An Easy Target: Lifestyle Diseases in Dogs

Nowadays there are dogs in down coats, dogs with chequered scarves or glittery harnesses. The dog of the world goes to his own hairdresser, meets up with other dogs in chic places in the city on a specially designated dog meadow or competes in beauty contests with other dogs of the same species. In short: the life of a dog contains (almost) everything that is contrary to its nature. This "humanisation" is usually more pronounced in city dogs than in dogs that live in the countryside. Far away from the great outdoors, a dog in the city (of necessity) quickly becomes accustomed to street noise, concrete jungles and fenced-in free-range zones. Thank goodness our dogs are masters of adaptation and can also find their comfort zone in the city.

"The dog needs its dog life. He doesn't want to have fleas, but the opportunity to get them." (Robert Lembke)

However, the lack of nature and naturalness not only affects dogs' living space and territory, but also their food bowls: meat is replaced by grain, artificial flavourings are used instead of natural flavours and synthetic preservatives are used instead of fresh preparation. The lack of nature leaves its mark on dogs, just as it does on us humans. And these can lead to diseases that are increasingly being diagnosed in dogs as so-called diseases of civilisation.

Ostrich, antelope, kangaroo - ever wilder exotic species are finding their way into our dogs' food bowls. The reason for this is food allergies to animal protein, some types of grain, milk or soya products. This form of reaction to certain food components is steadily increasing in dogs. Promoted by environmental pollution and low-quality feed, one in three skin diseases in dogs is now caused by a food allergy.

In addition to food components, dogs can also have allergic reactions to environmental substances in their environment. A so-called contact allergy can be triggered by blankets, shampoo or collars, for example, and manifests itself through clear skin symptoms.

As there are still no reliable test systems for diagnosing a food allergy in dogs (test reliability of current tests is only around 50%), the only possible diagnosis is to rule out all other diseases. In the case of a food allergy, a so-called exclusion diet must be carried out, which consists of an exotic type of meat and a single vegetable component and must be carried out for at least 8 weeks.