Just like you, your pets can have allergies. Most allergies are caused by the environment or the food your furry friend is eating. While you can’t necessarily control environmental factors, you may be able to help reduce or eliminate their allergies or allergic reactions by changing their diet. One such option is to away from commercial kibble to a raw feeding diet.
Raw pet food, which consists of eating meat, organ, and bone, doesn’t contain the preservatives, by-products, and additives found in most dry pet foods. These added ingredients can cause allergies and allergic reactions, such as itchy skin and gastrointestinal problems. Additionally, after consuming the same dry food for many years, your pet can develop a reaction to one of the main proteins or carbohydrates in the food. A raw food diet, which more closely resembles what your dog or cat’s ancestors, the wolves and wild cats, would have and still do eat in the wild can help eliminate those allergic reactions.
The best way to start a new diet is by slowly introducing one type of meat, such as buffalo, rabbit, or goat, which are not typically allergenic. Since many commercial kibble diets include chicken, beef, and lamb as their main ingredients, there is a possibility that your pet may have developed a sensitivity to those types of meat products.
How to Transition Your Pet to Raw
To eliminate this as a factor, start by serving your pet a traditional complete, balanced raw pet food diet consist of 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ. If you are using goat as the starter raw food, you can feed them ground goat meat, along with goat tail, tripe, ribs or gullet. Once you see that their allergies are improving, such as smaller, solid, and less odorous stools or a reduction in skin rash or itchy, you can begin to introduce other items, such as lamb, chicken, and fish.
In order to keep your pet from developing further allergies or sensitivity to food, be sure to rotate what you feed them every few months. If you do notice any reactions to the changes, you can just eliminate that specific food from their diet. The benefit of a rotating your pet’s diet not only does this give them a nice variety of food to enjoy, but also ensures they are getting the nutrients they need to live a healthy life.