Like us, our dogs are no strangers to experiencing allergies. You may notice it as sneezing or watery eyes, or more likely, your dog will have itchy or irritated skin. The first step with an allergic dog is to try to determine what may be causing the allergic reaction and work to eliminate the allergen from your dog’s diet or environment.
What are Allergies Exactly?
Allergies occur when the immune system reacts to a foreign substance. It could be pollen, food ingredients, flea saliva, mold, or a number of different things. Essentially, allergies are a type of hypersensitive reaction to these normally harmless substances and are due to an imbalance within the immune system.
However, the immune reactions involved in allergies are complex. The process usually involves allergen protein molecules combining with antibodies in the blood, which then attach to mast cells found in many tissues throughout the body. When the antigen and antibody react with mast cells, histamines are often released. This causes local inflammation, redness, swelling, and itching, as well as other types of symptoms.
Many things can cause an allergic reaction in dogs, but the most common types of allergies involve food allergies.
Allergy Symptoms in Dogs
The most common symptom associated with allergies in dogs is itchy skin. Allergies can also involve the respiratory system, causing coughing, sneezing, or wheezing and dogs may have runny discharge from the eyes or nose. However, allergies can also affect the digestive tract, resulting in vomiting and/or diarrhea.
How to Naturally Support Your Dog with Allergies
Along with trying to find the source of the allergen and remove it from your dog’s environment, supporting the immune system is also important in helping relieve your dog’s allergy symptoms. Antibiotics and steroids are commonly used to treat allergies in traditional settings, and though they may be needed in some instances, these treatments tend to only provide temporary relief. Nutrition and complimentary therapies are often more effective; however, keep in mind that allergies can often take months or longer to improve.
The most important thing you can do is feed a high-quality, species appropriate diet. Raw or home-cooked foods are best. If you can’t do this, then feed the highest quality dog food you can afford and supplement with healthy, fresh foods whenever possible. Keep in mind that wheat, soy, corn, and other grains are common allergens for dogs, so it’s best to eliminate them from the diet completely. Beef and chicken are also common sources of allergies so try varied proteins such as lamb, venison or salmon.
In conjunction with feeding a high quality diet, several supplements you can incorporate into your dog’s diet in order to provide even more support for the immune system include:
- Immune Boost for Dogs: Formulated to strengthen and keep the immune system functioning at peak performance, this product can be used as a daily maintenance supplement, or during times of increased risk of illness or allergies;
- Flaxseed for Cats & Dogs: An excellent source of Omega-3 and 6 essential fatty acids which support the immune system and reduce inflammation and itching; and
- Antioxidants and natural anti-inflammatories such as quercetin and pycnogenol, as well as vitamins C and E.
- Our Organic Icelandic Kelp and Bee Pollen can also be helpful for allergies.
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