Information On Dog Skin Allergies

When substances referred to as allergens penetrate the body of your dog, your pet might develop dog skin allergies. The animal then gets an allergic reaction. Some dogs have a particular allergy from birth and others experience the ailment later as they grow. This is the same with human beings.

As humans we usually react to these substances by experiencing nasal discomfort. Dogs on the other hand react to the allergens by having skin problems. The most common indication of an allergic reaction in dogs is itchy skin. That is why you need to make sure that you know the difference between the normal and unusual scratching of your pet.

Basically your pet will clearly show that its skin is itchy when it scratches or licks it continuously. Your dog could even be chewing on its paws or the tail. There are several types of allergies that your pet might experience. The first one is a parasitic allergy. Here the dog will be scratching and chewing on itself due to parasites such as fleas and chiggers. It will have an allergic reaction to the flea saliva.

Other symptoms associated with this type of allergy are biting of the tail or inner legs. Your pet might even experience inflammation or hair loss. The other common type would be having an allergic reaction to food. The dog will have symptoms such as scratching, hair loss and hot spots to mention a few. Just as people react to food items, dogs do the same except the effect is visible on the skin.

Your dog can also have what is known as an atopic allergy. This is when your pet reacts to allergens such as dust or pollen. If you notice that your pet always scratches its ears and face and constantly licks its paws, it could be that it has an atopic allergy.

Allergens like pollen or dust mites can cause inhalant allergies. The warning sign that your pet could have this kind of allergy is continual chewing and scratching of the paws. As for neurogenic allergies, they are termed so because it is difficult to say what caused the skin irritation even after the doctor has run some tests to try and figure it out

As a result they come to the conclusion that the reaction has nothing to do with outside substances and that the scratching or chewing is something that is simply in the mind of the pet. An indication of this allergy is when your dog endlessly licks and chews at a specific part of its body. This is usually on the foreleg or ankles.

It could be that your pet has a contact allergy. In this case it reacts to items such as plants and chemicals through contact. This is shown by having hives, blisters or skin rash. For this type of allergy you just have to ensure that your pet does not come in contact with such things so that it does not suffer from such conditions.

Therefore dog skin allergies come in different types and have various symptoms, however there are treatments available. These ailments can be treated by allergy medicines prescribed by the expert doctor. You can even go for natural remedies such as apple cider vinegar and olive oil which have proven to be effective.

I'm a pet health professional who specializes in dog hot spots.