When my own dog started scratching her ears, licking her paws, and showing signs of itching all over her belly and face, I began researching how processed food can contribute to skin allergies and other diseases in dogs. Studies show that ultra-processed diets often lead to obesity, cancer, heart disease, inflammation, and an overweight or obese body, creating an inflammatory terrain that worsens food allergy symptoms. Switching to homemade dog food using fresh food can alleviate discomfort and support overall health.
Creating a Pet-iterranean-style diet for dogs means including anti-inflammatory foods, whole foods, and minimally processed ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, healthy fats, and lean protein like fish, poultry, or red meat. Incorporating omega-3 fatty acids through fish or coconut oil also reduces inflammation, helping skin allergies and chronic disease symptoms. Following a Mediterranean eating style promotes well-being and prevents excessive licking, hot spots, and itchy skin.
Sometimes, eating new foods can cause mild diarrhea, soft stool, or a need for a bland diet to let the intestines rest and heal. Boiling chicken, turkey, or beef with rice and small amounts of meat fat is an easy way to start. For puppies or dogs with sensitive stomachs, adding probiotics, a fiber supplement, or pumpkin puree helps the digestive system stay healthy. Always check if a prescription diet is necessary, especially if there is blood in stool, decreased appetite, or vomiting.
For skin problems like hot spots, lesions, thick coats, or infections, sometimes recovery cones, shaving, air exposure, medicated wipe, or mousse can help. Bacteria, yeast, or pain often require oral antibiotics or anti-inflammatories, while dry skin, itchy skin, and minor irritations respond well to oatmeal-based, fragrance-free, or antiseptic shampoo containing chlorhexidine. Minor symptoms like sneezing, eye discharge, yellow discharge, or green discharge may require antihistamines like diphenhydramine, cetirizine, or decongestants in correct dosages.
Ear care is crucial for dogs with environmental allergens or contact irritants. Ear wax debris, ear cleaning, ear wash, and ear wipes using hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or coconut oil keep the ear canal healthy. Gently massaging the ear canal with a cleaner reduces the risk of infection. Proper healing, rest, and attention to diet and hygiene ensure your dog’s demeanor improves, excessive licking stops, fur-color
What are the symptoms of food allergies?
In my experience with dogs and cats, food allergies often show through year-round issues such as ear infections, scooting, frequent bowel movements, or general gastrointestinal upset, which can leave your pet suffering if not taken into consideration; while the least common signs are subtle allergy reactions, noticing changes early can prevent chronic problems and improve overall well-being.
What ingredients should be in dog food with allergies?
When creating an allergy-friendly diet for your dog, I always focus on simple, whole-food ingredients that are digestive-friendly and safe for sensitive stomachs. Using limited-ingredient diets with single protein sources like salmon, turkey, lamb, venison, rabbit, or duck helps prevent allergic reactions and skin allergies. Avoiding common allergens such as chicken, beef, dairy, and wheat can greatly reduce itching, redness, and digestive upset.
For carbohydrates, I prefer limited carbohydrate sources like pumpkin, sweet potato, rice flour, oat flour, or chickpea flour, which are gentle on the gastrointestinal system and support a healthy gut. Adding fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats ensures a balanced hypoallergenic meal while staying preservative-free and natural. For dogs with food allergies, gradually introducing new ingredients under a veterinarian’s guidance helps diagnose triggers without causing problematic reactions.
When treats are needed, I make dog treats from the same novel proteins and grain-free flours to complement hydrolyzed protein diets or protein-limited meals. Using single protein and allergy-friendly ingredients minimizes allergic reactions, while avoiding chicken allergy or other food allergies ensures your dog enjoys hypoallergenic, digestive-friendly snacks without gastrointestinal issues. This approach supports a healthy gut, reduces itching and redness, and keeps your dog happy and comfortable.
Homestyle Turkey and Vegetables with Quinoa in The Instant Pot
For a quick homestyle meal, I like cooking ground turkey with coconut oil in the Instant Pot, then adding kale, chopped, stems removed, and carrots along with raw quinoa and a mix of bone broth, low salt broth, or water; after a short sauté to wilt the greens, I carefully vent the pot, let it cool, and stir in Icelandic omega-3 fish oil, sardines in water, or wild salmon as a reliable omega-3 source, then add a canine limited premix or premix for balanced nutrition, and portion into meals for daily feeding or freeze for later, making a healthy, allergy-friendly dish for dogs.
How Do You Know How Much to Feed Your Dog?
