How to manage a dog with gluten intolerance
If you suspect gluten intolerance, here are a few helpful things to consider how to best keep them safe, before you change their food.
A Gliadin Test for gluten intolerance will not only give you a yes/no answer, it will also tell you ‘how’ intolerant they are. Even with dogs who are ‘little bit’ intolerant, plaque builds up over time on their brain, and they slowly get worse. Or a lot, and you will have immediate inflammation issues (in the first 24 hours of being contaminated). The pain and symptoms can also continue for weeks on a higher dose of contamination. Your vet will need to draw a blood sample and spin the serum. They can either process it (usually over £300) or you can post it to an independent lab like Laboklin UK in a jiffy bag on ice for £96.
When you get a positive result, please contact the breeder and let them know. Please also contact borderterrierhealth.org.uk and register your dog’s status and breeding lines.
All positive border terriers can have a free mouth swab for their DNA posted the an independent lab to save their genetic profile, ready for creating The Genetic Test. We are currently requiring 10,000 positive tests from border terriers to begin the breed saving research. So every positive gluten intolerance result counts towards the future health of the breed.
At Home
It helps to think of your home and the environment as a crime scene. Anything can contaminate your dog. Bakeries, bird feeders, dropped ‘normal’ dog treats, pub floors (take a mat with you when you’re out and clean their paws if they’ve been walking on crumbs - dogs lick their paws). If you bake, gluten lives in flour dust and floats in the air. It can land anywhere. Which sounds petrifying, but there’s no need to go overboard with disinfectants. We need to end this ‘war on bacteria’. Good bacteria are incredibly beneficial to us and our dogs microbiome (where 70% of their immune system lives). You just need to remove the gluten traces with good old fashioned soap, warm water and a cloth.
What is Gluten?
It’s sticky! Gluten is a complex mixture of proteins, primarily gliadin and glutenin, found in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. It acts as a "glue" in foods, providing elasticity and structure to dough, and also serves as a flavour carrier and stabiliser. While most people and dogs may eat gluten without immediate issues, it can be very harmful to those with gluten sensitivity, or a wheat allergy, as it triggers an adverse immune response. In our dogs, that can look different depending on the breed.
Cavaliers get ‘sudden episodic falling down episodes of ataxia when they can’t use their limbs). Other breeds like border terriers get gut issues and body cramps. Read my experience in my previous blog.
Gluten is naturally present in:
Wheat: and its varieties, such as spelt, farro, durum, semolina, and kamut
Barley
Rye
Triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye
Brewers yeast (from barley processing)
It can also be found in many processed foods and beverages that use these grains, including:
Bread, biscuits, pasta, and cereal
Malt vinegar and beer
Soy sauce, salad dressings, and sauces thickened with flour
Some spice blends and processed meats
Most of our convenience foods.
From my Forensic Science background - The Locard Principle: Every touch leaves a trace
Think of gluten like ‘finger print ink or painted fingers’’.
Everywhere you touch becomes a contamination surface. Your phone. Bowls. Cupboard and door handles, light switches, The sink, taps and tea towels. Chair and sofa arms. Your steering wheel. Coeliacs know this well.
This is why a gluten free kitchen can’t mix cooking utensils and they have a separate oven and workspace. - So what does that mean for you? A lot of cleaning.
No crumbs on the floor or surfaces. Hoovering daily. I have chosen to have a gluten free home, to make life easier. But sometimes I do have bread, I just can’t touch anything, rub hands on clothing and continually wash and dry my hands when handling bread products. Then the laundry from cloths and dishtowels. It’s worth it for their health.
Wash your hands. I wash before opening the fridge, microwave and oven. Wash hands after eating - and around the nails if you’ve held gluten (bread, pastry, biscuits). Wash hands before you touch the dog - just to make sure. For the sake of a quick 30 second hand wash, you can keep your dog safe and well at least for the next few days!
I keep wipes in the car for sarnies on the go. I clean the wheel and handbrake after eating. I hoover out crumbs. This can make having a dog with CECS and a young family quite difficult.
Food storage
Store their food away from your baking products and pasta. Away from the bread bin. Away from the chopping board. Keep bowls away from crumbs - have a strong bed, or place cue to keep dogs away from where you’re preparing or consuming food. Crumbs fall. Gravity happens. Keep them safely away from the contamination scene. I call under my island ‘The Danger Zone’. I clean it after every meal - surfaces, chairs, the floor - especially if we've had bread, cakes or pastry.
I rinse off plates and bowls before going around in the dishwasher. I also have a separate brush / sponge for the dogs to make sure those ones don’t hold any gluten, because they should never touch it.
A Little Bit Won’t Hurt?
It can, and it does. Many of the subtle signs of inflammation and intolerance are commonly missed by pet parents, vets and in my case specialists too!
