Hypoallergenic Dog Food
10 productsShop hypoallergenic dog food from trusted veterinary brands including Royal Canin, Hill's Prescription Diet and Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets. [more] These specialised diets are formulated for dogs with food allergies, intolerances and adverse food reactions, with hydrolysed protein and carefully selected ingredient options that may be recommended by your vet as part of an elimination diet.
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What is hypoallergenic dog food?
Hypoallergenic dog food is specially formulated to reduce the likelihood of triggering an adverse reaction to food.
Many veterinary hypoallergenic diets use hydrolysed protein. This means the protein has been broken into much smaller components, making it less likely to be recognised by the immune system and trigger a food-allergic response.
Other veterinary diets use carefully selected or restricted protein and carbohydrate sources to help minimise exposure to potential food allergens.
Hypoallergenic dog food is different from regular dog food for sensitive skin or dog food for sensitive stomachs. While sensitive formulas may support skin or digestive health, they aren't necessarily suitable for diagnosing or managing a true food allergy.
What is the best hypoallergenic dog food?
There isn't one hypoallergenic dog food that's best for every dog. The right choice depends on your dog's symptoms, dietary history and the reason your veterinarian has recommended a specialised diet.
Vets Love Pets stocks veterinary hypoallergenic diets from leading brands, including:
- Royal Canin Veterinary Hypoallergenic – a hydrolysed protein diet formulated for dogs with adverse food reactions.
- Royal Canin Veterinary Anallergenic – an extensively hydrolysed veterinary diet designed for dogs requiring a highly restricted elimination diet.
- Royal Canin Veterinary Sensitivity Control – formulated with selected protein and carbohydrate sources for dogs with food sensitivities.
- Hill's Prescription Diet z/d – formulated with highly hydrolysed protein to help reduce adverse food reactions.
- Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Low Fat – combines a hydrolysed diet with reduced fat for dogs that require both food sensitivity and fat-responsive nutritional support.
- Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets HA Hydrolyzed – a veterinary hydrolysed diet formulated to help minimise adverse reactions to food.
Your veterinarian can help determine which type is most appropriate for your dog.
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Hydrolysed vs novel protein dog food
Hydrolysed and novel protein diets take different approaches to managing food sensitivities.
Hydrolysed dog food contains proteins that have been broken into very small components. Veterinary hydrolysed diets such as Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, Hill's Prescription Diet z/d and Purina HA are commonly used when investigating or managing adverse food reactions.
Novel protein dog food instead uses a protein source the dog may not have eaten previously. Whether a protein is genuinely "novel" depends on the individual dog's dietary history, so a single-protein or unusual-protein food shouldn't automatically be considered hypoallergenic.
For a veterinarian-supervised elimination diet, your vet will recommend the most appropriate approach for your dog.
Signs your dog may have a food allergy
Food allergies can cause skin and gastrointestinal signs. Dogs with an adverse food reaction may experience:
- Persistent itching
- Recurrent ear problems or infectionsIrritated or inflamed skin
- Excessive licking or chewing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea or frequent soft stools
These symptoms aren't specific to food allergies. Fleas, environmental allergies, infections and other health conditions can cause similar signs, so veterinary assessment is important before assuming food is responsible.
If skin symptoms are your dog's main concern, browse our broader range of dog food for skin and coat conditions or read our vet's guide to dog food for skin allergies.
How does an elimination diet work?
A food elimination trial is one of the most reliable ways for a veterinarian to investigate a suspected food allergy.
Your dog is fed a carefully selected diet, usually a veterinary hydrolysed or appropriate novel-protein diet, for a set period. During the trial, your dog needs to eat only the recommended diet unless your veterinarian advises otherwise.
Treats, table scraps, flavoured supplements and some medications can introduce other proteins and interfere with the trial.
If your dog's symptoms improve, your veterinarian may recommend a controlled food challenge to help determine whether food was responsible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hypoallergenic dog food can help dogs with food allergies or adverse food reactions when an appropriate diet is selected. Veterinary hydrolysed diets are specifically formulated to minimise the risk of triggering an adverse food reaction. However, they won't necessarily resolve itching caused by environmental allergies, fleas, infections or other conditions.
There isn't one protein that's best for every dog with a food allergy. A dog can potentially react to proteins it has previously been exposed to. For this reason, veterinarians may recommend a hydrolysed protein diet or a carefully selected novel protein based on the dog's dietary history.
Veterinary hydrolysed diets are commonly used as hypoallergenic diets. Hydrolysis breaks proteins into much smaller components to reduce the likelihood of the immune system recognising and reacting to them. Examples include Royal Canin Veterinary Hypoallergenic, Hill's Prescription Diet z/d and Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets HA Hydrolyzed.
No. "Sensitive" dog foods are generally formulated to support dogs with sensitive skin or digestion, but they aren't necessarily designed for food allergies or elimination trials.
Hypoallergenic veterinary diets typically use hydrolysed proteins or carefully controlled ingredients specifically intended for dogs with adverse food reactions. If your dog has digestive sensitivity without a diagnosed food allergy, browse our dog food for sensitive stomachs.
Veterinarians commonly use suitable veterinary hypoallergenic diets for elimination trials. The diet needs to be selected based on your dog's dietary history and fed exclusively for the period recommended by your vet. Giving other foods or treats during the trial can affect the results.
