Food Reactions in Dogs: What Every Dog Owner Should Know
Food-related allergies and intolerances are a surprisingly common but often overlooked cause of itching, chronic skin conditions, ear infections, and digestive issues in dogs.
What is adverse food reactions (AFR)?
Food-related allergies and intolerances — collectively referred to as Adverse Food Reactions (AFR) — are a surprisingly common but often overlooked cause of itching, chronic skin conditions, ear infections, and digestive issues in dogs. While many associate food allergies with dramatic symptoms, these reactions are often more subtle and persistent, and they can begin at any age. The immune system misidentifies certain ingredients — usually proteins like chicken, beef, dairy, or fish — as threats. This triggers inflammation, often in the skin or gastrointestinal tract.
Why does it happen?
Adverse food reactions (AFR) are not caused by a single factor, but by an interaction between the dog’s immune system and its lifelong dietary and environmental exposure. In dogs with confirmed cutaneous AFR, the most common offending allergens are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat and lamb (Mueller, Olivry, & Prélaud, 2016). - Exposure to highly processed diets. In dogs with cutaneous adverse food reactions, beef, dairy products, chicken and wheat are among the most frequently reported offending allergens (Mueller et al., 2016). These ingredients also dominate many commercial kibbles and treats, creating repeated exposure over years that may plausibly facilitate sensitization in susceptible dogs. - Microbial and toxin exposure. Dry, cereal‑based dog foods can contain multiple mycotoxins, including aflatoxins and Fusarium toxins, typically at levels within current regulatory limits but with potential concern for chronic low‑dose exposure (Geicu et al., 2022; Martínez‑Martínez et al., 2023; Yang et al., 2023). Because mycotoxins can damage the gastrointestinal tract and modulate immune function in experimental models, chronic exposure from contaminated dry foods may plausibly co…
Kibble and AFR
Dogs fed extruded kibble show higher plasma AGE concentrations than those fed less-processed diets, which may contribute to oxidative stress (Bridglalsingh et al., 2024)
Want to know more?
Join our members’ forum to connect with other dedicated pet parents and the Evighetshunden team. You’ll also get access to Saga, our expert AI in canine nutrition, who will guide you through the entire process. If you’d like to dive deeper into the science behind food allergies, elimination diets, and long-term nutrition in dogs, we recommend these key articles: - https://homecooked.furry-fitness.com/education/eliminationdiet - https://homecooked.furry-fitness.com/education/blood-samples-for-food-allergies
Refrences
Bridglalsingh, S., Raj, K., McLaughlin, A., Sergent, K., Wakeman, C., & de Bruijne, M. (2024). Association of four differently processed diets with plasma and urine advanced glycation end products and serum soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products concentration in healthy dogs. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 108(4), 1059–1069. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.13927 Geicu, A. I., Lupu, M., Nica, D. V., Dinescu, S., & Costache, M. (2022). Composition-based risk estimation of mycotoxins in dry dog food. Science of the Total Environment, 852(Pt 1), Article 158315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158315 Martínez-Martínez, L., Rosas-Díaz, A., & Hernández-Rubio, M. (2023). Contamination of commercial dry dog food by Aspergillus mycotoxins. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Pecuarias, 14(4), 796–808. https://doi.org/10.22319/rmcp.v14i4.6142 Mueller, R. S., Olivry, T., & Prélaud, P. (2016). Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): Common food allergen sources in dogs and cats. BMC Veterinary Research, 12(1), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-016-0633-8 Pilla, R., & Suchodolski, J. S. (2020). The gut microbiome of…