20/01/2025
Healing Takes Time – We’re Here to Help 🤗
When starting a new diet or addressing intolerances, we always advise pet owners that it takes around 12 weeks for real progress. It’s a process, and we know it can feel overwhelming—but we’re here to guide, support, and encourage you every step of the way.
Every dog is unique, and symptoms aren’t always caused by a specific allergen. Often, they’re part of the body’s natural detox process, as it works to remove built-up toxins from vaccines, chemicals, or medications. The skin, eyes, ears, and even anal glands are all pathways for this detox, so flares in symptoms are common as the body adjusts.
Even dogs that have been raw-fed for years may store toxins. A switch to a leaner protein, for example, can trigger the body to release them, which might look like a setback but is actually a step forward.
It’s important to remember there’s no quick fix. Healing takes time, patience, and understanding. Symptoms aren’t the enemy—they’re clues that help us support the body’s natural processes.
Switching from a processed diet to fresh food often causes an initial flare as the body detoxes. Many people mistake this for the diet not working, return to processed food, and end up in a cycle of medications and short-term solutions. Eventually, they return, feeling like nothing works—only to start again.
We’re here to break that cycle, one step at a time, to help your dog truly heal 💕
REALLY IMPORTANT FINDINGS HERE - FOLK JUMPING TO RAW / SINGLE PROTEIN DIETS TO FIX A FOOD ALLERGY NEED TO SET THEIR EXPECTATIONS TO LONG...
Rosser produced a number of cool studies in the 90's and early 2000's but this one from '93 eluded me.
He set out to test a variety of home-cooked diets (using real food, imagine! Single protein mixes similar to what we advise today) in 51 dogs with known food allergies.
The primary clinical sign of allergy in all dogs was persistent and nonseasonal pruritic (itchy) skin disease.
Specifically, they wanted to know how long it would take for the symptoms of the "allergy" to dissipate following removal of the protein.
The answer was:
1 to 3 weeks in 13
4 to 6 weeks in 25 dogs
7 to 8 weeks in 10 dogs
9 to 10 weeks in 3 dogs.
10 weeks!!!
Who gives it 10 weeks?!
Very few.
This is the problem. Folk want the quick fix. 75% of dogs took longer than 3 weeks to get better. Most would have given up after a week or two, back on to the meds.
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Rosser (1993). Diagnosis of food allergy in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 15;203(2):259-62.
