Hypoallergenic dog diets fall into a few main types: hydrolysed protein, limited-ingredient, novel protein, veterinary, and home-cooked elimination diets. They all try to reduce what your dog's immune system can react to, but they work in different ways, are priced differently, and suit different dogs.
What is a hydrolysed protein diet?
A hydrolysed protein diet uses protein broken down into pieces too small for your dog's immune system to recognise as a threat.
It suits dogs with an ongoing or unclear sensitivity, because it works regardless of which protein is used. Little Green Dog's dry food uses a single hydrolysed chicken protein, alongside being grain-free and free from beef, dairy, gluten, wheat, fillers, and artificial colours.
What is a limited-ingredient diet?
A limited-ingredient diet keeps the recipe short, often one protein and one or two carbohydrate sources, so there are fewer places for a trigger to hide. It's a useful starting point if you're trying to work out what's actually causing a reaction.
The catch is that the protein in a limited-ingredient diet is usually still whole and intact, just less crowded by other ingredients. If your dog's immune system reacts to that specific protein, a shorter ingredient list won't change that. It doesn't remove the protein as a possible trigger the way hydrolysing does.
What is a novel protein diet?
A novel protein diet uses a protein your dog hasn't eaten before, like venison or kangaroo, on the idea that the immune system can't react to something it's never met. For a dog that's been eating the same protein for years, switching to something new can rule that ingredient out fast.
The catch is that novel doesn't last. Once a dog eats a protein regularly, it stops being novel to their immune system, so a protein meant to avoid a reaction can eventually cause one. It's a useful diagnostic tool and a reasonable everyday option while it's still working. It's not a permanent fix in the way a hydrolysed diet is designed to be.
What is a veterinary diet, and when does it apply?
A veterinary diet is a specially formulated food you get through the vet. It's usually built around a novel or heavily hydrolysed protein, under tighter control than an off-the-shelf food offers. Vets use these both to diagnose a reaction and to manage dogs whose symptoms are more serious.
If your vet has already put your dog on a veterinary diet that's working, stay on it, or discuss transitioning to something else with them. That decision should be made in consultation with your vet, not with a food swap you make on your own. If they've given you the ok to move to a maintenance diet, a hypoallergenic food like Little Green Dog's kibble is the perfect fit.
What is a home-cooked elimination diet?
A home-cooked elimination diet strips your dog's food back to one protein and one carbohydrate, cooked at home, with nothing else added. Vets sometimes use this as the cleanest possible version of an elimination diet, because you control every ingredient down to the last gram.
The difficulty is nutrition, not the cooking. A dog needs a full, balanced set of vitamins and minerals every day, and getting that right from a home recipe without guidance is hard to do consistently. This is why a home-cooked elimination diet is something to run with your vet or a vet nutritionist, not something to build alone from a recipe you found online.
Which diet actually suits your dog?
For a mild or unclear sensitivity, a hydrolysed or limited-ingredient food is a reasonable first step you can try yourself. For working out exactly what's causing a reaction, a novel protein or a proper elimination diet run with your vet gives you a clearer answer. For a diagnosed severe allergy, your vet's choice of veterinary diet wins, and any change to it should go through them.
Dogs with mild to moderate symptoms often do fine starting with a simpler off-the-shelf food and watching how they go over several weeks. If symptoms are severe, don't improve, or come with anything beyond skin or tummy trouble, run that past your vet before trying anything else yourself.
Where Little Green Dog fits
Little Green Dog is a New Zealand company with a focus on kibble for dogs with food sensitivities, allergies, or sensitive stomachs. It's built around a single hydrolysed chicken protein, grain-free, free from beef, dairy, gluten, wheat, fillers, and artificial colours, with 6+ functional superfoods and a vet-formulated recipe. Every batch is checked by an independent laboratory across 73 nutritional, chemical, and safety factors.
The food exists because our own dog Chloe had lifelong food sensitivities, itchy skin, an unsettled tummy, and low energy, and nothing on the shelf helped. If a hydrolysed diet sounds like the right fit, try the full-size kibble, or start with the $19.99 sample bag. Both are backed by the 30-day Sensitivity Promise.
For more on what hypoallergenic means see our complete NZ guide.
Questions people ask
Is a hydrolysed diet better than a novel protein diet?
They work differently rather than one being better. Hydrolysed protein tends to keep working over the long term because it changes the protein itself. Novel protein works well at first but can stop being novel once your dog's eaten it for a while.
Can I just try a limited-ingredient food without going through my vet?
For mild symptoms, yes, that's a reasonable first step. If symptoms are severe, don't improve, or you want a definitive answer, an elimination diet run with your vet is the reliable way to find out what's going on.
Why would a vet recommend a home-cooked diet over a bag of hypoallergenic food?
Usually for the cleanest possible elimination diet, where every ingredient needs to be controlled precisely. It takes real nutritional guidance to keep a home-cooked diet balanced, which is why vets manage it rather than leaving owners to work it out alone.
My dog is on a veterinary diet already. Can I switch to a hypoallergenic kibble?
If it's working, stay on it, or raise a possible change with your vet. If they give you the ok to move to a maintenance diet, a hypoallergenic food is worth considering at that point.
Do all hypoallergenic diets avoid chicken?
No. What matters more is how the protein's been processed and how many other ingredients are in the mix, whichever protein a food's built around.