When switching to a homemade diet, using a feeding guide is essential to meet your dog’s caloric needs based on their weight in pounds and the cups to feed per meal. Every dog’s maintenance and energy needs differ, so I always consult a veterinarian to account for the impact of allergies and ensure homemade dog food provides the right nutrients without harmful allergens. Preparing nutritionally balanced homemade recipes tailored to individual needs supports optimal nutrition, improves quality of life, and helps manage skin allergies and allergic reactions while minimizing allergens.
It can be frustrating to adjust a new diet, but monitoring your dog’s weight, appetite, and behavior allows you to fine-tune portions and ensure proper care, well-being, and long-term health. Keeping detailed notes on homemade recipes, observing homemade dog food intake, and gradually introducing changes helps maintain optimal nutrition and prevents allergic reactions, making the transition smooth and safe for your dog.
Is there such a thing as hypoallergenic dog food?
Many pet owners wonder if hypoallergenic dog food really exists, and in my experience, it refers to diets less likely to trigger an allergic reaction. Hypo or hypoallergenic formulas often use single protein sources or fish-origin ingredients and avoid wheat, rice, and other allergenic components. These limited-ingredient diets help manage recurring skin issues, ear issues, and gut issues, and are carefully formulated to reduce negative responses and intolerances. Always check the label for ingredients, avoid unnecessary chemicals, and work with a vet when introducing a new course to ensure adverse food reactions are minimized.
Even though hypoallergenic dog food can be expensive, choosing animal ingredients and proteins designed for dogs with canine allergy or intolerance improves tolerance and overall health. Some dogs benefit from food elimination trials to pinpoint which proteins or dry foods cause issues. Using carefully chosen limited-ingredient proteins reduces the risk of allergic reactions, supporting healthier skin, ears, and digestion while keeping your dog comfortable throughout the course.
“Hypoallergenic” dry dog food will never be the fix
Relying on dry hypoallergenic dog food alone often fails because ultra-processed diets can still cause your dog’s issues like bothering the body or triggering skin and gut problems. I’ve learned that fresh, homemade meals with biologically appropriate food—including fresh meat, bone, and veg—offer high-quality, hypoallergenic ingredients that truly support health. Slow transitions from simple proteins in raw food or cooked homemade dishes help prevent problems, while elimination diet or exclusion diet strategies and cycling meat protein reveal what your dog tolerates best.
A cheap or easy meat-filled regime may seem convenient, but it rarely provides a definitive solution. By focusing on fresh, high-quality proteins, vegetables, and gradual slow transitions, you can avoid future issues and support long-term well-being, ensuring your dog thrives beyond what dry hypoallergenic dog food alone can offer.
Find out what is the most hypoallergenic food for your dog.
When your dog is suffering from recurring skin, ear, or gut issues, it’s clear that conventional foods may not be enough. A hypoallergenic diet can soothe and nourish your pet, but knowing which base diet works best often requires allergy tests and careful observation. Many dogs tolerate novel proteins like turkey, lamb, venison, duck, or rabbit, especially ones your dog hasn’t had before. Choosing relatively novel and organic, grass-fed, or pasture-reared proteins instead of intensively-reared farm animals can reduce negative reactions and support better overall health.
Starting with bone broth or cooked meats like turkey mince provides vital nutrients including cartilage, collagen, proline, glycine, arginine, and glutamine, all of which contribute to immune system support, reducing inflammation, and repair of the gut lining. Properly prepared raw turkey dog food or raw meat protein can also strengthen the gut, firmer stools, and reduce belching and inflammation drops, while slowly introducing food ensures hypersensitive dogs are not overwhelmed.
For dogs with food intolerances or gut-sick tendencies, elimination diets and hypoallergenic diets are key. Using probiotics, such as bacterial probiotics, soil-based probiotic, or S. Boulardii, alongside yoghurt can restore gut flora and fight pathogenic bacteria. Herbal supports like organic German chamomile, organic marshmallow root, and seaweed offer mucous-soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, while Biofunction8, chia seed, and other nutrient pow supplements deliver vital nutrients for a stable gut environment.
Maintaining a definitive and tasty base diet requires fast adaptation from previous food while introducing another protein slowly. Omega 3 from fish oil, algae oil, or capsules (EPA and DHA) helps control inflammatory process, supports autophagy, and can even aid in housecleaning cancer cells. Proper digestive enzymes, DAO (diamine oxidase), and HNMT (histamine N-methyltransferase) help the breakdown of histamines and prevent diarrhoea or unstable stools during transition.
Finally, monitoring your dog’s stools solidify, OK stool, and overall reaction after introducing raw turkey, lamb, or steak ensures the elimination diet is successful. Using filtered water, post-diarrhoea bacterial probiotics, and tiny dose challenges can confirm which raw meat protein or another protein is safe. With patience and attention, your dog can enjoy a cheap, high-quality, and tasty hypoallergenic diet that prevents nutritional disarray, heals ruined guts, and keeps your pet healthy long-term.
