ACHOOOOO!!!!
Sorry guys and gals, the blog has been dry because of allergies galore! That’s right ladies and gentlemen Allergy season is upon us and wreaking havoc among our communities and dog parks. I, the gallant Sir Frederick, shall enlighten you from the pollen induced fog with some info on Allergies in animals. There are a plethora of symptoms that you need to look for that are both obvious and not so obvious in your pet when they are being accosted by allergies.
Symptoms:
- Increased scratching
- Itchy, red, moist or scabbed skin
- Itchy, runny eyes
- Itchy back or base of tail (Common with Flea Allergy Dermatitis)
- Itchy ears/ear infections
- Sneezing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Snoring from an inflamed throat
- Paw chewing/swollen paws
- Constant licking
Due to a lot of those symptoms, such as the licking, paw chewing, and scratching pets can often develop a secondary bacterial or yeast infection on their skins. Armed with that information you also need to know that any dog can develop allergies in their life. Some dog breeds do have allergic reactions more commonly such as terriers, setters, retrievers, flat faced breeds, and bulldogs.
Allergens:
Dogs are just like people in more ways than one, allergies are no different. Dogs can have environmental allergies as well as food allergies. Both types induced many of the same symptoms so one can know which is affecting them without testing, food trials, or good old process of elimination.
Food allergies can be induced by any ingredients in the food a pet eats i.e. chicken, pork, corn, rice, grains, or peas. Anything can induce these symptoms. A food trial can be performed by changing your pet to a recommend diet with limited protein and vegetable sources and seeing if the symptoms are eliminated. This can take up to two months to perform and get real results. A more immediate answer can be achieved by doing a food allergy test on the pet by sending a blood sample to a lab via your veterinary clinic. The lab will send you back a very detailed report of every single thing that your pet is allergic to and you and the veterinarian can work out a treatment plan and diet.
Environmental allergies are what plague a lot of people right now. The same goes for pets right now. This can of allergy can be caused by pollen, dust, feathers, certain fabrics, insecticidal shampoos, dander, dust, and mold just to name a few things. Interestingly enough some pets even suffer from an allergy to humans. These symptoms can be regulated by antihistamines, and other medications from the veterinarian.
In the next blog post We’ll further discuss treatment, and medications that help alleviate the pets agony from allergies.