Most Frequent Dog Allergies (Guest Post)

I know I promised myself a blogging break, but I decided to post this one anyway. Will see you guys in May.

It has been shown that in the recent years, the number of allergies has increased and that the human sensitivity to them has been on the rise. Unfortunately, the same goes for our canine friends. There are several types of allergies that they can suffer from, but there are some important facts about them. First, when you are not sure, you should always take your pet to the vet and let them determine the causes of your dog’s scratching, sniffing, diarrhea and the like. The second thing is to avoid treating your pet on your own and providing them with the best possible care. Here are the most common allergies in dogs, their symptoms and the tips on how to avoid them altogether. The most common symptoms of all types of allergies include itching, running nose, redness of skin, hair loss, swollen paws and the like.

Scratching by Lee Haywood, CC BY-SA 2.0

Chemicals and Environmental Allergies

When your dog suffers from these kinds of allergies, the symptoms are usually present throughout the year. The chemicals that you should watch out are different cleaning products for your dog and its toys and beddings alike, cigarette smoke, perfumes, mold spores, rubber and plastic. As for the natural environment, the allergy causes can be different plants or pollen. Since this is a very wide range of allergens, the cause can be determined only my lab tests performed by a professional.

Flea and Parasite Allergies

Fleas can become real pests and they can cause great discomfort for your dog. Allergy to flea saliva is a really common allergen in dogs. Only two or three fleas can cause your dog to be experiencing very severe symptoms. Similar problems can happen with tick bites, bacterial infections or dust mites. In case of bacterial allergies, besides the usual symptoms, there will be red blotches and puss. In order to check for fleas, it is advisable to comb the dog and collect the residue on the tissue. Flea excrement looks like dust but it dissolves in alcohol releasing red color. Prevention is regular bathing using anti-parasite shampoos.

Food Allergies

Besides the usual symptoms, these kinds of allergies also cause diarrhea and vomiting. The vet will perform the number of tests to see what sort of food your dog should avoid, but you can do the elimination test, closely watching for the symptoms in process. Especially if you suspect that some particular food is causing that. Once you figure that out, make sure that you carefully study the contents of all dog food before you buy it.

Babis Eating Dog Food by Kiewic, CC-BY-2.0

Whatever, you do, if you see any of these symptoms, get your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Even if it is not allergy, these are definitely symptoms that should not be ignored and that require the help of the professional. The best you can do to avoid them altogether is to give your dog the food you are sure about, and keep it clean and parasite-free. In that way, the probability of it getting an allergy are reduced to a minimum.

Author's Bio:

Catherine Daniels, huge animal lover, loves writing about them in spare time, enjoys hiking with her dog Cookie and cuddling with her cat Zoe.