Posts Tagged ‘Fleas And Ticks’
Dogs that have allergies show many signs including watery eyes, coughing and sneezing, excessive scratching and biting, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and moodiness. When your dog is suffering from allergies, you may notice one or more of these symptoms. Learning what causes these allergies is the first step toward treating your dog and preventing further attacks.
Many allergies that dogs suffer from are caused by insects such as fleas and ticks, or by parasites. When you bring your dog home from a breeder or from a shelter or pet store, schedule an appointment with a vet as soon as possible. Make sure the dog has all of its shots and that is has been dewormed. This will prevent parasites from causing an allergic reaction in your dog. While you may have to do this more than once during their lifetime, getting rid of the parasites will help your dog’s temperament and keep them healthy.
If you noticed small red bites on your dog or if the dog has been scratching the same area until bald spots appear, then they may have fleas, ticks, or mites. This allergic reaction is caused by insect saliva. If your dog has open wounds, you should wait until the wounds heal before spraying or bathing them with medicine that kills the insects and their eggs. Take your dog to the vet if this is the first occurrence. The vet may be able to prescribe an ingestible pill that will protect them from future infestation. You may also want to keep your dog indoors during flea and tick season.
When your dog vomits more than once a week or has diarrhea for more than one or two days, they may have an allergy to dog food. Switching to another brand or feeding the dog softer food may solve this problem. You should take the dog to the vet anyway so that they can make sure the dog is healthy. Extreme diarrhea will lead to dehydration, so make sure you have plenty of water for your dog to drink.
If your dog’s mood changes suddenly or you notice that they are not as playful as they once were, then you should take the dog to the vet. If the dog has eaten something it shouldn’t or if it is suffering from allergies, it will not want to play as much as it used to. Finding out the cause of their allergy may be difficult because, much like human beings, your dog may be allergic to more than one thing.
Research your dog’s breed to see if there are specific items it could be allergic to and see if they are present in your home. Monitor your dog to see how it behaves and what it is eating. Sometimes eating too much grass can cause an allergy attack. Once you find the causes of the allergy, take the steps necessary to reduce the dog’s exposure what is causing the allergy as much as possible.
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Parasites
The most common reason dog’s continuously lick, itch and scratch is fleas, ticks and mites, which is also an extremely problem to treat. Fleas can cause unnecessary discomfort for a dog as it a simple treatment to prevent them. If untreated, fleas can also cause anemia and tapeworms.
With so many different choices to protect our pets from fleas and ticks, veterinarians still see many dogs with flea problems on a daily basis. Spot treatments are the most common and seem to be the most effective way to control fleas, ticks and mites. Avoid dog skin problems caused by fleas and ticks by using spot treatments regularly, or as directed by the manufacturer or your vet.
Canine Allergies
My Black Lab “Lady” suffered with dog skin allergies since we brought her home as a rescued puppy over 11 years ago. Over the years, I have learned that allergies can be just as difficult to pinpoint in dogs as they are in humans. . Allergies occur when the body’s immune system is weakened, which can be caused by improper or insufficient nutrition. Feeding home made organic dog food with added nutritional supplements or the top of the line organic dog food is the simplest way to determine if the allergies are caused immune defeciency. Giving a higher nutritional organic diet is what stopped my Lady’s allergies altogether. The continuous paw licking stopped completely beacause her immune system was increased, which in turn caused her allergies to be eliminated. There was also a drastic improvement is her overall health, well being and activity level.
Seasonal Allergies
If you notice your dog chewing and scratching more in the mornings after he/she comes in from outside, then it’s possible he’s/she’s sensitive to pollen, mold, ragweed or other environmental factors, just as we are. Also, allergies can include a sensitivity to dust. So, if dusting the house is considered low on your priority list, yet you notice that your dog is fine until he/she comes into the house, then it’s possible that he is sensitive to dust-mites. Environmental allergens are usually treated with anti-inflammatories or other presciption medication from you vet.
Food Allergies
Chewing the feet can be an indicator of food allergies. Although food allergies are less common in dogs, they can become more severe. I believe either feeding an all natural organic premium dog food or using recipes and making your dog’s meals will help eliminate food allergies. Don’t give a large variety to start with, and slowly introduce any new foods over a period of several weeks to see if the chewing increases or decreases. Keeping a careful watch of what your pet eats, and noting any changes in behaviour shortly after the change, makes all the difference in catching an unknown food allergy.
So What Really is The Cause?
Switching to either a premium organic dog food or making your own home made dog food should be the first course of action when trying to determine the cause of dog allergies or incessant licking and scratching. A certification of over 70% organic products used should be on the label to ensure you are buying a high quality, premium food for your dog, with the first ingredient being meat, of course. An organic certification of 95% (of which there are a few) is equal the human grade food. This is something that definitely will not harm your pet, and is the easiest and least expensive way to start figuring out what is causing the licking and allergies. Remember, just because your dog doesn’t do well on lamb doesn’t mean that he won’t do well on a chicken based food. The premium organic dog food that I buy for my Lady is specifically marked for dogs with skin allergies, and this is what I believe cured her itchy skin problem. This had been ongoing for years, with medical treatments of prednisone, antihistamines, and costly vet bills for expensive allergy testing and after all that, the diagnosis was inconclusive. The real key is to observe your dog’s patterns.
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