How to Deal With Typical Dog Allergies

Just like humans, dogs are also prone to having dog allergies. The symptoms that dogs experience with dog allergies are also oddly enough very similar to human symptoms. If you think that your pet may be suffering from dog allergies but you aren't quite sure of the signs, here are some of the most common dog allergies and how you can spot them.

Dog Food Allergies
The unfortunate part about dog food allergies is that the ingredients that are in most popular brands of dog food are usually the cause of the allergy itself! Some of the primary foods that cause dog allergies include:

- Milk
- Corn
- Wheat
- Whey
- Beef
- Pork
- Lamb
- Fish
- Chicken
- Eggs

Flip over any bag of even the best dog food and you will see that at least one of these ingredients, if not several from the list, are included in the food. Dogs who have a dog food allergy will commonly display the following symptoms:

- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Nose and eye discharge
- Hair loss
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Itching
- Breathing difficulties

Trying to narrow down what is causing the dog food allergy is really more of a trial and error process. You need to try different foods with your pet and monitor his reaction to them over a 24 period of time. This will help you isolate the ingredient that is causing the problem.

Atopy
Atopy refers to your pet having an allergic reaction to something that he has inhaled, such as dust, mold, pollens, and yes, human dander. One of the easily recognized signs of atopy are excessive licking, chewing, and scratching of the face, paws, armpits, genitals, and abdomen. These areas will have a red-brown color to them due to the large amount of chewing and licking that has been happening at the site. You can visit your vet to try and determine the cause of the atopy, at which point you can then begin treatments such as cool baths with a medicated shampoo, allergy shots, antihistamines, and including omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids to your dog's diet.

Contact Allergies
These sorts of dog allergies are related to your dog coming in physical contact with something that doesn't agree with his immune system. This may be by putting a dog sweater made of a certain fiber on your dog, your dog coming in contact with particular plants, wool bedding, flea collars or even using plastic food bowls. To help treat this dog allergy, it's important to deduce what is causing the problem through the process of elimination, and then remove that item from your dog's environment.