Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Food allergies and adverse food reactions in dogs are when the dog’s immune system reacts to something unfamiliar in their bodies. The symptoms consist of pruritus, scratching, biting, vomiting and diarrhea. Similar symptoms are shown when dogs also are affected by other allergies in the environment. It can be a combination of them both. Owning a dog with food allergy can be challenging and it is a commitment since the owner has to ensure that the dog’s welfare is not negatively impacted. This study aimed to examine what allergies are most common in dogs in Sweden. It aimed to see how many that are diagnosed throughout a veterinarian and the how allergies can affect a dog’s behaviour before and after treatment. A survey was made for owners to dogs with food allergies. It was distributed in 8 different groups on Facebook. The survey was open for 24 days. There were 109 dog owners participating but only 63 were completed. There were more purebred dogs than mix breeds and most of the owners were women between 20-60 years old. The dogs were between less than a year old and over seven years old. The symptoms often began in their younger years, before four years old. The most common allergens in this study that participants chose were chicken, fish,
and beef. Most of the participants took their dogs to a veterinarian for a diagnosis compared to attempt the assessment themselves. The most common method for finding out about food allergy was elimination diet and it is the only method that has been proven to be working so far towards dogs with adverse food reaction. The participants were asked to answer how they experienced their dog´s behaviours before discovering the food allergy and after they changed the diet because of the diagnosis. There were a lot of dogs who suffered with pruritus, stress and aggression. Dogs were also less active. Some dogs didn´t change their behaviour. After diagnosis with food allergy and adapted to a new diet the dogs showed minor change in stress level, increased activity, decreased pruritus and decreased aggression. This study showed that the dog´s behaviour can be affected by its food allergies even though it varied between individuals.