Dog Bones and Food Allergies

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Visitor Question about Dog Bones and Food Allergies

  • Dear Experts,

This is a quote from your website regarding cornstarch bones:

Snacks

Cornstarch bones are made from cornstarch and are perfectly safe for your dog to eat, provided that he or she does not have food allergies. The Booda Company actually makes cornstarch toys that are completely free of preservatives and contain no animal by-products.

What sort of food allergies could make these bones bad for dogs? My dog is allergic to many different food types and I want to ensure I'm not doing more harm than good by giving him these bones.

Thanks for your time~~ LKR

Expert Reply

Hi LKR,

Dealing with dog food allergies can certainly complicate life with our pets. It takes a qualified veterinarian to help diagnose exactly which foods cause an allergic reaction in your pet in order to rule out which items should not be fed.

Since you mention that your dog has many food allergies, you're probably familiar with this already. My question to you is if your dog has a specific allergy to corn? Corn is used in many commercial brands of dog food, and there are dogs whose systems simply can't tolerate it. Cornstarch is a by-product of corn, so if your pet has a specific allergy to corn, I wouldn't risk giving him a cornstarch bone either.

Instead, you might want to consider offering him an unscented, unflavored Nylabone. The basic product is completely synthetic, so it shouldn't cause an allergic reaction for your pet. However, you should probably double check with your vet just to make sure.

Thanks for your question~~ Kelly


 


Comments

Hi Christyne,

You'll need to carefully check food and treat labels from this point forward because gluten products are commonly used. Offering your dog an occasional large butcher bone is alright, but you don't want to do it too often because it can wear down the teeth. You'll also want to keep an eye on the size of the bone as your dog wears it down because it can become a choking hazard when it become too small.

Thanks for your question, and good luck with your pet. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Hi I have a 5 year old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. This year he developed a food allergy to gluten. We used to give him a Dentabone once a week to help his breath and clean his teeth, but now we're not sure what we can give him. Is there any type of bone we can give him? Can we dive him a bone from the butcher?

-- Contributed by: Christyne

Hi Inderr,

At eight months old, it's possible that your puppy is just going through the coat change from puppy fur to adult coat. There's a lot of shedding during this process. Check along your dog's spine. Do you see a ribbon of fur developing that is a little harder and shinier that the puppy coat surrounding it? If so, this is due to the coat change and nothing to worry about. Do seek your vet's opinion if you notice any additional signs of illness that accompany the shedding.

That said, Labs do tend to shed a bit more than the average dog, so be sure to brush your dog several times a week to help keep that floating fur to a minimum.

Thanks for your question. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly
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