Your dog may have an allergic reaction to anything at any time. He can even have an allergic reaction tomorrow to the dog food that he’s eaten all his life. He can have a reaction to the detergent that you use to wash your blankets. He may suddenly have a reaction to the grass in your yard. As a matter of fact, you may suddenly develop an allergy to you dog.
What causes allergic reactions? An allergic reaction is the body’s response to an “invader.” Your body, or your dog’s body, mounts a defense against what it perceives to be as an attacker — whether it’s a flea bite or the corn in his dog food. That defense can be a rash, hives, itching, watery eyes, and so on. The body is reacting to the offending allergen by trying to get rid of it in some way. Yes, the body is overreacting, but that goes along with having an allergic reaction to something.
Why does a dog or someone develop an allergy when they haven’t been allergic previously? Their body may suddenly decide that something that they previously accepted is no longer acceptable. The body may suddenly have an intolerance for a specific ingredient. Whatever the body is allergic to, it may only take a very small amount to get a big reaction.
Dogs are most commonly allergic to flea bites which results in flea bite dermatitis — itching, redness, rash, and loss of hair around the rear quarters and over the tail. According to one vet, for a dog with flea bite dermatitis, or an allergy to fleas, if one flea bites a dog on the nose, the dog will itch like crazy around his tail. This allergy makes a dog miserable. Good flea control is absolutely essential for a dog that is allergic to fleas.
Dogs are also commonly allergic to some typical ingredients in dog food. One of the most common ingredients in dog food is corn in various forms. Corn can be found as whole corn, ground corn, corn meal, corn gluten meal and so on. If your dog is allergic to corn he will react to any of these kinds of corn. You may have to read the ingredient labels carefully to find some of the corn since it can be slipped in almost unnoticeably.
Dogs may be allergic to other grains and cereals in dog food, so you may need to try your dog on different foods to gauge his reaction.
Dogs can also be allergic to different kinds of meat protein. Some dogs are now allergic to chicken or lamb since these have been so commonly used as primary dog food ingredients. If your dog is allergic to one of these meat ingredients there are plenty of other meat proteins from which to choose. Some dog food companies specialize in making foods with novel proteins such as emu meat, kangaroo, venison and others.
If your dog is on good flea control and you have tried different foods but you still suspect that your dog is suffering from allergies, it’s time to see the vet. Your vet can test your dog to see what he may be allergic to. It could be a cleaning product, something you use in your yard, or one of a dozen other things that we use daily. Your vet will be able to help you identify the cause of your dog’s allergy.
Allergies are a problem for both people and pets but they can be overcome with a little effort. By identifying the cause of the allergy we can eliminate it and make our dogs much happier.
Dogs and Allergies: What You Should Know courtesy Dog Articles.
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