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The difference between allergies and intolerances, and why it's important to know the difference.

Does your dog go through bouts of itching, or seem unwell after meals, and you aren’t sure if it's an allergy or intolerance? Knowing the difference between the two may be the key to your dog’s comfort.

September 3, 2024 • 2 min read

Bushra Schuitemaker

Lead Microbiologist

Many dog owners often confuse intolerances with allergies, but they are distinct conditions with different causes and treatments. This can lead them to entirely rule out a food in their dog’s diet that they aren’t actually allergic to, and not look at the root cause of the problem. Spoiler alert: it’s often to do with the gut…

So what is the difference?

Allergies in dogs involve the immune system’s response to otherwise harmless substances. Common allergies include pollen, dust mites, bug bites and gluten. Typical responses to allergies present themselves as itching, redness and inflammation. This is due to histamines being released to attack the substance or ‘allergen’. Allergies are often identified in dogs using blood or skin tests, and are dealt with through elimination diets or antihistamines.

Whilst allergies are an immune response, intolerances are fundamentally a digestive issue. They do not involve the immune system, but rather highlight a digestive or metabolic difficulty to break down certain substances. Typical intolerances include proteins, lactose and certain additives. Intolerances may cause diarrhoea, flatulence, bloating and vomiting.

Unlike allergies, which involve the immune system and an instant histamine reaction, intolerances are often the result of enzyme deficiencies, imbalances in gut bacteria, or damage to the lining of the intestines.

Due to people confusing intolerances with allergies, they react by eliminating the intolerance from the dogs diet and think the issue has been dealt with.

However, it is important to get to the root cause of the intolerance, as the cause (GI health issues) may get worse if not dealt with, and can be reversed if dealt with accordingly. By treating an intolerance as an allergy, the cause of the issue is not confronted and future intolerances are not prevented.

With over half of the dogs on our database suffering from food intolerances, we know just how important preventative treatment is when dealing with them: such as good gut health care. A healthy gut, with a balanced microbiome and fully functioning digestive enzymes is vital in preventing intolerances and ensuring your dog can properly digest and absorb nutrients.

You can maintain good gut health through a varied and balanced diet, pre, pro and postbiotics, and avoiding processed dog foods with too much sugar, refined carbohydrates and additives.

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Frequently asked questions

The microbiome is the name given to the collection of microbes, mostly bacteria, but also fungi and protozoa, that exist within your dog’s gut. It is a diverse and complex microbial community which can directly affect health and wellbeing. We know that 90% of a human’s body cells are microbes, with only 10% being human cells – it’s just that human cells are markedly larger than the microbes. It’s similar for our four-legged friends. Testing the microbiome gives us an idea of exactly which bacteria are present in your dog’s gut and this can help indicate existing or future health problems.
A healthy diversity within the microbiome has been found to be an accurate indicator of overall health and wellbeing. If your dog appears healthy, but has an imbalance in their microbiome, then this could be an indicator of a potential future health issue. If your dog has any existing health complaints, then improving the health of their microbiome can help to improve immune system health and overall wellbeing, as well as improving disease symptoms.
Testing and treatment have the potential to help with a whole range of different health complaints. The immune system is very closely associated with the gut, so any imbalance in the microbiome can influence immune system health, overall vitality and wellbeing. Our supplement recommendations are also tailored to your individual dog, with specific ranges designed to help with gastrointestinal inflammation, joint problems, allergies and skin complaints, to name a few.
All you need to do is order a kit online and fill in our questionnaire about your dog and their general health. We will then send the kit out to you by post. You then just need to collect a sample and return it to us, again by post. Once the test is performed, we will email the results directly to you.
You do not need to get your vet’s permission to test, or talk to them about performing the test beforehand. We do recommend that you pass on a copy of your test results to your regular vets, as it may help them in understanding your pet’s current health, and any future complaints they may have.