Allergies & Proteins.Finding the right meat for your pet

[Dot]

When using diet to tackle pet allergies, success can be hugely influenced by your choice of meat. Individual animals can have adverse reactions to different protein sources so it is important to identify the root cause of an allergy before beginning treatment. Your vet can help by undertaking blood testing for specific allergens. If the allergy is to a meat protein you can then determine a suitable protein substitute.

The problem with commercial sources of protein in pet foods

Many commercial pet foods contain low quality ingredients. Under Australian standards for pet food manufacture, there are only quantity, and not quality regulations which means ingredients may be plentiful but of negligible nutritional value. For example, commonly used ingredients in processed pet foods labelled ‘chicken’ and ‘beef’ may actually be meat meal - a combination of the non-useable body parts from abattoirs that are not fit for human consumption – rather than suitable body parts of fresh meat. Meat meal is commonly used as the protein component of dry pet foods and the meaty chunks found in tinned pet foods. Feeding rendered, low quality, sources of protein has the potential to spark an allergic reaction in your pet and, unsurprisingly, many pets have developed allergies from meat meal.

The benefits of kangaroo meat

Kangaroo is my preferred choice of pet meat. Unlike beef and chicken, kangaroo is not farmed, and is free range and organic. Strict processes are in place to ensure only quality kangaroo meat is used in food products (which is not always the case with other meat types). The quality of kangaroo meat destined for human consumption is no different to that harvested for pet food. In fact, kangaroo used in pet food is perfectly fit for human consumption! Kangaroo is considered a ‘cooling’ meat as it lives in a very dry and arid environment and, as such, is ideal for treating pets with allergies. And, because kangaroo has never been widely used in processed pet foods, it is also a unique source of animal protein.

Feeding any meat raw, especially kangaroo meat, removes many of the potential allergy triggers. For example, pets that react to beef in a dry food may actually be ok eating raw, unprocessed beef.

Tripe: An alternative to kangaroo meat

I have experienced great results when treating difficult cases of allergic dermatitis in dogs using green tripe. It is unprocessed, extremely affordable and a highly nutritious meat source. Tripe is a white meat meaning it contains low levels of myoglobin, the protein that makes red meat red, and is commonly used for dogs with sensitive digestive tracts, or food allergies. The only difficulty is in sourcing green tripe, which needs to come directly from abattoirs. White tripe from the butcher is a decent alternative.