Allergies and Food Intolerance: Is Leaky Gut the Real Cause?

Summary:

If your dog suffers from chronic allergies or food intolerances, you’ve likely tried everything — from prescription diets to supplements to endless vet visits. But what if the real issue isn’t the food itself, but what’s happening inside the gut? Research now shows that leaky gut syndrome may be the root cause of many dog allergies and food intolerances. In this post, we’ll explain what leaky gut is, how it leads to allergies, and what you can do to support true healing — starting in the gut.

The Frustration of Allergies and Food Sensitivities

Constant itching. Hives. Upset stomach. Chronic ear infections. Paw licking.
If you’ve seen any of these symptoms in your dog, you've probably been told they have:

• Environmental allergies
• Food allergies
• Intolerances to proteins like chicken or beef
• Sensitivities to grains

But switching foods often doesn’t solve the problem. Why?

Because the issue may not be what your dog is eating — but what their gut is doing with it.

What Is Leaky Gut Syndrome in Dogs?

Leaky gut syndrome, also called increased intestinal permeability, happens when the lining of your dog’s intestines becomes damaged and inflamed. This allows:

• Undigested food proteins
• Toxins
• Bacteria

…to “leak” through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.

According to the NIH, this triggers the immune system to attack — leading to chronic inflammation, allergic reactions, and food sensitivities that didn’t exist before.

How Leaky Gut Causes Allergies and Food Intolerance

As the AKC Canine Health Foundation explains, the gut is home to 70% of your dog’s immune system. When it’s healthy, it:

• Digests food efficiently
• Filters out toxins
• Trains the immune system to respond appropriately

But when the gut is compromised, the immune system overreacts to harmless food proteins, mistaking them for threats.

This leads to:

• Food intolerance
• Chronic itching
• Hives or rashes
• Diarrhea or gas
• Frequent ear infections

It’s a vicious cycle: gut damage → immune overreaction → more inflammation → worsening gut damage.

Symptoms of Leaky Gut in Dogs

Wondering if leaky gut might be affecting your dog?

Look for signs like:

• Constant itching or licking
• Hives, rashes, or hot spots
• Intermittent vomiting or diarrhea
• Food refusal or picky eating
• Frequent yeast infections or ear issues
• Sensitivity to multiple food proteins
• A history of antibiotic use or steroid treatments

As AMC Schwarzman Animal Medical Center notes, many allergic reactions in dogs are actually secondary to inflammation and microbiome imbalance, not true food allergies.

Can Healing a Leaky Gut Heal Food Allergies?

In many cases: yes.

If food intolerance is caused by intestinal permeability, then repairing the gut lining and rebalancing the microbiota can reduce or even eliminate allergic symptoms over time.

This is backed by growing scientific understanding of the gut-immune connection in both humans and dogs.

How to Support Gut Healing and Calm Allergies

To begin healing your dog’s gut, focus on these steps:

REMOVE

• Inflammatory ingredients: corn, wheat, soy, or byproducts
• High-glycemic carbs: potatoes and rice
• Known food triggers (start with common ones like poultry, beef, dairy)

REPAIR

• Add digestive enzymes to help break down food and ease the load on the gut
• Feed probiotics and prebiotics to support microbiota diversity
• Include low-glycemic carbs like cassava or chickpeas for clean energy

REBALANCE

• Keep protein high and digestible (animal-sourced)
• Avoid synthetic additives and preservatives
• Limit environmental toxins and stress when possible

Over time, this approach helps calm inflammation, rebuild the intestinal lining, and reset the immune system’s overreactions.

How Brothers Dog Food Supports Gut Repair and Allergy Recovery

We created Brothers for dogs like yours — the itchy, reactive, sensitive ones that don’t do well on “normal” food.

Every Brothers Complete recipe is formulated to:

• Avoid common allergens
• Reduce systemic inflammation
• Starve yeast with low-starch ingredients
• Support digestion with a proprietary enzyme + probiotic blend
• Build a healthy gut microbiome from the inside out

It’s not just allergy-friendly. It’s gut-health-first nutrition designed to promote long-term healing — not just symptom relief.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Mask Symptoms — Fix the Root

Allergy meds and limited ingredient diets may help in the short term.
But if your dog’s food sensitivities are coming from a leaky gut, the only real fix is to repair the gut.

By choosing clean, gut-supportive food, you give your dog the chance to:

• Feel better
• Scratch less
• Digest properly
• And maybe — just maybe — eat a wider range of foods again

Because the best allergy support doesn’t start in a pill bottle.
It starts in the bowl.

Looking for food that supports gut healing and helps calm allergies at the source?

Explore our recipes made for sensitive dogs at
brothersdogfood.com

Sources

• AKC Canine Health Foundation: https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/gut-instinct-how-microbiota/
• NIH National Institute of Health: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10780391/
• AMC Schwarzman Animal Medical Center: https://www.amcny.org/pet_health_library/allergies-in-dogs/