This is a specific conversation about Dog food allergies — identifying and fixing them — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A vet nudging you towards diet after years of skin trouble is actually a really useful lead — it means there's still something practical to try. True food allergies in dogs are less common than intolerances, but both can drive chronic skin flare-ups, and at 11 a Lhasa Apso's gut and immune response can shift in ways that make old foods newly problematic. The most reliable approach is usually an elimination diet built around a novel or hydrolysed protein — something your dog genuinely hasn't eaten before. To point you in the right direction: what does your Lhasa Apso currently eat, and do you know which proteins she's been exposed to over the years?
She's always been on chicken-based kibble — started with Purina when she was a puppy and we switched to Royal Canin a few years ago. The vet said to try something completely different. She gets itchy skin, redness around her paws and ears, and she scratches a lot especially after meals.
inparticular.ai
That symptom picture — paws, ears, post-meal scratching — is very typical of a dietary component driving inflammation rather than a purely environmental allergy. Chicken is one of the most common culprits, and she's been on it her whole life, so switching away from it is exactly the right move. Given her age, I'd also want a food that's gentle on digestion, supports skin and coat with good omega-3s, and doesn't load her system with unnecessary additives. Has she ever eaten fish-based food, or is chicken pretty much all she's known?
Mostly chicken. I think there was a brief period with a lamb food but that was years ago and only for a month or two. She's not had fish as far as I know.
inparticular.ai
Fish is your best starting point then — salmon in particular is rich in omega-3 fatty acids which actively help calm skin inflammation, and it's genuinely novel for her. My recommendation is Canagan Scottish Salmon grain-free dry food. It's a high-quality single-source protein kibble — Scottish salmon as the only meat, no chicken, no grains, no artificial anything. For an elderly Lhasa with sensitive skin it ticks every box: novel protein for the elimination trial, anti-inflammatory omega-3s from the salmon itself, and a clean ingredient list that makes it easy to see exactly what she's eating. It's widely available on Amazon UK and comes in a small-bag option so you can trial it properly before committing. I'd suggest a strict 8–12 week trial with nothing else — no treats containing chicken, no table scraps — so you can actually tell whether diet is the driver.
That sounds straightforward. Should I transition her gradually or just switch straight over?
inparticular.ai
Definitely transition gradually — especially at 11, a sudden switch can cause digestive upset that muddies the picture and makes it hard to tell what's causing what. Over 7 to 10 days, mix increasing amounts of the Canagan into her current food: roughly 25% new on days 1–3, 50% on days 4–6, 75% on days 7–8, then fully switched by day 10. If she has a loose stomach at any point, slow down the transition for a day or two. Once she's fully on the new food, that's when your 8-week observation clock really starts — track her scratching, paw licking, and ear redness week by week so you've got something concrete to report back to the vet.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll order the Canagan salmon and keep notes to show the vet.
inparticular.ai
That's the perfect approach — the notes will make a real difference when you go back. If after 8 weeks things haven't improved, the vet may want to explore a hydrolysed protein prescription diet as the next step, but salmon is a solid first trial and many dogs respond well. Good luck with her — Lhasa Apsos are tough little dogs and it's great you're still looking for answers for her.
