In today’s environment, more and more animals suffer from allergies, from food allergies to seasonal as well as environmental. Just like in humans, some dogs will have savior symptoms, other barely show any and sometimes we don’t connect the symptoms to allergies. Here are a few different type of allergies and the symptoms you should look out for.
FOOD ALLERGIES
Food allergy is the most common allergy among dogs; It is also quite uncomfortable and painful for the dog and very difficult to cure. The components of the canine diet, which often cause allergy are, for example, specific meats and offal, pork usually is one of them, some fats, but also various kinds of ready-made dishes containing eggs or heavily processed ingredients. Some dogs also may be allergic to grain and dairy products.
The symptoms of food allergy are quite different with each animal, it is mostly causing persistent itching and scratching by the dog large areas of hair and skin, leading up to the formation of wounds. Besides, there is hair loss around the eyes, feet, and sometimes ear infections. More and more common symptoms are stomach problems, mainly diarrhea occurring but irregularly. These symptoms may be mistaken for a number of different diseases, which is why allergy is not always the first suspect. To make sure that the symptoms stem from a food allergy, enter the dog elimination diet – serve only foods based on meat, fish, rabbit, buffalo or lamb. It is good to exclude grains like rice, and replace them with properly prepared potatoes.
SEASONAL ALLERGIES
Every year we see increasingly affect of seasonal allergies on more and more pets, just like people they are allergic to various types of pollen, dust mites or molds and fungi. Just as in humans, allergy inhaled can cause a rash, itching, but also respiratory problems and asthma attacks. In the case of this type of allergy, I would recommend performing allergy tests, which indicate specific factors your dog is allergenic to. Usually, it is impossible to eliminate the factor from your dog’s environment, but there are several ways to heal allergies – desensitization to certain allergens, the administration of appropriate drugs and non-steroidal support dietary unsaturated. Note, however, that this type of allergy practically can not be cured and you have to be aware of her relapses and the fact that it can regularly appear in your dog’s life.
CONTACT ALLERGY
Contact allergy also known as contact dermatitis is a skin disease that can occur when a dog or cat makes physical contact with a chemical or other irritating substance and has a negative reaction. in animals most often occurs in contact with various antiparasitic formulations, whether in the form of a collar or liquid drops. For this reason, veterinarians recommend regular changes of product so the body does not consider them an allergen. When we are dealing with a contact allergy in a dog, the main symptom is persistent itching and scratching, sometimes rash. The best way to heal this condition is to remove the allergen and wash areas with water, which will faster relief the symptoms. Sometimes if your dog has a strong reaction it is necessary to provide the appropriate medication.
DOG AND FLEA ALLERGY DERMATITIS
This type of allergy is a very common disease for both cats and dogs. You can often encounter an allergic reaction to the feces of fleas left on dogs, which lived in bad conditions or were exposed to strong and frequent contact with fleas. The symptoms are usually itching, persistent scratching and in further stages severe rash. In the case of this type of allergic reaction, it is necessary for you to visit a vet, who will prescribe the appropriate medication, mainly steroidal anti-inflammatory as well as bathe the dog in the medicated flea shampoo and also protect them from flea infestation, by using one of the available flea preventative products. It is also important to remove fleas and their larvae from the environment – dog bedding, carpets in the house and all the places that the dog had contact.
Either your dogs show symptoms of allergies or not it is a good idea to have them tested, especially that now allergy testing is really simple and relatively inexpensive. You can order the online kit, provide a sample of your dog’s hair as well as a saliva sample, you will receive a detail report containing food and environmental allergies. Just because your dog does not show any symptoms, that does not mean he is not sensitive to some foods or environmental products, it’s always good to know what to avoid to keep your pets healthy and happy.
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