You have brought this wonderful bundle of joy home. Simon is a great dog. Despite not knowing anything about him, it was hard to resist his demeanor. Thinking back to that day when you first met Simon, you were impressed by his manners.

Clearly he wanted to come home with you. Obedient, he sat as soon as you told him to sit and when you said, "Simon, Come!" he ran to you. When you scratched under his chin, he leaned into your hand and shut his eyes and it almost sounded like he was purring like a cat. Your heart sank! Treats in your pocket, you gave him a couple. Sitting, to tell you he wanted a couple more, when you extended your hand, he sneezed all over it. Now that's love, isn't it?

"I'll take him!"

Walking almost arm in arm out the shelter doors, this was a match made in heaven.

Then the Adventure Begins
Unsure what they were feeding him before you met, you spring for the best quality kibble you can afford. Simon eats it so quickly you barely have time to notice that he's tearing up. He breaks from eating long enough to sit down and use his hind leg to scratch his side; first one side and then the other. He stands up and starts sneezing, repeatedly.

Simon resumes eating but then stops to sneeze some more and then he starts barking, really, really loudly. This goes on for two more days. It's pretty evident your new buddy is suffering. "Well," you think to yourself, "he has to meet the vet at some point. It may as well be tomorrow."

Fortunately for you, you have a sharp vet who immediately diagnoses Simon with food allergies. Although rarer than in humans, it's not entirely unheard of. Similar to humans, Simon's allergies could be the result of a compromised or over active immune system. Not knowing Simon's history, it is difficult to determine what his life was like. Was he fed a balanced nutrition? Was he fed with regularity? If he ever developed an infection, did his previous owners take him to the vet and have him treated or was he expected to get better on his own? It's difficult to know these things. Indeed, they could have just given him up because of his food allergies, as they didn't want to be bothered trying to fix the issue.

With all these question marks running around, he suggests one of four things.

• Doing a hypoallergenic test to determine what his allergies are
• Doing food elimination to pinpoint the allergen
• Giving him hypoallergenic food
• Feeding him 3 ccs of Benedryl a day

What To Do?
If this story is starting to sound like you, there are steps you can take. Opting for door number one, if you know what is causing the allergy, you can avoid that one thing. The test generally tests for the obvious ones that dogs are allergic to, which are:

• Eggs
• Fish
• Pork
• Chicken
• Dairy
• Grains
• Potatoes
• Beef

Oftentimes the test will come back inconclusive, which leaves you with option B: food elimination. Maybe you have tried Benedryl a couple of times, but you didn't love that it leaves your dog lethargic all day. You could give your dog hypoallergenic food, not all dogs improve with it. Committed to making your dog happy, you're willing to try it, but where to begin?

The Process of Elimination
Many commercial brands of kibble contain all of the ingredients listed above, and switching to one from another may not solve the problem. If you are committed to figuring out what causes the tearing, sneezing, itching and barking, feeding your dog a diet that doesn't consist of kibble might be a good place to start. But if you decide to eliminate the kibble, you should do some research to see precisely how much protein he or she needs, and its ratio to fruits/vegetables, grains, vitamins and minerals. You could start by giving him plain baked chicken and rice and if the reaction persists, dial it back. Maybe she needs a vegetarian diet, but one that include beans (great substitutes for protein) perhaps with rice and cooked carrots, peas and snow peas. If you opt for this, be sure to get a list of what's toxic for dogs. You don't want to eradicate the allergy only for him or her to develop pancreatitis or worse.

It may take some tenacity and patience, but eventually you will discover the right combination of foods that your buddy can tolerate. The good news is that once you do, you needn't offer him or her variety to keep them happy. Unlike humans, dogs are content to eat the same thing for each and every meal.

You can view our full range of Dog Food Recipe and Dog Nutrition eBooks here ...