Existing medications could affect gut healing
When a dog is suffering from gut issues or allergies, it’s important to understand that prescribed steroids or immunosuppressive drugs can impact intestinal absorption and slow digestive system recovery. Studies in humans show that anti-inflammatory medications can interfere with nutrient uptake, so adding vitamin D—crucial for overall health—at the correct dose based on body size (for example, 300-500 IU for a 20kg dog) can help support recovery. A natural vet or vet can provide advice on the best route and timing of supplements, as well as guidance on tapering medications slow and steady to avoid a flare up.
Even while recovering, avoid ultra-processed food that can aggravate intolerances and hinder canine nutrition. Monitoring how medications interact with diet and following professional opinion ensures that the process of healing is safe, supporting kidneys, gut, and overall well-being. Careful planning of add to diet supplements, adjusting dose for body size, and working with a vet helps dogs heal effectively while minimizing negative effects from prescribed drugs.
8 Conditions That May Benefit From Home Remedies for Dogs
Mild diarrhea in adult dogs or growing puppies can often be managed at home with a bland, easily digestible diet of boiled chicken, turkey, or beef with rice in a 2:1 ratio, roast or fry without meat fat, allowing the intestines to rest and heal. Adding probiotics, a fiber supplement, or canned pumpkin puree can help bulk up stool, improve the digestive system, and support recovery, while monitoring for blood in stool, decreased appetite, or vomiting that may require a vet or prescription diet.
Hot spots and localized inflammation on skin often cause discomfort, licking, scratching, or lesions. Breeds like Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds may develop these more frequently. At home, using recovery cones, shaving with electric clippers or exposing the area to air helps, along with medicated wipes, mousse, or moisture-balancing treatments to reduce bacteria and yeast, sometimes paired with oral antibiotics or anti-inflammatories as prescribed by a veterinarian.
Dry or itchy skin can benefit from oatmeal-based, fragrance-free, antiseptic shampoos containing chlorhexidine, while allergies causing sneezing, eye discharge, or irritation may be eased with antihistamines like diphenhydramine or Cetirizine, and decongestants, adjusting the dosage carefully according to your pet’s eyes, nose, and overall demeanor. Excessive licking or licking paws, fur-color change, and reactions to contact-related irritants can be managed with Epsom salt soaks, medicated wipes, and reducing exposure to environmental allergens or contaminants.
Ear infections often show as ear debris, waxy buildup, or head shaking. Gentle ear cleaning using ear wash, ear wipes, or a mix of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or alcohol applied with a cotton ball and a soft massage of the ear canal can help prevent internal ear damage. Adding coconut oil may soothe irritation. Recurring infections should always be assessed by a vet.
Fleas and at-home flea treatment can prevent adult fleas from causing allergies and skin irritation. Safe options include Dawn dish soap baths, approved medication, Capstar Flea Oral Treatment, or Revolution Topical Solution. Gas, flatulence, and absorption issues may be helped with a high-quality diet, low-residue diet, easily digestible diet, probiotic supplements, and managing lifestyle factors like slow-feeding bowls and reducing swallowing air, especially in brachycephalic dogs. Regular home care paired with monitoring ensures your dog maintains a healthy digestive tract and overall well-being.
13 Dog Health Issues That You Should Never Try Home Remedies For
Some conditions in dogs are too serious for dog home remedies and require a veterinarian’s supervision to avoid delay of care. Bad breath or poor oral hygiene may indicate periodontal disease that needs an anesthetic dental procedure, while black stool, bloody stool, or bright-red blood may signal serious inflammation, clotting issues, or gastroenteritis, often requiring blood testing, hospitalization, or medical intervention.
Anal gland infections with a bleeding anus need proper antibiotic therapy and sometimes a surgical issue, especially if there is a mass or trauma. A bloated stomach from GDV is a life-threatening emergency needing immediate X-rays and surgical intervention. Blood in urine can point to a bladder infection or bladder stones, which require urinalysis and antibiotics for proper treatment.
Respiratory signs like coughing, wheezing, or pneumonia can be linked to heart failure and must be addressed by a vet, while severe dermatitis, mange, ringworm, bacterial infection, or yeast infection often need topical therapy or oral therapy rather than home solutions. Eye problems such as eye discharge, red eye, pink eye, cloudy eye, ulcer, glaucoma, or uveitis can cause vision loss if untreated.
