If your dog is scratching constantly and there’s nothing wrong with their skin, or your cat keeps vomiting after meals and the vet has ruled out everything obvious, it might be time to look at what’s in their bowl. Food sensitivities in pets are more common than most people realize.
What a Limited Ingredient Diet Actually Is
A limited-ingredient diet (LID) is exactly what it sounds like: a food formulated with fewer ingredients than a conventional pet food. Where regular food might include a dozen protein sources, multiple grains, and a long list of additives, a LID includes just one or two proteins, a single carb, and not much else.
The idea here is the same as the one behind the “elimination diet” for humans. When you’re experiencing diet-related symptoms, you wipe the slate and start building things back a couple of ingredients at a time until you figure out what the issue is.
What Is Novel Protein?
Even within a limited-ingredient diet, the type of protein is important. If your dog has been eating chicken their whole life, switching to a chicken-based LID won’t tell you much. Their immune system already knows chicken. What you want is a novel protein, which is just something they haven’t encountered before and haven’t had the chance to develop a sensitivity to.
Will Your Pet Benefit from a LID?
Not every itch or upset stomach means that a pet has a food sensitivity, but there are things that should make you pay attention. Chronic ear infections, persistent skin irritation, loose stools that don’t resolve, or a coat that looks dull even if you groom them all the time can all be related to something in the diet. Symptoms often show up slowly over time and get written off as “just the way this pet is.”
If you think your pet might have a food sensitivity, talk to your vet before making any changes. Eight to 12 weeks on a strict LID with a novel protein can help with identifying the problem.
Should You Switch Right Away?
Don’t swap foods overnight. A sudden diet change can give your pet an upset stomach. Go slow and make the transition over seven to 10 days, adding increasing amounts of the new food into the old.
Also, read labels carefully. “Limited ingredient” isn’t a regulated term, and some products labeled that way still contain more ingredients than you’d expect.
Not sure which limited ingredient or novel protein food is right for your pet? Get in touch with Critters Pet Shop. We’re glad to help you find the right fit.