Category — Dog Allergies

In our previous post, Dog Information on Allergies - Part I, we looked at several symptoms of dog allergies.

In this post, we’ll continue with common causes and symptoms of dog or canine allergies.

Causes of Common Dog or Canine Allergies:

2. Dog skin allergies

Dog skin allergies can be caused by dust mites or mold. As well, frequent washing can dry out your dog’s skin and make your dog’s skin allergy worse.

Symptoms of dog or canine skin allergies include excessive licking or chewing of stomach, paws, and inside the hind leg area.

3. Seasonal “inhalant” allergies

Dog allergies can also be caused by inhalants such as dust, pollen, mold spores, and household chemicals including air fresheners and carpet cleaning solutions.

If you notice that excessive scratching or biting of the genital area, paws, or armpits occurs only during certain seasons, such as spring or summer, then your dog may be displaying symptoms of a seasonal dog allergy.

4. “Contact” allergies

Contact allergies are dog allergies that are caused by coming in contact with a specific substance. These can include a plastic food bowl, bedding, shampoos, flea collars, chemicals, and even grass.

5. Other pets

Another cause of dog allergies is other dogs or cats. Making sure your other pets are clean can help reduce dog allergies.

6. Flea allergy

You should check your dog for fleas. A flea allergy is caused by the flea’s saliva.

If you suspect a flea allergy, consult with your veterinarian for an appropriate and safe remedy.

Remedies for dog or canine allergies include allergy shots, steroids, air filtration, change in diet, shampoos, ointments, pills, sprays, and flea products. Some natural remedies for dog and canine allergies may also be effective or provide temporary relief.

Follow the advice of your veterinarian when treating any dog medical condition, including dog or canine allergies.

Don't miss our tips about Dog Training and solving Dog Problems!
Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed to stay up-to-date about news on dog training and solving dog problems. Thanks for visiting us today and invite your friends to visit us, too!

You may not have known it, but dog allergies can cause dog behavior problems.

Therefore, it’s important that you have information on dog allergies including symptoms of dog allergies and causes of common dog or canine allergies.

Symptoms of Dog or Canine Allergies

Symptoms of dog or canine allergies include:

(1) scratching (from itchy skin)
(2) biting or chewing the tail, stomach, or paws
(3) sneezing
(4) watery or weepy eyes
(5) coughing
(6) rash
(7) ear infections
(8) anal irritation
(9) excessive licking of feet or stomach

Causes of Common Dog or Canine Allergies:

1. Dog food allergies

Dog food allergies occur in roughly 1 out of 7 dogs. Dog food allergies can result in diarrhea or vomiting, although you should be alert for any underlying medical conditions, as well.

Common ingredients that cause dog food allergies include:

> wheat
> chemical preservatives and artificial ingredients (BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin, artificial colors, artificial flavors)
> corn
> meat and poultry by-products
> dairy products
> soybeans
> beef

Dog foods can also contain salt and sugar which are not only bad for your dog’s health but can also cause dog behavior problems.

Having too much sugar in your dog’s diet, for example, can cause sugar “highs” and “lows.”

A sugar “high” can make your dog hyper-active and inattentive which can hinder dog obedience training. A sugar “low” can cause your dog to become irritable, moody, and even hungry.

If your dog becomes hungry shortly after a meal, it can cause dog behavior problems in the form of dog chewing.

If your dog is displaying dog behavior problems or you suspect a food allergy, consider talking to your vet about feeding it a special diet.

Dog food for allergies is a specially formulated protein diet that can be obtained from your veterinarian or online stores.

To check for dog food allergies, gradually introduce suspected offending ingredients into the specially formulated dog food for allergies diet, making note of any dog allergy symptoms.

Be sure to check out the second part of this series for more dog information on allergies.