Best Dog Food For Allergies: Tired Of Your Dog Scratching? These Allergy-Friendly Diets Actually Work

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Here’s how it works.

My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Georgie, was constantly having anal gland issues, and my vet said that a majority of the time, it’s the result of food or environmental allergies. Since I can’t control environmental allergies as much as I can food allergies, I took the advice of switching my pup to a meat-free diet, and he’s been anal gland issue free ever since.

In the process of switching foods, I’ve discovered he’s a very picky eater, so I’ve tried my share of dog foods for allergies over the years. I wanted to share my experience of researching and analyzing all the options with you in the hope that it can help you if your furry friend suffers from allergies, too.

Prescription Hypoallergenic	Skin Allergies	Food Allergies	Limited	Fresh	Plant-Based
Science Diet Sensitivities z/d	Purina Sensitive Skin & Stomach	Open Farm Venison	Canidae Pure Salmon	Ollie	Bramble
View on Amazon	View on Amazon	Visit Website	View on Amazon	Visit Website	Visit Website
Read Review	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review

What’s Causing Your Dog’s Allergies?

The best dog food for pups with allergies depends on what’s causing them. I won’t go into too many details about this here, but I suggest you learn more about the most common types of dog allergies and the symptoms of each. All types of dog allergies typically cause itchy skin. However, food allergies can sometimes only show up as gastrointestinal issues (or both).

1. Protein Food Allergies – The most common food allergens for dogs are proteins. Beef, chicken, dairy, and egg products are frequent culprits. Dogs can develop an allergic reaction to proteins they have been exposed to over time. Novel protein sources such as venison, duck, or rabbit are used to avoid allergens commonly found in commercial dog food.
2. Grain & Legume Allergies – While less common, some dogs may be sensitive or allergic to grains, like wheat or corn, or soy, a legume. These are often used as fillers in commercial dog foods.
3. Food Additives – Some dogs may not tolerate additives, including artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Reading ingredient labels and choosing dog foods with minimal additives can help.
4. Environmental Factors – Allergies to fleas, pollen, dust mites, and other environmental factors cause skin problems rather than GI issues. However, a healthy diet can typically help your dog with these issues, too.

Best Dog Food For Allergies

After spending hours researching dog foods for my dog’s allergies, I narrowed the top picks into categories for prescription options, food allergies, skin-care diets, limited-ingredient dog food, and more. I also considered several criteria, including the quality and type of ingredients, customer feedback, and the pet food company’s reputation.

I should note that in talking with my vet about types of meat-free diets, I learned that some vegetarian and vegan dog foods are filled with peas and chickpeas as meat protein substitutes. Our vet claims that having peas as a main ingredient indicates that a dog food is grain-free, which has its own debatable consequences for potential health risks.

Best Hypoallergenic Dog Food (Prescription): Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d Dog Food Review

View on Amazon | View on Chewy

Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d is a special chicken-flavored kibble for dogs with skin and/or food sensitivities. This food, which requires a vet’s prescription, is formulated by nutritionists and veterinarians and clinically tested to help dogs avoid skin and digestive symptoms from adverse food reactions. It includes hydrolyzed animal protein and a single purified carbohydrate.

What is hydrolyzed protein? In my journey to understand more about foods for dogs with allergies, I now know that hydrolysation is a process that breaks a protein structure down into basic amino acids. In this form, the protein is small enough that it’s unlikely to cause an adverse immune reaction.

While it’s not cheap, many customers say Hill’s z/d worked wonders for their dogs’ symptoms and is worth the cost. If you’ve tried out several non-prescription hypoallergenic foods with no improvement, you may want to discuss this diet with your veterinarian.

My Personal Experience With Hydrolyzed Protein Dog Food

Georgie loved the canned version of Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d. However, the consistency of the product did not sit well with him. My vet also recommended a few alternative kibble options, including Purina Pro Plan HA Vegetarian and Royal Canin HP Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed Protein. I opted for Purina because it had good reviews for picky eaters like Georgie (and it was easier to find and less expensive than Royal Canin).

