I worry about my dog having a food allergy.

• A food allergy manifests itself in the form of itchy, sensitive skin, and often a rash. Some dogs appear to be vulnerable to this type of problem.
  
  It can be difficult to determine whether a dog's symptoms are due to food intolerance, because there are numerous other possible causes, including infestation with fleas or other parasites, and allergies to bedding.

• If these have been eliminated and a food allergy is suspected, it is necessary to discover which food is the culprit. The usual approach is to feed the dog a plain diet, such as chicken and rice, and to add other ingredients one by one over a period of time to try and determine which food provokes an adverse reaction. This can be a time-consuming process. An alternative, provided all other possible causes of allergy have been eliminated, is to use a hypoallergenic diet.