Does Your Dog Have Allergies? Signs, Causes, and Treatment

It is never a good sight when your furry friend suffers from an allergic reaction. That is why, in this article, we help make things easier for you by shedding some light on the signs, causes, and treatment of dog allergies.

Signs or symptoms of dog allergies are numerous. That being said, let us check out the most common ones.

• Hair loss
• Itchiness
• Recurring infections on the paws
• Red and inflamed skin
• Chronic ear infections
• Constant licking of genital areas or paws

Other signs of allergies in dogs are itchy and running eyes, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, itchy ears, sneezing, and swelling of the lips, eyelids, ears, and face. These dog allergy symptoms can also be symptoms of many other health conditions. For this reason, it is advisable that you get a diagnosis from a vet before you can begin treating them.

The causes of dog allergies are divided into three categories: Food, environment, and fleas.

Most people find it hard to differentiate between food sensitivity and food allergy. Well, food sensitivity is when a dog is sensitive to a particular ingredient in his food. This means the reaction as a result of food sensitivity is pretty much gradual.

In food allergy, the immune response of your furry friend will come on much faster. Moreover, food allergies tend to appear at any age and at any time. And this is because they need repeated and previous exposure to allergens.

Like food allergies, environmental allergies are pretty common in dogs. And they are caused by environmental allergens, which include mold, pollen, and dust. Environmental allergens may lead to atopic dermatitis or an atopic allergic reaction.

Some dogs are allergic to flea saliva or flea bites. Well, the signs of this type of dog allergy are itchiness and red, inflamed skin. Of all the three allergies, flea allergy is the easiest to diagnose since vets always see fleas or flea dirt on dogs.

There are lots of ways to treat dog allergies. These include:

• Changing diet in case the allergy is due to the food your dog eats
• Putting the dog under allergy-relief medication to help alleviate symptoms
• Allergy shots/immunotherapy to treat dogs with atopic dermatitis
• Immune suppression therapy to treat certain symptoms of dog allergies
• Cytopoint injections to help relieve itchiness in dogs

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to treating an allergy in your dog. That is why it is advisable that you consult your vet before getting down to the many treatment options out there.