Skin and Coat Problems: Allergy or Intolerance?

The food you give your dog or cat plays a crucial role in maintaining good health, healthy skin, and a shiny coat. With balanced, high-quality food, your pet gets all the essential vitamins, proteins, and nutrients needed for optimal skin condition. However, problems can arise due to sensitivities, which often lead to itching, flaking, hair loss, or other complaints. This article highlights food sensitivity, allergies, and intolerances, focusing on causes, diagnoses, and solutions – including practical tips.

"My dog or cat is itching" 

Parasites are the most common culprit, especially fleas. Even if you see almost no fleas, a flea allergy can cause severe itching for months. Mites such as ear mites, sarcoptic mange, demodex, or cheyletiella (walking dandruff), lice, and sand fleas also occur regularly.

Next come allergies: an allergy to flea saliva, a food allergy or food intolerance (often itching on the paws, ears, groin, and around the anus), or atopy, an allergy to things in the environment such as house dust mites, pollen, grass, or fungi. Contact allergy to something like a new bed, shampoo, or floor cleaner is less common, but also happens.

Skin infections are a common next step: bacterial infections or a yeast infection (Malassezia) that gives a typical musty or “elephant skin” smell, especially between the toes, in the groin, and in the ears. Sometimes dry skin plays a role due to too few essential fatty acids, washing too often, or too dry air in the house.

In older animals, hormonal problems such as a slow-working thyroid, Cushing's disease, or an imbalance in sex hormones can cause itching. Stress, boredom, or anxiety sometimes leads to excessive licking or biting, especially in cats.

In rare cases, it is autoimmune diseases, fungal infections such as ringworm, or even pain elsewhere in the body, causing the animal to keep licking or biting in a certain place.

Food sensitivity is an umbrella term for abnormal reactions to ingredients in the food. This includes food allergies (immunological reactions) and food intolerances (non-immunological reactions). The symptoms often look similar – such as itching, skin inflammation, or gastrointestinal complaints – making a thorough examination essential. Your veterinarian can determine the exact cause.
In the case of a food intolerance, the body cannot properly digest a substance, for example due to an enzyme deficiency. This leads to triggers such as lactose (milk sugar), which causes gastrointestinal complaints such as diarrhea, stomach pain, or flatulence. It is comparable to lactose intolerance in humans, where lactase is missing.

A food allergy occurs when the immune system overreacts to proteins (allergens). The body sees these as a threat and mounts a defense, releasing histamine. This causes itching, redness, and inflammation. Common allergens are chicken, beef, wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, but also colorings or preservatives. Note: an allergy says nothing about the quality of the food; the animal is simply oversensitive to a specific protein. Histamine plays a major role here and can accumulate like an 'overflowing bucket', leading to chronic complaints. Meat types with high histamine levels are pork, lamb, game (deer, pigeon), and fish (mackerel, herring, salmon, sardines). Beef, chicken, turkey, and horse contain little histamine and cause fewer problems.

Prevalence of Allergies in Dogs and CatsAllergies occur in a significant portion of pets, although exact figures are estimates due to varying diagnostics. An estimated 20-25% of dogs show allergic symptoms, of which approximately 2% is a diagnosed food allergy (via elimination diet). Of these food allergies, 80-90% come from animal proteins and less than 5% from plant proteins such as gliadins in gluten (e.g. wheat, spelt). Environmental allergens cause no less than 80-90% of all allergies, so changing food is not always necessary.

Total allergies: 100%
├── Environment (pollen, mites, fleas): 85–90%
└── Food: 5–10%
 ├── Meat/egg/dairy: 80–90% → ~4–9% of total
 ├── Grains: <5% → <0.5% of total
 └── Other (additives, etc.): remainder

Certain breeds are more sensitive to food allergies, such as Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Dalmatian, West Highland White Terrier, Shar-Pei, Lhasa Apso, Cocker Spaniel, Springer Spaniel, Miniature Schnauzer, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Dachshund, and Boxer.
Other causes of itching and skin problemsItching often has multiple causes, physiological or psychological:

• Physiological: Dermatitis, parasites (fleas, ticks, mites), wounds, allergies, anal gland problems (blockage leads to 'scooting'), seborrhea (disrupted sebum production, hereditary or due to infections/allergies).
• Psychological: Stress, anxiety, boredom, or OCD-like behavior (excessive licking as self-soothing).

Shedding is normal, but prolonged hair loss indicates deficiencies in fatty acids, vitamins, parasites, bacteria, fungi, or hormones. Flaking in puppies can be caused by coat mites (Cheyletiella) or ichthyosis (often in Golden Retrievers). In adults: primary seborrhea, infections, dry air, or excessive bathing.

Most common food allergies in dogs

Most common food allergies in cats

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is complex, because itching overlaps with fleas, mites, anal gland inflammation, ear infection, or multiple conditions at the same time. First rule out parasites, then food allergy via a strict elimination diet (9 weeks new protein/carbohydrate, no snacks). Improvement? Stay with that food. No improvement? Investigate atopy via blood or skin test (not 100% reliable).

A few tips that you can also find under 'Diet' for dogs and cats are:

• Hypoallergenic, gluten-/grain-free options: BF® Adult Turkey (grain-free), BF® Pressed Lamb (gluten-free), BF® Pressed Salmon (grain-free), BF® Lamb&Rice (gluten-free), BF® Sensitive Mini (grain-free), BIOFOOD wet food (single protein, grain-free: chicken, beef, turkey), BF® Sensitive for cats.
• Supplement with BF® Scottish Salmon Oil for dogs and cats, BF® Liquid Sheep Fat or BF® Sheep Fat Salmon Bonbons, both for dogs. Protein-free or low protein. 

• BF® Garlic Tablets (various variants) for dogs and cats, BF® 3-in-1 biscuits Look & Spice or BF® Garlic Bonbons (maxi/mini) for dogs or the BF® natural herb mix with oa garlic. Due to the strict European Claims Regulation, we are only allowed to give very limited information about the effects of products with herbs including garlic.

• BF® Relax Tablets (valerian) for dogs and cats, BF® 3in1 Relax Biscuits for dogs or BF® Probiotics products for dogs and cats.

• High fiber: BF® Weight Control (very high fiber), BIOFOOD Bio Chicken All life stages (high in fiber). BF® Probiotics tablets for dogs and cats, BF® 3in1 Biscuits Grass & Poop for firm stools (do not give too much) for dogs. BF® Control Urinary for cats.

• BF® Scottish Salmon Oil (high omega-3) for dogs and cats, special shampoos. Combination often works best.

• BF® Scottish Salmon Oil for dogs and cats, BF® Liquid sheep fat, BF® Sheep Fat bonbons for dogs or BF® Natural herb mix for dogs and cats for digestion, metabolism, joints, stress, skin/coat. Avoid excessive brushing/bathing; ensure moist air.

Misunderstandings and tips

Fat and/or oil that BF® uses, both liquid and in our food, does not cause an allergy since these are protein-free. Autoimmune diseases (e.g. pemphigus) are rare and require immunosuppressants where your veterinarian knows more about. Brush regularly for dead hair, start early with puppies. With patience, a strict diet and targeted support, most animals live symptom-free. Always consult your veterinarian for persistent complaints.

In our shop you can see under 'Diet' which food and/or other products we recommend for your dog and/or cat that support the skin and coat. Coat problems in dogs and cats: recognize the signs – BF Petfood

For more information email: info@bfpetfood.nl or use the contact page.