet.

Fortunately, there are a variety of hypoallergenic dog treats on the market that are manufactured with ingredients that are unlikely to cause allergic responses, such as pumpkin, sweet potato, and duck. 

You can always switch out treats with a pump of gravy topper while you are testing out new foods. Make sure the ingredients do not contain your dogs allergens.

Best Dog Food Gravy

Dogsnob 5-in-1 Multivitamin Gravy Topper- Smoked turkey 

• First 5 ingredients: Citric Acid, Coconut Glycerin, Mixed Tocopherols, Natural Bacon Flavor, Natural Flavor (Fron Oregano, Plums, Flaxseed)
• Type: Gravy topper
• Design:  hip & joint well-being, invigorates skin and coat, promotes heart health, helps with digestion, and improves immune function. 
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + puppies

Dogsnob 5-in-1 Multivitamin Gravy Topper- Steak & Salmon

• First 5 ingredients: Beef Bone Broth, Citric Acid, Coconut Glycerin, Mixed Tocopherols, Natural Bacon Flavor
• Type: Gravy topper
• Design:  hip & joint well-being, invigorates skin and coat, promotes heart health, helps with digestion, and improves immune function. 
• Profile: Maintenance 
• Best For: Adults + puppies

Dietary allergies can be a source of frustration for both you and your dog, but they aren't the end of the world. Determine the allergy that is causing the problem and discover a meal that does not contain it. You can certainly discover a meal that you like with a little hard effort, drive, and endurance.