Endocrine issues like thyroid issues, adrenal issues, hypothyroidism, or Cushing’s disease require professional blood testing and tailored treatment. Post-surgery care like spay or neuter, and acute signs such as not eating, vomiting, upset stomach, dehydration, or intestinal blockage need immediate veterinary attention. Pain from arthritis may respond to anti-inflammatory treatment, surgery, or supplements like Nutramax Cosequin, glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, or Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets Joint Supplement.
Finally, gastrointestinal or behavioral changes such as worms, diarrhea, vomiting, fecal sample analysis, parasites, stool analysis, behavior changes, or appetite changes should never be treated with home remedies alone. Correct diagnosis and treatment from a vet are essential to prevent complications and ensure your dog stays healthy and safe.
3 Easy Homemade Treat Recipes for Dogs with Allergies
Pumpkin Oat Bites
For a gentle, gluten-free treat for your dog, mix Pumpkin puree, rolled oats, oat flour or fine powder in a bowl with a beaten egg to form a soft dough, then shape into small balls. Place on a baking tray and bake at 350°F until firm, then let cool to room temperature before offering. These treats use certified natural ingredients, support healthy digestion, and are naturally mild, making them perfect for small servings and frequent mix-ups to keep your pup happy.
Homemade Sweet Potato Chews
For a perfect homemade treat for dogs with allergies, take a large sweet potato, washed thoroughly, and thinly sliced into ¼-inch strips. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F for 2–3 hours until chewy and fully finished. Let cool, then store in a sealed container to preserve texture, flavor, fiber, and beta-carotene. These grain- and protein-free treats are easy to keep on hand, one at a time, for healthy snacking and allergy-friendly enjoyment.
Coconut Banana Cookies
For a healthy and hypoallergenic treat, mash a ripe banana and mix it with flour and 1 tablespoon of melted coconut oil, gradually combining ingredients to form small cookie forms. Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes until set. These cookies are rich in fats that support skin and coat health, making them an easy, healthy snack for your dog.
How to Store Your Homemade Dog Treats
To keep homemade dog treats at their best, always store them in sealed containers or jars with tight-fitting lids to maintain freshness. You can refrigerate treats, where they lasts about 7 days, or use the freezer to keep them safe for up to three months. Make sure to label each batch with the date made and the ingredients, especially if your furry friend has multiple allergies, so you can easily track what’s safe and nutritious.
Creating and storing homemade treats is both easy and rewarding, supporting your pet’s health with wholesome snacks while avoiding allergens. If allergy symptoms persist or you plan major dietary changes, always consult a vet or professional for guidance. They can help identify triggers and help you create a personalized nutrition plan through Pet Nutritional Counseling, ensuring your dog stays safe, healthy, and happy.
What is the best homemade dog food for allergies?
A homemade food for dogs with allergies can include dishes like Turkey Sweet Potato Delight (2 cups per meal), Salmon Quinoa Medley, Beef Pumpkin Stew, Chicken Rice Casserole, or Lamb Lentil Venison Pea Blend, and even Whitefish Carrot Mix or Oatmeal Bake, providing gentle, nutrient-rich meals that help soothe sensitivities and support overall health while avoiding dry foods that may trigger reactions.
What can I give my dog for food allergies at home?
For dogs with mild allergy symptoms like itching, sneezing, or skin irritation, over-the-counter antihistamines such as Zyrtec can help, but combining them with diet changes—like switching from dry food to homemade meals—supports long-term relief, while serious or chronic issues may require prescription medications under a vet’s guidance.
What’s the best food to feed a dog that has allergies?
For a Canine with sensitive skin or stomach, hydrolyzed protein diets can help, but instead of relying on dry food, I recommend small portions of Hill’s Prescription Diet d/d with potato and venison, or Purina Pro Plan FOCUS adult sensitive formulas with salmon and rice, or i/d diets that support digestive health while minimizing allergic reactions.
What natural things can I give my dog for allergies?
A naturopathic approach for allergies in dogs often includes supplements like flaxseed oil, fish oil, B vitamins, and zinc, along with antioxidants from green tea and vegetables, which can help reduce skin irritation and manage disease symptoms naturally, supporting overall health while avoiding the pitfalls of dry dog food.
What to feed a dog with itchy skin?
To improve your dog’s skin and coat, I recommend adding fatty acid supplements from salmon or pollock oil, which are a healthy source of fat with anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce red, hot, itchy skin while supporting overall health; consistent use of these supplements helps soothe irritation, nourish the skin from the inside, and maintain a shiny, comfortable coat.
Pingback: Don’t Buy Dog Treats Before You Know What To Look For
Great Post.
Awesome blog.
Cool Post.