Anyone know?

I would imagine that they are just like us but to be honest, thats just a guess!!!

depends on the dog, lots of things. wheats common i think, and there are foods that are generally dangerous like raisins, onion etc. mistletoe apparently and of course chocolate. some have dustmite allergies, some medication ones etc.

much like us really.

I have known a couple of dogs to be allergic to fabric conditioner and carpet freshners too as well food allergies and of course pollen aswell

Our old AfghanX was allergic to so many things I used to swear he was allergic to himself as well    He was the dog who taught our vets that dogs COULD have hay fever ;)  he used to stand in a field of grasses in summer, eyes and nose streaming and sneezing non stop - poor boy :(

I had a bullmastiff that was actually allergic to himself - well only when he'd got a nick. If he'd been roughhousing/playing with another dog and got even the tiniest scratch, the area would become infected and swollen and generally very painful for him. Vets did a load of tests and it came back that it was the oil on his fur causing the reaction. So he was allergic to himself.

I have one dog that is allergic to all animal protein and is therefore on a vegan diet.
And one of my others is allergic to all sorts of foods like beef, chicken, lamb, pork, wheat, milk and a few others too.

Vera

Most allergies are from feeding pet food, they are full of unatural levels of sugar, refined cerials and poor quality animal derivites and virtually no good quality food, like us eating macdonals for every meal, it causes health problems. Dogs have evolved from wolves which are carnivores that only occasionally eat berries and grasses.

It is nothing like us eating MacDonalds.  Even MacDonalds would not claim their products are a complete and safe diet.  Eating sugars, refined cereals and animal derivates does not create allergies.  In fact more recent research has suggested, in humans at least, avoiding foods in the early years contributes to allergies.  Are far more likely suspect is the lack of intestinal paracites which release substances that dampen down the host response to antigens.

staffy lover - do you have any proof to back up these claims? i have always fed my pets on a complete pet food, and have yet to have a dog with allergies or indeed any health problem.

I Have and still are doing alot of research and im sorry to say that some brands are just like us eating macdonals constintly, as there are no strict regulations on the quality and source of the nutrients, so as long as the calories are right and there is 4% protien (most of which comes from poor quality meal) its classed as complete. read up on meat rendering and see if you would eat pet food if you were a dog or cat, also google ' what really goes into pet food' then you will have an idea what im talking about.

please remember that not everything that is on "google" is neccessarily true! i believe that each to their own, i have met many a fit healthy dog which eats food which some would class as poor quality, these dogs thrive, have glossy coats and live well into old age. on the other hand i see dogs which are fed the most expensive food available and arent as healthy. i have also seen many problems caused by dogs being fed a home prepared diet, when they go wrong they can cause many health problems.

> and see if you would eat pet food if you were a dog or cat

Not only do I think they would, they do! :-D

>some brands are just like us eating macdonals constintly

For a human being, a well-made burger-in-a-bun is a well-balanced meal. It contains protein (burger), vegetables (salad) and carbohydrate (bun). Just because McD's aren't particularly well-made doesn't mean the principle is unsound.

>see if you would eat pet food if you were a dog or cat,

They do, with great enjoyment, and it's probably far more wholesome than the rotting carcasses and various manures they opt to eat when out on walks!

> For a human being, a well-made burger-in-a-bun is a well-balanced meal. It contains protein (burger), vegetables (salad) and carbohydrate (bun). Just because McD's aren't particularly well-made doesn't mean the principle is unsound.

well you should know, if you know anything about human nutrition at all, that yes there are the ingredients in a burger that you listed, BUT you can NOT call it balanced !the small amount of salad will come way off even one portion of veg, and the amounts of saturated fat and make it unhealthy, white bread is not easly digested as its so rich in starch, and 'sits' in the digestive system too long, which can cause serious problems in the long term. as a one off treat now and then fine, i like junk food as a treat but wouldnt even eat one once a week.

Many people believe there diets are 'healthy and balanced' as they have salad in there kebabs or burgers every night untill they have a heart attack.
in truth we are doing the same to our pets, and they can look ok from the outside, they dont have to be fat or have skabby skin to be ill, its the internal organs such as the liver and kidneys that silently suffer untill one day they start to fail and the pet is noticably ill as the other organs try to cope and also end up failing.

P.s the only carbs a dog would eat in the wild would be in the stomachs of animals, with the enzymes needed to break down the carbs and use the vitamins. we cannot digest grass and we are omivores, dogs are carnivores and can not naturally digest plant materals.

pps i do have a BSc Biomedical Science degree which i studyed human anatomy, physiology, toxicology and the comparisons with animals.

Sorry Staffy Lover, I'm going to disagree with you here,

> white bread is not easly digested as its so rich in starch, and 'sits' in the digestive system too long, which can cause serious problems in the long term

That's not what Diabetes UK says - or indeed any of the tests of Glycaemic Index of foods ;) In fact white bread is digested so quickly that it is used as a measure against which other foods are tested ;)  On the other hand Fat eaten with the bread will slow down it's digestion considerably.

>Foods are given a GI number according to their effect on blood glucose levels. Glucose or white bread is used as the standard reference (GI >100), and other foods are measured against this. 

You can read more here

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Food_and_recipes/Food_and_diabetes/The-Glycaemic-Index/

>P.s the only carbs a dog would eat in the wild would be in the stomachs of animals, with the enzymes needed to break down the carbs and >use the vitamins. we cannot digest grass and we are omivores, dogs are carnivores and can not naturally digest plant materals.

I guess you've never had a dog who supplemented his diet by picking fruit then?   Most of my dogs have been happy to 'pick their own' blackberries, bilberries, strawberries, windfall apples etc all of which have varying levels of carbohydrates  ;)   

Forgot to say,

Animal derivatives - eg Hydrolysed protein, are often used in special diets for patients with intolerances, allergies or an inability to digest animal proteins ;)  The protein contained in gristle and cartilage is easily broken down and digested as is evidenced by being used in Calves Foot Jelly  - often fed to invalids with delicate digestion ;)

JG did point out that MacDonalds do not present burger meals in a healthy balanced way.

>in truth we are doing the same to our pets

As I pointed out we are not.  UK complete foods are not unbalanced like a MacDonalds.  You are right if they were badly composed our dogs would be suffering but they are not.  Most dogs live long and healthy lives these days.