Husky food allergy fix after failed hypoallergenic kibble

So your Husky's coat actually got worse on hypoallergenic kibble — that's a frustrating outcome, but it's also a useful clue. True food allergies in dogs are less common than intolerances, and 'hypoallergenic' on a bag doesn't always mean much if the formula still contains a protein your dog has already been exposed to. The most reliable route is an elimination diet using a genuine novel protein — something your dog has never eaten before — or a hydrolysed protein food. To point you in the right direction: what's the kibble you used, and what protein did it contain? And can you describe what's happening to the coat — dull, flaky, thinning, or something else?

That makes a lot of sense. If she's had chicken and salmon her whole life, those are the two most likely culprits — and using a salmon kibble labelled hypoallergenic won't help at all if salmon is the problem. Huskies are also prone to zinc-responsive dermatosis, which can look very similar to a food reaction, so it's worth flagging that to your vet too. But from a dietary angle, you need a protein she's genuinely never had. Has she ever eaten duck, venison, rabbit, or insect-based food? And is she otherwise well in herself — good energy, normal digestion?

Given all of that, I'd go with a venison-based food as your elimination protein — it's genuinely novel for her, and insect is a good backup if venison doesn't resolve things. The one I'd recommend specifically is Forthglade Complete Meal Grain Free Adult Venison with Sweet Potato and Veg. It's a wet food, which actually helps here — wet foods have far fewer added ingredients than kibble, so you're eliminating more variables at once. It uses a single named meat source, no chicken, no salmon, no grains. For a Husky her size you'd feed it alongside the elimination trial properly — nothing else, no treats with other proteins, for at least eight weeks. Her coat should start showing change within four to six weeks if the protein was the issue.

Forthglade Complete is formulated to FEDIAF standards as a complete food, so yes — it covers everything she needs as a sole diet. The 'complete meal' label means it's nutritionally balanced, not a complement or topper. Huskies are actually lighter feeders than people expect for their size, so check the feeding guide on the pack for her weight. The main thing to watch during the trial is that you're strict — no chews, no flavoured dental sticks, no treats with other proteins. Those are the most common reason elimination diets fail. If her coat hasn't improved at all after eight weeks on venison alone, that's when it's worth going back to the vet to rule out the zinc angle.

Good luck with it — a strict eight-week run gives you a real answer either way, which is more than most 'hypoallergenic' switches ever deliver. If her coat starts to lift around week four, stay the course. And if you do need to reintroduce foods after to pinpoint the exact trigger, add one new protein at a time with two weeks between each. That'll tell you exactly what she can and can't tolerate going forward.