Abstract
Objective—To evaluate 3 commercially available selected-protein-source diets as maintenance diets in dogs with pruritus caused by adverse food reactions.
Design—Randomized crossover trial.
Animals—40 dogs > 6 months of age with pruritus caused by adverse reactions to foods.
Procedure—Diagnosis was confirmed by use of diet elimination and provocation studies. Subsequently, dogs were fed 3 commercial diets for 3 weeks each in a randomized, blinded, crossover trial. Dogs were evaluated for pruritus, vomiting, diarrhea, and flatulence.
Results—Pruritus recurred in 52.5% of dogs fed a chicken-rice diet, 47.5% of dogs fed a catfish-rice diet, and 85% of dogs fed a venison-rice diet. Overall, 95% of the dogs could be managed successfully with at least 1 of the 3 diets.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that commercially available limited-allergen diets with selected protein sources may be appropriate for long-term management of pruritus caused by adverse food reactions. Testing of various protein sources is usually required. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001;219:1411–1414)
