Dog Allergies Symptoms
Scratching is a very common symptom in dogs, and should not be the owner and ask them to nip in the bud causing early goal in itself, a secondary trauma to your dog. But before this could be your dog is allergic to preclude the common parasites (fleas and mites), (hot spots) of bacteria and fungi (ringworm and yeast) infections. See my article is the scratching your dog to explore these in more detail.
Dog Allergies Symptoms
Also> Allergies are more common in children these days there are several generations, vets see a lot more allergies in animals. It 'hard to explain this phenomenon, theories range from changes in the content of the diet, the use of detergents for the modern home or simply genetic evolution. One thing is certain, whatever the cause, allergic dogs benefit greatly to avoid the allergen in question or, if this is not possible, adequateTreatment to minimize the itching.
Dog Allergies Symptoms
We begin with the presentation of symptoms in allergic dogs. The itching can occur not only as obvious scratches on the neck and sides, but also to rub your face, foot licking or chewing and care. Licking feet, for example, is often perceived by owners as normal, when in fact the dog is moving in the way only he can answer to lick. The skin between the toes can become red and painful obsessionLick and white dogs such as the West Highland White Terrier and Bichon Frise fur is dyed brown by saliva.
Dog Allergies Symptoms
Ear infections are another common sign of an underlying allergy. Although generally bloom, the hairs in the ear canal, the lack of ventilation, bacteria and yeast may trigger the infection, allergy to behind this is often the cause of the itching. If your dog gets recurrent ear infections may be an underlying allergy to preventYour dog is itching on the emerging and developing, adult ear infections.
What are the most common allergy in dogs?
For simplicity, are best divided into four categories.
1) hypersensitivity to flea bites
2) Adverse reactions to food components
3) The atopic eczema
Contact dermatitis 4)
Hypersensitivity to flea bites is relatively easy to cure. This is a simple case of eliminating every single chip on the dog andcrucially, in his/her environment. The itchiness is caused by an allergic reaction to the flea saliva, and so even a solitary flea can trigger a scratching frenzy. To rule out flea bite hypersensitivity, all animals in the house (dogs and cats) should be treated with a reputable veterinary spot on medication monthly without fail, and the house should be thoroughly sprayed with an insecticidal spray.
Adverse food reactions are more difficult to treat as it can be difficult to isolate the precise ingredient responsible for causing itchiness in your dog. Not only that, treating adverse food reactions requires owners to be exceptionally disciplined and motivated in preventing their pet having even a single treat unless the exact ingredients are known to be safe.
There are two ways of diagnosing an adverse food reaction (also known as a food allergy). For those readers for whom cost is not an issue, a blood test can be done to measure for ingredient specific antibodies in the bloodstream. The blood test is quite costly, and if combined with a blood test for environmental allergens is usually upwards of 0 (?200). The company performing the blood test then provides a list of ingredients (chicken, beef, pork, rice, wheat etc) and a score next to them, suggesting which ingredients are best avoided. The owner then picks a commercial diet which does not include any of these ingredients, or indeed a special home cooked diet. The second way to diagnose an adverse food reaction is to conduct a dietary trial. This involves picking a very bland hypoallergenic diet and feeding your dog exclusively that for at least a month, preferably 6 weeks. The author usually suggests turkey and rice, as less dogs are allergic to turkey than chicken. Of course if your dog happened to be allergic to rice or turkey, which is rare but nevertheless possible, you would be none the wiser as the itchiness would continue and you would assume you had ruled out a food allergy having done the turkey and rice dietary trial. Remember if you are doing one of these trials, then your dog must not be given any treats, especially not pigs ears, chews, boneos, dental sticks or any rawhide products. Literally nothing must be swallowed other than turkey and rice (and water!) for the entire trial period.
If you have ruled out flea bite hypersensitivity and ruled out an adverse food reaction, the next step is to consider an environmental allergy, also known as atopic dermatitis. Symptoms of atopic dermatitis usually begin between 1 and 3 years of age, though any age is possible. The itchiness is often seasonal, which is consistent with a pollen allergy, though some dogs are itchy all year round. There are certain breeds which are predisposed to this condition: Boxers, Bull Terriers, Dalmations, English Bulldogs, German Shepherd Dogs, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Shar Peis, Shih Tzus and West Highland White Terriers being the most commonly affected. Diagnosis is usually made based on the history and ruling out all the other causes of itchiness, and many vets will treat the condition on these presumptions. However, definitive diagnosis can be achieved via a panel of injections into a patch of skin, or blood tests. Neither of these are particularly effective and generally not performed unless the owner is prepared to attempt a desensitization programme. This involves a long term course of injections given by your vet on, say, a monthly basis to desensitize your dog to the offending allergen, and so make the allergic reaction much smaller when he/she does come into contact with it.
Contact dermatitis is a skin reaction caused by your dog coming into contact with a chemical that is an irritant. It therefore only tends to affect the stomach, groin and feet of the dog, and is characterized by reddening and drying of the skin in these areas. It can also be seen when owners shampoo their dogs with a product that is not intended for use in dogs. Contact dermatitis is rare, but easily ruled out by careful use of cleaning products around the household. Just think, did the itchiness coincide with the introduction of a new carpet cleaner, washing powder or fabric softener?
By far the best treatment for any allergy is avoidance of the cause. By careful investigation and following the steps above this is often possible, especially for flea bite hypersensitivity, adverse food reactions and contact dermatitis. If avoidance is impossible though, as is the case for many cases of atopic dermatitis, then seasonal or lifelong treatment may be indicated. Steroids are very effective at stopping itchiness caused by allergies, but long term use can lead to undesirable side effects, such as adrenal gland disease. Long term steroid use should only be used as a last resort, when other medications have been tried and failed. These other medications include antihistamines, essential fatty acids and medicated shampoos.
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