Taking care of a dog with allergies can be a bit more difficult than the norm. These dogs have special needs that you have to fulfil. That is why it’s really important that you’re able to find the best dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies.
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Table of Contents
Best Dog Food for Cocker Spaniel with Allergies Comparison
- Merrick Grain Free Dry Dog Food
- BLUE Wilderness High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food
- CANIDAE All Life Stages Dry Dog Food
- Solid Gold Dry Dog Food
Choosing Dog Food for Cocker Spaniels With Allergies
In order to come up with the right food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies, you’ll have to consider a few criteria.
Triggers
First off, you will want to find out what type of food or ingredients can possibly trigger your dog’s allergies. You should also find out what the common symptoms are.
Common allergic symptoms in a dog include breakouts of red and itchy parts all over the dog’s body, as well as vomiting. Sadly, most dog owners are unable to address the allergic reactions properly because these symptoms are so common that they are often mistaken to be signs of another problem. For example, they may think that it is a flea problem or a toxin ingestion situation.
Bear in mind that it wouldn’t matter at all to the immune system how these food are cooked. They are operating at a molecular level, hence, the presence of the protein molecules from these foods will always trigger an immune system reaction.
How Long Does it Take for an Allergic Reaction to Develop?
Most allergens like grain, wheat, corn, chicken, and other ingredients are a normal part of any dog’s diet, because they are rich in the protein that are crucial for their growth and muscular strength. Why do they become allergens in the first place?
Well, unlike humans, allergies in your Cocker Spaniel don’t develop right away when they first encounter the allergens. In fact, in dogs, allergies take an awfully long time to appear, which means they will not be diagnosed early. In other words, if you’ve been feeding your dog the same dog food brand or same food mix over its lifetime, there’s a high chance that your pet will develop allergies in the future.
In any case, the more important thing here is to determine what it is that’s causing your dog’s allergies. When you know what the offending food is, you can then work to change your dog’s diet and determine the food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies.
What to Feed Your Cocker Spaniel
You’d do well to consult first a veterinarian before you start looking for food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies that helps you avoid triggering allergies in your Cocker Spaniel. Your veterinarian will prescribe the necessary food that will be instrumental to diagnosing what food causes your dog to suffer itchy and annoying allergies.
In order to diagnose the specific allergens in food that are causing trouble for your dog, the veterinarian will prescribe novel or hydrolyzed protein diets as alternatives to your Cocker Spaniel’s current diet.
These proteins are also available over the counter, but you are better off using prescription-only versions of the food stuff.
Is Hydrolyzed Protein the Answer?
Now, let’s take a look at what novel and hydrolyzed protein diets are, beginning with the former. As its name suggests, novel proteins are simply proteins that are new to your dog’s diet. These come from meat that are not usually found in popular dog food brands found in the shelves. These could include deer, salmon and duck meat, as well as non-meat sources like potatoes and peas, among others.
As mentioned earlier, if your dog has been eating food from nearly the same kind of meat sources over the years, it could be allergic to one or more of them in the long run. The idea of introducing new protein sources is to lessen the allergy symptoms that your Cocker Spaniel is suffering from.
Hydrolyzed proteins, on the other hand, are the same proteins that are found in dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies. They are, however, already broken down into minute particles when they are fed to your Cocker Spaniel. These hydrolyzed proteins aim to reduce the possibility of an immune system response, by reducing the molecules’ sizes so they are not seen as allergens and trigger allergic reactions.
You should feed your dog with these diets only for around 4-6 weeks, although Cocker Spaniels can take a couple of weeks more for their allergies to improve or subside. After these diagnostic diets, you’d have to reintroduce parts of your dog’s previous diet to see if there are any new allergic reactions. This is just to zero in on what exactly is causing your dog’s allergies.
What Makes Up Good Food For Your Cocker Spaniel With Allergies?
With the exception of the requirement that they be free of allergens, dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies must have all the nutrients that your dog needs in order to ensure your dog’s good health.
For instance, Cocker Spaniels are known for their energy. In fact, it’s considered as a sporting breed. Thus, they require a lot of fiber and carbohydrates to give them that boost they require to maintain their playfulness and high levels of activity. You could say that dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies must have abundant amounts of carbs and fiber in it.
You should also check the fat levels in the dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies that you choose. The Cocker Spaniel needs fat — in the right amounts, of course — as it is necessary in keeping his or her internal organs in good working condition. Your dog also requires fat deposits to keep his or her bones strong and sturdy.
Top Foods for Cocker Spaniels with Allergies
Solid Gold Dry Food
In particular, the Solid Gold Dry Food; Hund-N-Flocken With Real Lamb and Brown Rice features protein sourced only from naturally fed lamb raised by the company together with brown rice for that carb punch that’s less on sugar. This dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies prides itself for being easily digested by your furry friend. You can say goodbye to upset stomachs and messy excrement.
It also contains no potato, but is still packed with whole grains that are beneficial to your Cocker Spaniel’s health.
Best of all, this dog food is suitable for sizes of dogs. It would do great with your Cocker Spaniel, a medium-sized dog. If you have a bigger dog in your household, this dry food is ideal for them as well. This single product should suffice for your fur family, regardless of size, saving you money in the long run.
Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food
This brand is one of the few that features probiotics or friendly bacteria. The food is very friendly to the stomach, and the ingredients found in each bite or kibble helps in strengthening your dogs’ immune system. You also have the benefit of seeing your furry friends’ skins and coats becoming more beautiful everyday.
Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food is packed with lots of protein coming from high-quality sources. Canidae sources its protein ingredients from a combination of fish, chicken, turkey and even lamb sheep.
Canidae’s dry dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies is formulated with the help of veterinarians. You can be sure that this food is totally healthy and beneficial to your fur family’s well being. It’s also very economical as well.
Blue Wilderness High Protein Grain Free Dry Dog Food
It appears serious in this endeavor, keeping out artificial flavors as well as harmful chemical preservatives into the blend of the Wilderness High Protein, Grain-Free Adult Dry Dog Food. As its name suggests, it is rich in the protein coming from sources that include real meat from salmon, chicken and fish. There are no chicken by product, just real chicken meat.
This product also comes with a nutrient-dense mix of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables included in the product blend. BLUE claims to have collaborated with experts in animal health and nutrition so it can come up with a product that’s highly beneficial to the dogs who are in their prime.
All in all, this product aims to emulate as much as possible the nutrient-rich wild diet that your dogs’ wild genetic ancestors — the wolves — have thrived on in order to bring that same health to them.
Merrick Grain Free Dry Dog Food
Merrick has taken its protein source from real meat coming from deboned salmon. As such, the food is rich in essential fatty acids. This will do wonders to any dog’s skin and coat, and it strengthens the skeletal system as well thanks to the glucosamine and chondroitin ingredients found within as well.
Just like the previous product, Merrick Grain-Free Dry Dog Food contains no poultry by-products, making it an ideal food for dogs like your Cocker Spaniel that has allergies.
Out of all the options above, I prefer Merrick Grain Free Dry Dog Food because it has the least amount of allergens in its formulation. Looking for dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies is not that difficult. You merely have to do your research. You have to understand your dog’s allergies, what is causing it, and what food you should avoid.
Fortunately, all of the dog food products listed above are designed to be friendly and healthy to your dogs’ health, even the ones who have allergies. Take your pick of the best dog food for Cocker Spaniel with allergies and let’s hope your pup responds well to it.
