Why a Dog’s Allergies Are Getting Worse and How to Prevent That From Happening

pug allergy

Is your doggy a frequent sufferer of bad allergies? Is he constantly itching and feeling extremely uncomfortable? Well, his allergies may be getting worse and you won't even know it! Find out how to treat Fido's allergies so he can get back to feeling himself again!

Signs Your Pet Is Suffering From Allergies
A pet with allergies is usually very itchy. He'll scratch excessively and may be generally irritated or snappish.

As the itching and scratching gets progressively worse, the skin becomes inflamed and tender, and secondary infections can develop. There might be areas of hair loss, open sores, or sores that have scabbed over.

Pets with seasonal allergies often also have problems with their ears and feet. The ear canals become itchy and inflamed, and they often become infected with yeast or bacteria.

Symptoms of a possible ear infection include scratching at the ears, aggressive head shaking, hair loss around the ears, and a bad smell or discharge coming from the ears.

Because dogs and cats sweat from the pads of their feet, when they go outside, allergens cling to their paws. Those allergens get tracked back inside and all around your home, and are a major source of your pet's itchiness.

Allergic pets often lick or chew at their feet.

Natural Treatments for Pets With Allergies
1. The first thing I do with a dog or cat with allergies is review their diet and assess for the possibility of leaky gut syndrome.

The job of the GI tract is to allow nutrients in while keeping allergens out.

When the gut starts to “leak,” it means it's allowing allergens into the bloodstream. Often, medications — especially antibiotics — cause leaky gut syndrome.

By eliminating extra sugar and carbohydrates in the diet, you'll also limit the food supply for yeast, which can be very beneficial for itchy dogs.

2. The second thing I recommend is boosting the omega-3 fatty acids in your pet's diet. The best sources of these fatty acids come from the ocean, including krill, salmon, tuna, anchovy, and sardine oil, and other sources of fish body oils.

3. Vaccines are designed to stimulate the immune system, which is the last thing an allergic animal needs. Instead, I recommend talking to your integrative veterinarian about titer tests to measure your pet's immunity, as an alternative to automatically vaccinating.

4. The fourth thing you can do is help rid your pet's body of allergens.

Pets who go outside regularly collect millions of allergens. You can't see them, but those allergens are riding around on your pet's fur. When she comes inside, the allergens come in with her. A commonsense approach is to rinse them off, which can provide immediate relief for irritated, inflamed skin. I also recommend following up with a lemon juice or vinegar rinse to help manage yeast infections.

5. The fifth thing you can do to help your allergic pet is reduce allergens and toxins around your home and in your dog's or cat's immediate environment. Vacuum all carpets, rugs, and upholstery, clean hard floors, and wash pet and human bedding a minimum of once a week.

Keep the areas of your home where your pet spends most of her time as allergen-free as possible. Use non-toxic cleaning agents instead of traditional household cleaners. Make sure that you're not adding anything toxic in your home environment that could create multiple chemical hypersensitivities in your pet.

6. Number six is to offer natural antihistamine support to your pet. There are supplements I routinely prescribe to pets with seasonal allergic issues starting with quercetin, which is a bioflavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antihistamine properties. I call it “nature's Benadryl,” because it's very effective at suppressing histamine release.

Herbs such as stinging nettle, butterbur, sorrel, verbena, elderflower, and cat's claw have a documented history of helping animals combat seasonal allergic responses. Long ago these herbs were used only in humans, but in the last hundred years, veterinary herbalists have successfully used them with dogs and cats as well.

7. Finally, if you've tried some or all of the above suggestions with no success, I recommend helping your pet's immune system quiet down through desensitization. This can be achieved through a technique called Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET) performed by practitioners trained to treat dogs and cats, or through sublingual immunotherapy.

Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a relatively new variation on allergy injections to treat atopic dermatitis (skin allergies) in dogs, cats, and horses. SLIT is common in Europe and it is used to treat respiratory and skin allergies in people. Sublingual immunotherapy is given orally, which is much easier on both you and your pet than injections. It's delivered with a metered pump dispenser that sprays a few drops of allergen solution onto the tissues under and around the tongue.

If you decide to use sublingual immunotherapy, it's important to know that most pets require an “immediate relief” protocol (including therapeutic bathing, herbs and nutraceuticals that reduce inflammation), in addition to beginning a desensitization protocol of any kind.

Desensitizing pets is one of the best long-term solutions for managing allergies, and sublingual immunotherapy is a needle-free option.

There are so may remedies and treatments we can give our pets to help them feel better. It's important to remember that everything from the environment to the food that he eats can greatly affect Fido and make his allergies act up!

For more information on doggy allergies and how to treat them, visit Healthy Pets.



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