If your dog is itchy, licking their paws, getting recurring ear problems or having tummy trouble, food is often one of the first things people start looking at.
This usually leads to the dog food aisle.
Chicken-free. Grain-free. Sensitive. Hypoallergenic. Limited ingredient. Novel protein.
There are a lot of words on dog food bags.
So what should you actually feed a dog with suspected food allergies?
The short answer
If your vet suspects a food allergy, they may recommend a controlled diet trial using either a hydrolysed diet or a genuinely novel protein.
The important bit is that “novel” depends on your dog. A protein is only novel if your dog hasn't previously been exposed to it.
And if you're doing an elimination diet, everything matters. Treats, chews, table scraps, supplements and even flavoured medications can introduce other proteins and make it harder to work out what's going on.
So don't just keep changing dog foods. Work with your vet to choose an appropriate diet based on your dog's individual history.
In a nutshell
- Don't diagnose a food allergy yourself. Start with your vet.
- Food allergies are often reactions to particular proteins, rather than simply a particular brand of dog food.
- Changing food isn't necessarily the same as removing the problem. You need to know what proteins your dog has eaten before.
- A novel protein is only novel if it is new to your dog.
- A veterinary elimination diet is the reliable way to investigate a suspected food allergy.
- If your vet recommends trying a novel protein, there are some genuinely unusual options available, including insect protein.
Food allergy and food intolerance aren't the same thing
These two terms tend to get used interchangeably, but they aren't quite the same.
A true food allergy involves the immune system reacting to something in the dog's diet, often a protein.
A food intolerance is different. It doesn't involve the immune system in the same way and may instead involve difficulty digesting or tolerating a particular ingredient.
The signs can overlap, particularly when digestive symptoms are involved, which is another reason it's difficult to diagnose the problem yourself.
Buying “hypoallergenic” dog food isn't necessarily the answer
This is probably the bit that causes the most confusion.
If your dog starts itching, it's tempting to change foods. Chicken gets blamed quite a lot, so perhaps you buy something labelled salmon, lamb, kangaroo, sensitive skin or hypoallergenic instead.
Sometimes that helps.
But simply changing the picture on the front of the bag doesn't tell you whether you've actually removed whatever your dog is reacting to.
The useful question isn't just:
“What meat is this food?”
It's:
“What proteins has my dog eaten before, and what exactly are we trying to avoid?”
What actually is a food allergy in dogs?
The simple version
A true food allergy involves the immune system reacting to something in the dog's diet.
Proteins are commonly involved, which is why your dog's dietary history matters so much.
Dogs can develop allergies to foods they have eaten previously, so a food doesn't become “safe” simply because your dog has eaten it happily for years.
What can it look like?
Signs associated with food allergies can include itching, licking or chewing at the skin and paws, recurring skin or ear problems and, in some dogs, gastrointestinal symptoms.
Unfortunately, those symptoms aren't exclusive to food allergies. That's one of the reasons your vet needs to be involved rather than diagnosing the problem from symptoms alone.
So what does “novel protein” actually mean?
This one's surprisingly simple.
Novel means new.
A novel protein is a protein source your dog hasn't previously eaten.
That means kangaroo isn't automatically a novel protein. Neither is duck, venison, fish or any other ingredient that sounds a bit unusual.
If your dog has been eating kangaroo treats every weekend for the past four years, kangaroo isn't particularly novel to that dog.
This is why your dog's food history matters.
Novel protein or hydrolysed protein?
You may hear your vet talk about both.
Novel protein
This uses a protein your dog hasn't previously eaten.
The idea is straightforward: if your dog's immune system hasn't encountered that particular dietary protein before, it is less likely to be the protein responsible for an existing food allergy.
Hydrolysed protein
Hydrolysed diets take a different approach. The protein is broken into much smaller pieces, making it less likely to be recognised by the immune system.
Veterinary hydrolysed diets can be particularly important when conducting a diagnostic elimination diet. Your vet can advise which approach makes sense for your dog.
The part people often underestimate: an elimination diet needs to be strict
If your vet puts your dog on an elimination diet, the food only tells half the story.
The other half is everything else your dog manages to get into their mouth.
Treats. Table scraps. Chews. Flavoured supplements. Food used to hide medication. The bit of toast somebody drops at breakfast.
Even seemingly insignificant extras can make it harder to work out whether the diet itself is helping.
This is another reason it's worth doing the process with your vet rather than repeatedly changing foods and hoping something sticks.
If you think your dog has a food allergy...