Price

• 25 lb bag: $129.99 ($5.20 / lb)

Best Dog Food For Skin Allergies: Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Review

View on Amazon | View on Chewy

If you’re looking for the best dog food for itchy skin, then this may be the product for you. Many pet parents find that this Purina Pro Plan dog food formula is a huge help for their dog’s skin issues compared to similar products. Its primary ingredient is salmon, rather than traditional chicken, beef, pork, or other protein sources that aggravate skin allergies. It also contains no corn, wheat, or soy.

This sensitive skin dog food formula is fortified with live probiotics for digestive and immune health and contains oatmeal as a healthy carbohydrate source. And if you’re looking for hypoallergenic puppy food, Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach also comes in a puppy formula.

Price

• 41 lb bag (Adult Food): $128.00 ($3.12 / lb)
• 24 lb bag (Puppy Food): $69.98 ($2.92 / lb)

Best Dog Food For Food Allergies: Open Farm Grain-Free Venison Dry Review

Visit Website

Introducing a novel protein (one your pup has never had before) to your dog’s diet may help ease food allergies. If you’ve already tried the common proteins (chicken, beef, pork, lamb), you may want to introduce venison, salmon, duck, or another novel protein into your dog’s diet. These less-common protein sources may not trigger food allergies as much as the usual suspects.

This grain-free dry dog food formula from Open Farm contains pasture-raised venison as its primary ingredient, a mix of nutritious non-GMO fruits and vegetables, and essential vitamins and minerals — all without any artificial preservatives or flavors. It also doesn’t contain grain, corn, or soy, which could also cause food allergies.

Open Farm is also a popular choice for pet parents who are devoted to eco-friendly and cruelty-free practices. This company has extremely high standards for humanely and sustainably sourced ingredients. They also offer salmon, whitefish, and many other varieties, as well as dry food with grains, freeze-dried raw dog food, wet food, and treats.

Price

You can save 5% off the following price by signing up for auto-shipping.

• Starts at $29.99 (4-lb bag)

Best Limited-Ingredient Dog Food: Canidae Pure Salmon & Sweet Potato Review

View on Amazon | View on Chewy

Many pet parents choose limited-ingredient dog foods to help with food sensitivities. Canidae’s pure salmon and sweet potato formula only contains eight key ingredients, with no wheat, grain, soy, or artificial preservatives, which are often linked to food allergies. It’s fortified with vitamins, minerals, taurine, and a probiotic mix. This is also one of the best grain-free dog foods for skin allergies. Salmon-based dog foods can also be a double blessing for pups with allergies because salmon is less likely to trigger food allergies, and it also contains omega-6 and 3 fatty acids to help ease dry, itchy skin and can promote healthy skin, too.

Our Personal Experience With Limited Ingredient Dog Food

My dog Barley was suffering from anal gland issues, so we did an elimination diet and found he was allergic to poultry. When I was looking for poultry-free dog food for Barley, I also focused on higher fiber to further support anal gland health. So I landed on American Journey limited ingredient wet food which is fish-based and also 6% fiber (a little higher than average). Since switching to American Journey food 6 months ago, Barley has had zero anal gland issues.

– Michelle Schenker, Rescue Dog Mom, Canine Journal Co-Founder

Price

• 24 lb bag (Salmon): $74.99 ($3.41 / lb)

Best Fresh Dog Food For Allergies: Ollie Review

Visit Website

Ollie is a company that delivers personalized fresh dog food right to your door. Their all-natural meals contain fresh, whole-food ingredients with no soy, corn, or wheat. Ollie can customize ingredients based on your dog’s specific allergy issues — you can let them know about your pup’s allergies when you fill out your dog’s profile on their website.

Ollie offers five fresh vet-formulated recipes (beef, turkey, chicken, lamb, and pork). Each includes high-quality proteins, fresh produce, and healthy oils, vitamins, and minerals, with no artificial preservatives or ingredients. They ship in bulk every four or eight weeks, so you’ll need plenty of freezer room.

