Kibbles and Bits Allergies in Dogs

Many dogs develop allergies over their lifetime; some of those allergies are caused by what he is ingesting. Kibbles and Bits is a popular food with dogs due to the meaty protein source bits it contains. The protein sources Kibbles and Bits offer in their foods are beef and chicken. While almost every dog loves beef and chicken, it isn’t always the best for them if they have dietary sensitivities. Many dogs are allergic to either beef, or chicken, or both. There are only a few ways to determine the exact ingredient your dog is allergic to so the process can be discouraging. However, once you find the source and remove it from his diet, he will be back to is happy, healthy, non-itchy self.

Kibbles and Bits dog food is a type of food many people feed to their dogs. If your dog is allergic to any ingredient the food contains, then your dog is allergic to Kibbles and Bits. Consult with your veterinarian about your dog’s possible food-related allergies.

Symptoms of kibble allergies can manifest in a variety of ways in each dog. The most common allergy symptoms to dog foods with chicken and beef include:

• Itchy skin
• Skin infection
• Ear infection
• Obsessive licking/chewing of feet
• Loss of hair 
• Poor coat condition
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss

The vomiting and diarrhea are rare signs of a food related allergy but indicative of a food intolerance. Either way, it isn’t good to continue feeding the item to your dog.

Types

The protein source options in Kibbles and Bits products are beef and chicken. These are the top two protein sources in dog foods that many dogs are allergic to. Many dogs are also allergic to grains, corn, and wheat, all of which are in many of the Kibbles and Bits products, as well as several of the best selling dog foods on the market. If you feel your pet has a sensitivity to these products, carefully check the ingredients before purchase.

If your dog has allergies, it is his body’s way of protecting itself from something it thinks will harm it. While the item in question is actually harmless, the body doesn’t recognize it as such. It finds it dangerous and mounts a protective response to the threat. True allergies from a food are also known as Adverse Food Reaction (AFR). Your dog’s body produces an immune response to a main ingredient or an ingredient he ingests frequently. 

An allergic reaction can appear in your dog after he eats the same protein for years or it can appear immediately the first time he eats it. Many dogs grow up eating chicken, beef, or both without it ever causing an issue. However, as the dog gets older, they become allergic to it since it is so overused. Chicken and beef are the most available protein sources; therefore an allergy to one or the other, or both is not uncommon.

When it comes to diagnosis of Kibbles and Bits allergies in dogs there are very few diagnostic tests you can run. A dietary trial is the most frequently used method. Dietary trial diagnosis and treatment go hand in hand. In a dietary trial, you have to feed your dog a novel diet. If you are just testing the protein source, it is a little easier to switch foods. For example, if you think your dog is allergic to beef, you switch him to a food that does not contain any beef ingredient and start giving him a protein source that he has not had before or on that he has not had very frequently. If you think your dog is allergic to chicken or beef, unfortunately you will have to switch him to a different brand seeing that Kibbles and Bits only sell foods with either chicken or beef, or a combination of both.

Bicom testing is another method of determining a food related allergy in your dog. Bicom testing is also known as bioresonance. This method believes every being and substance in the world emits its own electromagnetic wave. The veterinarian takes a blood sample from your dog and tests different foods and substances to see if it has a ‘good’, ‘neutral’ or ‘bad’ response. If the response is ‘bad’, this means the item being tested causes your dog’s blood wavelength to become stressed. A stressed wavelength means a stressed body and therefore can result in an allergic reaction. If the response is ‘good’, then the item puts out a wavelength that is compatible with your dog’s blood meaning no adverse reactions should occur. If it is ‘neutral’, the item being tested does not put out a wavelength that alters that of your dog. Bicom testing is not commonly seen in veterinary practices because it is considered an ‘alternative’ medicine. Many holistic veterinarians use the Bicom testing with an extremely high success rate, but other veterinarians believe this method does not work. If you look up Bicom testing, some methods are potentially used to ‘retrain’ the body’s electromagnetic waves to relearn the allergen does not actually pose a threat and should therefore stop producing an allergic response. Other veterinary practitioners typically use it to find out if your dog is compatible with the food or not. If it is not good for your dog, then you simply remove that food from his diet and the allergic symptoms should stop in given time. The downside of Bicom testing is that it does not specify what exact ingredient your dog is allergic to within the food, only that he is allergic to something in it.

Some veterinarians will prescribe a medication to help with the itching. This medication will help for a while, but in reality it is only masking the symptom, not curing it. If you do not remove the source of the itching, you will have to continue to give the prescription and possibly continuously increase the dose as time goes on. 

The best type of treatment you can provide for your dog is to remove the suspected allergen source. If you think it is beef, then you feed a food that does not contain any beef products whatsoever for at least three months. If you do not see results after three months, then it is possible your dog is not allergic to beef at all but another ingredient in the food. If you remove beef from his diet and his symptoms stop within the three month trial period but reappear when you add beef back to his diet, then you know the cause was in fact beef. If you remove beef and symptoms lessen but don’t completely stop, then it is possible your dog is allergic to the beef plus another ingredient the food contains.

Recovery from a food related allergy is usually very simple. Once the allergen is removed from the dog’s diet, then the symptoms should stop. However, if you continue to feed what your dog is allergic to, he can begin to develop chronic issues. Ear infections, itching, discoloration of the feet from licking, and skin infections are the most commonly seen chronic symptoms that can lead to secondary infections. The allergen not only weakens your dog’s immune system, but if he is always scratching his delicate skin with dirty paws, it can become infected very easily. 

The best thing you can do for your dog is to remove the allergen from his diet. Many owners and their dogs are fond of Kibbles and Bits, but if your dog is allergic to it, he will manifest uncomfortable signs. Once the allergen is removed, the symptoms and the secondary infections will stop and your dog will be back to his healthy self.