How a Dog Allergy Cure Can Help Your Dog

A dog allergy cure depends on whether or not you can correctly diagnose the cause of the allergy, and the diagnosis of dog allergies is not always easy. Allergies can be caused by a large number of factors, and dogs are no different to humans in this respect. They can be allergic to pollen, fleas and food, just as we can be, and it is generally difficult to establish whether a dog's problem is due to an allergy or not, and if so, to what is it allergic?

There is technically no dog allergy cure, just a means of preventing your dog from coming into contact with the substances to which it is allergic. If a dog is allergic to pollen, you cannot cure this, just as you cannot cure yourself from hay fever. You can take steps to alleviate the symptoms, and you can do your best not to go out into the countryside when the crops are flowering, but you will still have the allergy which can never be cured. Your dog is the same.

Having established that, there are remedies for your dog's allergy if not a complete dog allergy cure. In order to determine what these are you must first determine the type of allergy your dog has. This is not generally easy to do, but if you observe your dog and its reaction to its suffering, then you can often determine the cause. Here are some examples.

Flea Allergy Dermatitis

Few dogs are allergic to fleas, but many are allergic to the saliva that fleas use to prevent the dogs blood from clotting while they are feeding. In fact flea allergy dermatitis is the most common skin condition for both dogs and cats. Your dog will generally show hair loss and a skin rash that appears like human eczema on its neck, back, the top of its tail and down its legs, particularly the back of its legs. Your dog will scratch, bite and chew at its skin due to the extreme itching and inflammation caused by the allergy. It is more common in dogs over 6 months old, and you may also notice infections and crusts on the dog's skin.

This is the most common dog allergy condition in the world, and is due to the amino acids, polypeptides and other substances contained in flea saliva to which many dogs are allergic. If you see these symptoms, then your dog likely has fleas and the dog allergy cure is to kill the fleas and clean your dog of the detritus left behind, such as flea droppings and dead fleas.

Wash your dog in warm water with a flea shampoo, and then apply a topical flea killer that spreads through the body oil of the dog and covers its entire body - there are commercial forms of such treatments such as Frontline or something similar, a course of which deals with any subsequent eggs hatching.

Atopic Dog Allergies

Atopic dog allergies are those that are inhaled, and include pretty much the same substances to which humans are allergic. Pollen, mildew, dust, including the skin-eating dust mite and hair segments are all candidates for dog allergies just as much as they make us sneeze and wheeze!

The way a dog reacts to these inhaled allergens is to have severe itching that might last only for a few weeks when pollens are in abundance. The symptoms are scratching, watery eyes, running noses and paw licking, which is also a symptom of a dog picking up allergens when out walking. They might also sneeze just as we do. Although there is no dog allergy cure as such, you can help your dog by keeping him away from areas where pollen may be abundant, particularly clover fields and woods where flowering trees may be pollinating. Dog Food Allergies

Some dogs take allergic reactions to a change in dog food - particularly to the hard kibbles that can contain a variety of animal and plant derivatives, including seeds and fibers. The dog allergy cure here is to change the food, but first you have to be sure that this is the problem.

Scratching is common with food allergies, but the tell-tale signs are often vomiting, loose stools and the fact that the symptoms appear soon after you try a new food. That cheap 20 pound bag of dog biscuits might not be the bargain you thought, but the dog allergy cure here is obviously to revert to its previous brand. If that doesn't work try canned food only for a while, particularly good quality or organic.

Each of these types of dog allergy are common in dogs, though you generally find females more susceptible to hay fever and that dogs under six months are usually unaffected by allergies. A dog allergy cure is generally achieved by removing the dog from the cause, though they are not cures as much as prevention.

If your dog has an allergy it is important that you are aware of the Dog Allergy Cure suitable for the type of allergy. More information is available from Warrens website Dog Allergy Treatments where you will find cures for most types of dog allergy.