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Why is my allergic dog shedding more on a new homemade diet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | neutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 65 lbs

We have a black lab. He had problems with itching to the point of getting bald spots on face and around eyes, vet put him on an allergy medicine , Apoquel. Eyes all cleared up and no more itching. Started him on dinovite home made recipe with raw ground beef, eggs with shells hard boiled, white rice, super omega and dinovite powder. We were hoping to get him get off the Apoquel. We have recently noticed him shedding a lot more and if you pull the hair it has 1/4 " white color from the root.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on June 24th, 2017

The cause of the allergy must be understood to be able to reduce and eventually stop Apoquel. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Exclusion commercial diets are the best to rule out specific allergens. A blood test is available to determine the allergy panel (which substances he is allergic to). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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    Answered By Dr. B. DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 18th, 2019

    Allergies in dogs can be caused by food but also commonly to environmental allergens. So, a lot of dogs need multimodal treatment. A diet trial for food allergy means you either have to feed a hydrolyzed diet (like hills Z/D or purina HA as examples) or a novel diet (with protein and carb sources that are uncommon, like Royal canin venison/potato). A diet trial requires feeding only that diet for 2 months. No other food, treats, etc. You also need to watch for ingredients in meds, like beef in some heartworm prevention, etc. Chicken, beef, and lamb are very common food allergens. Keep in mind lack of response to a food trial either means that food has an allergen or food allergy is not the cause. I agree with you that all other measures should be tried before Apoquel, and if itching is her main issue you can talk to your vet about a Cytopoint injection to help this. Another option is to see a dermatologist. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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