The specialists told me that Augustus was the ‘wellest looking, sick dog they’ve seen’. I felt gas lit. He was being sick on the way there, and refusing to eat at home. I wish I’d have known about the £100 Gliadin blood test before investing thousands in vet and specialist medications, ‘treatments’ that didn't last and made him sicker, thinner, and crazier, the more known and more documented ailments the vets tried to discount.
The garden. Many people lucky enough to have a garden like to invite wildlife in. Bird baths and bird feeders are also contamination zones. The seeds contain gluten. My dog gets excited under bird feeders because of squirrels and rats and he walks there, and just a sniff can put a speck on his nose. Which is cleaned by his tongue and BAM. Contaminated! We won’t sleep for days. He will be up eating grass, being sick, licking and gnawing himself. Stretching and gurgling, refusing to eat until he is starving. And then, so the cycle continues. Wild birds and beasts can also deliver rubbish from bins to your garden - and bones. So check the garden or go with them when you let them out if you can.
Management
Apart from gluten free zones in cupboards and fridges, and cleaning as you go, you can also muzzle train your dog.
If you have one affected dog in the house, it is best to treat them both the same to avoid toy and water bowl contamination.
All dogs should be muzzle trained. Because you never know when you may need it. In an emergency situation at the vets, your stressed out dog can be a danger to professional staff. Restricting their ability to defend themselves in an already scary situation with something unfamiliar on their face can really make things worse.
So even if you don’t ever use one, you can train for it. Training gives them confidence, and strengthens the bond between you. Enabling better communication. It really is pure magic.
It’s better to train and not need it, than to not train, and then need it.
Please work with a qualified positive reinforcement trainer for this, It should take a few months to do it properly, and really get them to enjoy wearing it. Never rush or push your dog into anything. That way, you build up top tier trust!
Contamination
It’s important to know that we’re human, and management can fail. So no matter how hard you try, life won’t ever be perfect. People still feed ducks bread - don’t let your dog drink from ponds and streams. Your dog could be gasping for a drink and come across a communal water bowl and before you can spot it, their tongue is in there. Boom - contaminated. Pain for your dog and no sleep, more stress and vets bills for you.
Paroxysmal Gluten - Sensitive Dyskinesia - PGID Episode - what it looks like and what you need to do
What does an episode look like? This is another blog - coming soon! But if you're already here, I suspect that you think that your dog’s behaviour is mirroring the symptoms.
Depending on the sensitivity and your dog’s own personal genetics, their microbiome strength and their environmental toxic load, episodes can be low grade, or severe.
A severe episode is when your border terrier contorts like a pretzel. This condition causes uncontrollable muscle cramping. It looks like a seizure, but they are fully conscious and in pain when it happens. Sometimes it’s for seconds, sometimes minutes, sometimes it comes and goes over days. They need comforting and relaxing. Hold them. Stroke them, tell them it’s ok.
This is extremely upsetting for everyone involved. It never gets easier to see a dog in pain, let alone your loved one.
What do the vets mix it up with?
Addisons Disease and a-typical Addisons
IBD
Pancreatitis
What does it look like in a blood panel test?
Low folate and B vitamins from gut damage = malabsorption. You can give all the supplements you like, but:
If the gut is damaged, it can’t be absorbed - so it’s a waste of money
Many of the ‘prokolin / vet supplements’ are derived from gluten products!!! And make your dog worse. Which is so hard because we trust our vets and their recommended products. I’ve been there. I’ve spent the money. I have the broken heart and all the pieces.
So, what do we do then?
The answer is: it really depends on your dog. I can help you better understand your dog. I can help you get a gluten test and detail how to do it. (Or you can see on Augustus’ Instagram). Keep washing your hands and cleaning your environment. This is a new way of life for everyone in the household and visitors.
Some people swear by some human medications. And they can help if your dog is young and otherwise healthy and well. However they may be contraindicated if they’re on other medication for cushings or thyroid issues for example.
Having a science backed diagnosis from a test means that you can remove that trigger from the diet and environment. It means you can report it to borderterrierhealth.org so that they have a quantitative and qualitatively accurate and precise professional report on your dog, its genetic blood lines and the breeder who bred it. They then collect realistic data on the actual numbers of dogs diagnosed, not just suspected when someone has ‘moved to a grain free food’.
This can seem like a lot. And it is. For the average working person ‘on the go’ it’s a whole lifestyle change. And it’s not easy. But it’s worth the extra effort. If you have a dog who is affected, a few extra steps in your routine mean the difference between them being happy and well, or really struggling for days, sometimes weeks on end.
What about your dog, now though?
If you have removed wheat, grains, cereals and gluten from your dog’s diet, it still isn’t quite right. Symptoms include: not great poops, colitis (yellow, mucousy poops) a dry nose, a crusty nose, a goopy eye, oily urine, a greasy coat, recurring ear infections, itchy paws, biting their tail, sudden stopping and sitting down, rocking, scooting and anal gland issues, please contact me for more support and let’s see how we can help your dog live a happier, healthier more comfortable life. (This means that your life is also so much easier and you get to enjoy your dog for longer too)!
