Understanding pet allergies isn’t always easy, but by learning how to prevent the most common allergies and the available allergy treatments, you’ll be in a position to ensure that your pet can be treated promptly and properly, giving him a far better quality of life.

Fleas & Flea Control
Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to prevent cats and dogs from picking up fleas, the most common cause of pet allergies. As flea control is extremely important, always check for fleas during your regular grooming sessions as early discovery will help prevent a fully-flung infestation although it’s important to bear in mind that just one flea bite can be enough to cause a serious allergic reaction.

Live insects can sometimes be difficult to find but previously unseen tiny black gritty specks on the skin could be the flea’s feces and should be treated as such. If any signs of fleas are visible be extra vigilant during the grooming session and use a good quality flea control treatment such as “Frontline” or “Advantage”. Remember, allergy prevention is always better than allergy treatment.

Should a serious flea allergy develop, it’s important that you visit your vet who will treat your pet’s allergy with steroids or antihistamine, depending on the nature of the reaction, and discuss flea control methods with you.

Skin Complaints
Apart from fleas, the most common causes of pet allergy related skin problems are atopy (inherited allergic disorders) or allergic inhalant dermatitis, a problem found in pets that are sensitive to airborne particles such as pollen, dander and house dust. While humans will sneeze to clear the nasal passage of any foreign bodies causing tickling or itching, few pets react in this manner. Although some sneezing may be present, most will exhibit watery eyes and skin reactions leading to paw chewing and general scratching. As with flea allergy treatment, should you pet’s skin show any symptoms of an allergy, contact your vet in order to be prescribed proper allergy treatment. Unfortunately allergy prevention for both atopic and allergic inhalant dermatitis can be difficult and should be discussed with your vet once a diagnosis has been made.

Food Intolerance
Food allergies can manifest themselves as anything from flatulence and diarrhea to severe skin conditions with proteins generally causing the problem. Again, unless you feed your pet a protein free diet — which is impractical and generally unhealthy — food allergy prevention is difficult. However, once a vet has pinpointed exactly which foodstuff is the culprit you’ll be in a better position to use the information to avoid the allergy re-occurring.

Skin Related Allergy Treatment
Fortunately there are a number of allergy treatments available for pets with itchy skin. Verbac shampoo and Allerpet shampoo are good choices for dogs and Allerpet also have a cat shampoo that’s especially formulated to rid the coat of dander while softening your pet’s skin. It’s important to remember that shampooing alone isn’t a complete allergy treatment – you should also think about what’s causing the problem and whether it can be changed or removed. Should your pet’s bedding be cleaned? Does he need a change of diet? Is he being exercised in a place where he comes into contact with a plant or substance that cause pet allergies?

The very best allergy prevention method is to know your pet well enough to notice any changes in his health or general behavior. If any skin problems occur, or should you notice any excessive weeping from his ears, eyes or skin it’s always best to contact a vet to ensure that he’s given the correct allergy treatment.

Tags: allergies, allerpet, cats, dogs, pet meds, therapy, verbac

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 12:13 pm and is filed under Allergy Care, Flea & Ticks, General, Joint Health, Prevention, Treatment Methods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.