A prospective, double-blinded study has been conducted to determine the threshold doses of dietary proteins that trigger adverse food reactions (AFR) in dogs and the time to flare following exposure. The study involved 11 dogs previously diagnosed with AFR, which underwent 71 randomized oral food challenges (OFC) using seven individual protein sources over the course of seven days.
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Results indicated that clinical signs of AFR were observed in 35 challenges, primarily between days 2 and 6, with an average time to flare (TTF) of 4.1 days (ranging from 1 to 7 days). Most reactions were triggered by 20 to 30 grams of food protein, with an average dose of 21 grams (range: 1-30 grams). When adjusted for body weight, the median eliciting dose was approximately 0.86 g/kg (range: 0.06–2.5 g/kg).
The findings underscore the variability in individual responses to protein doses and times, highlighting the necessity for further research to refine diagnostic protocols and define clinically relevant threshold doses. The study provides novel insights into the protein threshold and TTF in dogs suffering from AFR, suggesting a need for at least a week of monitoring post-exposure to accurately detect delayed reactions.