Dog allergies worse after food change? How long for symptoms to clear?

First you have to rule out other things as well like fleas and secondary infection which can both be itchy. If there are any lesions under the skin there may be a secondary infection (common with allergy). For food allergy it can take time for symptoms to resolve (8+ weeks for some dogs) and those pets who are very itchy may need medications to stop the itch (itching can lead to secondary skin infection as well). So if your pup is very itchy you may want to talk to your family vet about meds to help with itch while going back to the old food. And treat for fleas just in case (even if you do not see any). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It takes 4-6weeks for allergens to completely leave the skin layers. If persisting longer than this the diet should be reassessed and other triggers such as external allergies, parasites and infections should be investigated

It can sometimes take up to two months to fully see results of a new food before any symptoms are completely gone if it is a food-based reaction. I would hesitate to keep switching foods as you won't be able to accurately judge if a food is causing it and may just cause added GI upset on top of the itching and scratching. If Jax is still breaking out very badly it would be best to contact the vet doing the food trial with you so they can take note and make suggestions on whether a change should happen or if you should stay on the food for a while longer.

I would recommend to wait up to 8 weeks before thinking about other causes. If not working, a skin scrape and more dermatological tests (including allergic testing on bloods) are required to determine if other causes are possible. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi, and thanks for your question. Although pic would help to determine the underlying cause, this is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If this is due to skin allergies, all possible allergy types need to be considered. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! It definitely could be related to the food change or it is environmental allergies. The fall can cause allergies for sure. If you want to rule one thing at a time out, you can either do a course of antihistamines until the first frost and see if things with the eyes and skin improve as long as they aren’t miserable and itchy or change the diet first and wait to start the medication. Good luck! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/zyrtec/