Price

• Starts at $2.50 per day

Our readers can get 50% off their first order. Use this link to take advantage of this offer (no discount code needed).

Best Plant-Based Dog Food For Allergies: Bramble Review

Visit Website

Bramble offers two fresh vegan dog food recipes. Both are made with human-grade, whole-food ingredients and gently cooked to preserve nutrients. They are also lab-tested to ensure quality and nutritional value.

1. The Cowbell recipe is grain-free with over 31% protein, organic pea protein, lentils, sweet potatoes, carrots, organic flax oil, peas, and apples.
2. The Roost contains more than 35% protein and features organic pea protein, long-grain brown rice, potatoes, garbanzo beans, carrots, blueberries, butternut squash, peas, and organic sunflower oil. Both are fortified with taurine for heart health.

One feeding trial found that Bramble’s protein is just as digestible as animal protein, and its fat is even more so. It also found that dogs fed Bramble had lower cholesterol, triglycerides and healthier microbiomes than dogs fed chicken-based kibble.

Our Personal Experience With Bramble

Since finding a kibble that didn’t upset our picky eater’s tummy, Georgie started to refuse to eat after a while. I started sprinkling Bramble on top of the crunchy kibble, and now he can’t wait for mealtime (before we had to beg him to eat). While a full-fresh meal could be expensive, I recommend using it as a topper with a more affordable kibble. I use the Roost recipe because it’s not grain-free, but he loves the Cowbell option.

Price

Subscription pricing is based on each dog’s age, weight, and activity level. You can pause or cancel your subscription at any time.

• Full meals start at approx. $2.25 per day
• Half meals start at approx. $1.15 per day

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of our readers’ most commonly asked questions about the best dog food for allergies. Don’t see yours? Let me know in the comments. You can also head to our forum to discuss dog food, allergies, behavior, and more with our team and other pet owners.

What Are The Most Common Dog Food Allergies?

Dogs can develop sensitivities to food ingredients at any point in their lifetime. The most common food allergens in dogs include beef, chicken, chicken eggs, soy, and gluten (from wheat).

What’s The Best Dog Food For Ear Allergies?

Does your dog have chronic ear infections? If so, food or environmental insensitivity could be the culprit. Some experts say that excess grain and/or sugar in food contributes to ear infections. But we encourage you to speak to your vet if your dog has a lot of ear infections to help determine the cause and get proper treatment.

What Do Elimination Diets Involve?

In this brief video by JustFoodForDogs, Dr. Laura Wilson, DVM, DACVD, discusses food elimination diets for dogs with food allergies. JustFoodForDogs is another company that delivers all-natural fresh dog food. For a $250 formulation fee, you can have their vet specialists personalize your pup’s food for allergies or other health problems.

Has Your Vet Recommended Allergy Medicine?

If there’s one piece of advice I have for you and your dog with allergies, it’s to be patient. You will not notice a change right away. In fact, it could take up to six months after switching for your dog to fully get the old food out of their system and for improvements to happen. So don’t fret or get frustrated if switching food isn’t doing the trick. It’s not a quick fix.

It’s also important to note that finding the right dog food isn’t always enough to relieve allergy symptoms. If your dog experiences more severe allergies, your vet may recommend giving your dog allergy medication or administering allergy shots to help reduce symptoms.

Our Methodology

Why Trust Us?

Sadie is a devoted pet parent to a charming Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with a food allergy. Navigating the challenges of managing her pup’s food sensitivities and dietary restrictions inspired Sadie to seek out the best hypoallergenic treats that not only cater to her fur baby’s specific needs but also satisfy his taste buds. Sadie’s commitment to her pet’s happiness and health motivated her to carefully curate a wide selection of hypoallergenic dog treats to have on hand in her household. She has a deep understanding of the struggles faced by pet owners dealing with allergies.