Food Intolerance / Sensitivity

Food intolerance is a non-immune-mediated adverse reaction to a food. It is more common than true food allergy and typically presents as GI symptoms (loose stool, gas, vomiting) rather than skin issues. Lactose intolerance is the classic example. Intolerances do not show up on allergy tests because they do not involve the immune system. The treatment is simply avoiding the offending ingredient. Many dogs have mild intolerances that resolve when the diet changes, even though they do not have a true allergy. The terms 'allergy' and 'sensitivity' are often used interchangeably in marketing, which muddies the diagnostic conversation.