Do this
- Talk to your vet before deciding food is the problem.
- Give your vet as much information as possible about what your dog has eaten previously.
- Ask whether a novel protein or hydrolysed diet is appropriate.
- If you're doing an elimination diet, follow it properly.
- Check treats, chews, supplements and flavoured medications too.
- Choose a complete and balanced food appropriate for your dog unless your vet has advised otherwise.
Avoid this
- Assuming every itchy dog has a food allergy.
- Changing foods every couple of weeks without a plan.
- Assuming “chicken-free” automatically means low allergenic for your dog.
- Assuming an unusual meat is automatically novel.
- Giving extra treats during an elimination trial without checking with your vet.
- Expecting a diet change to diagnose the problem overnight.
So what should I feed my dog with food allergies?
The slightly annoying answer is: it depends on your dog.
But that's also the useful answer.
If your dog has a confirmed food allergy, the aim is to avoid the ingredient or ingredients causing the reaction while still feeding a nutritionally complete diet.
If you're still trying to establish whether food is the problem, your vet may recommend a veterinary hydrolysed diet or an appropriate novel protein diet as part of a controlled elimination trial.
And if you and your vet decide that a novel protein food is appropriate, that's where things get interesting.
And yes, insect protein is a real option
This is the point where I usually have to explain that I'm completely serious.
Feed For Thought uses black soldier fly larvae protein as its animal protein source.
For many dogs, insect protein may be less familiar than commonly used animal proteins such as chicken, beef, lamb and fish.
That means it can be worth considering when you and your vet are looking for a genuinely different protein.
But the same rule applies here as everywhere else: insect protein isn't automatically novel simply because it sounds unusual. It depends on your dog's dietary history.
It doesn't mean insect protein is a cure for allergies. It isn't.
And it doesn't mean it's the right choice for every itchy dog.
But where a genuinely different protein is appropriate, it's one worth having a conversation with your vet about.
Feed For Thought options
Our complete and balanced dog food is made in Australia using black soldier fly larvae protein as the animal protein source.
If your vet is happy for your dog to try an insect-protein diet, you don't necessarily need to leap straight into a giant bag.
We've deliberately made it possible to start small, see whether your dog actually likes it, and move up from there.
Looking for a genuinely different protein?
It is not a cure for food allergies and it isn't a substitute for veterinary advice. But for the right dog, insect protein can provide another option beyond the usual chicken, beef, lamb and fish.
Questions people often ask
Is insect protein automatically a novel protein for dogs?
No. “Novel” depends on what your dog has eaten before.
If your dog has already eaten insect protein, it may not be novel for them. Your dog's dietary history is what matters.
Can a dog still react to insect protein?
Potentially, yes.
No dietary protein should be described as allergy-proof. Insect protein can be a genuinely different option for some dogs, but it isn't a guarantee that a dog won't react to it.
Can I give treats during an elimination diet?
Only treats that fit the diet your vet has recommended or approved.
Other treats, chews, table scraps, flavoured medications and supplements can introduce additional proteins and make it harder to work out whether the diet trial is helping.
Is chicken-free dog food better for dogs with food allergies?
Only if chicken is actually relevant to that dog.
Removing chicken won't solve a reaction to another ingredient, and a chicken-free label doesn't tell you whether the other proteins in the food are appropriate for your dog's dietary history.
What's the difference between novel protein and hydrolysed dog food?
A novel-protein diet uses a protein the dog hasn't previously eaten.
A hydrolysed diet takes a protein and breaks it into much smaller pieces so it is less likely to be recognised by the immune system. Your vet can advise which approach makes sense for your dog.
My dog is still itchy after changing food. Does that mean the new food isn't working?
Not necessarily.
Itching can have many causes that aren't related to food. And when food is suspected, properly investigating it generally requires more than simply changing brands.
If your dog is still itchy, go back to your vet rather than continuing to cycle through different foods.
Hi, I'm Alison.
I founded Feed For Thought because I thought there had to be a smarter way to make dog food.
Insects can turn food that would otherwise go unused into nutritious protein, offering a very different way of producing an animal-protein ingredient.
What started as an idea about sustainability quickly became something else too. We kept hearing from owners of dogs who struggled with conventional proteins and were looking for something genuinely different.
So that's what we make.
Feed For Thought is Australian made, complete and balanced, and proudly veteran owned.
This article provides general information only and isn't a substitute for veterinary advice. Your veterinarian is best placed to advise you about your dog's individual health, diet and medical history.
