Allergy is a disproportionate reaction of the immunity system to common stimuli. It cannot be cured, but we can suppress its manifestations. In the last years, allergies in pets and dogs especially are on the rise. Currently, about 10% of house-dogs suffer from an allergy. Where do the allergens abound most often? And how to go about treatment?
Allergens irritating dogs are not much different from the ones that affect people. Most frequently, it concerns hypersensitivity to dust, mites, mould, bacteria or candida that commonly live on dog’s skin. Food allergies are also common. A specific thing for dogs is the skin reaction to their own hormones and skin parasites such as fleas or ticks.
Tendencies to allergies are hereditary from a great part. They lie in genetics and show a high degree of transmission to the offspring. The most common manifestation is continuous itching, especially in the area between the fingers (webs) and above the fingers, they are also common in the head area, on the cheeks, lower side of the neck, abdomen and the chest. We can also observe tearing or sneezing or redness of the lobes. In food allergy, itchiness appears that may be accompanied by eczema or loss of fur, usually on the thighs. In some, digestive problems may appear: vomiting, diarrhoea or even liver affliction. The most frequent hypersensitivities are to milk, beef, pork, poultry or fish, eggs and grain. This allergy can show after some time of intake of the allergy-inducing substance.
In case that we observe any of these manifestation in our dog, we should trace at first, when and in what situation do the symptoms appear most often and visit the veterinary with this information.
Treatment measures for dogs with an allergy are similar to those human ones. First of all, it is trying to avoid the allergen. In food allergies, this means gradual exclusion of food components that the dog is allergic to. However, in case of allergy to dust, grass pollen or common skin microbes, this is basically impossible, that’s why we proceed to long-term administration of drugs to mitigate skin inflammations and itchiness.
We can support them by hypoallergenic shampoos and gels, that mitigate itchiness. Administration of capsules also isn’t detrimental (e.g. Canina), as of drops and oils (e.g. Dermanorm oil or salmon oil). Thanks to the high content of unsaturated fatty acids, zinc and other substances that support substance exchange in the skin, these help in problems with fur and skin.
Since antihistamines recommended for people work only in a very unreliable and very individual fashion in dogs, hormonal products – corticoids – are used for them. However, upon regular use, these may cause unpleasant adversary effects in time, since they weaken the immunity as a whole and are therefore used in cases, when other methods fail and the state of the dog is unbearable. In time, even damage to adrenal glands and liver may occur.
The option how to eliminate allergic ailments of a dog is to try to retune the immunity system to tolerate the allergen, the so-called immunotherapy. This method may be long-term, but it can be successful of up to 80%. Positive result depends on an early discovery of the allergy, correctly stated diagnosis and right determination of allergy-inducing substances. The principle of treatment is gradual introduction of increasing doses of allergen into the body with the hope of gradual improvement of organism tolerance.
Prevention is to exclude the tendency to allergies from breeding. We can prevent food allergies by feeding with quality hypoallergenic food that contains components that reduce allergic reaction from food. In these diets, proteins unconnected to hypersensitivity are selected: lamb, duck or fish meat. The same way, sources of carbohydrates are limited only to rice, potatoes or manioc starch. They simply don’t contain any allergenic components. Besides, the presence of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids helps to renew healthy skin and fur. That’s the reason why it is excellent even for the dogs with food intolerance or sensitive digestion. Many dogs around me had problems with digestion and they suffered from diarrhoea, but after they’ve transferred to hypoallergenic pet food, everything evened out.
I feed my pack with it, because it doesn’t contain any hard-to-digest or indigestible chemical substances, by-products of animal or plant-based production, nor any other components, that in any way could weigh on the dog’s organism.
Have you already encountered an allergy in a dog? What kind of treatment have you chosen? And have you got experience with hypoallergenic pet food?
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