Spring Allergies
Spring is here! It’s that time of year when the flowers burst into bloom and we brake to let the ducklings cross the road. Unfortunately it’s also the time when allergies remerge. As we are grabbing for our tissue boxes you may notice that your pets are spending more time itching and scratching. There is nothing quite like the noise your dog makes having a good scratch in the middle of the night.
While there are many reasons our pets are scratching one of the most common ones this time of year is atopy. Atopy is an allergy to something in the environment such as pollen, moulds, dust mites, feathers and animal hair. This is seen more commonly in dogs but cats are also affected.
The most obvious symptom of atopy is itching around the face, feet, lower chest and belly. It will often lead to other skin infections such as ‘hot spots’, ear infections and hair loss.
The diagnosis for atopy is generally by process of elimination. There are many causes for itchiness in pets including fleas, mites, lice, bacterial and yeast infections and food allergies and often these need to be ruled out first before confirming atopy.
Unfortunately atopy can be a lifelong condition and there is no cure, but there are ways we can manage your pets pain and discomfort;
Prescription drugs, medications and medicated shampoo and conditioners
Remove your dog from the source of the allergy
Physically preventing your pet from being able to scratch and chew with the use of Elizabethan collars, T-shirt and socks
Also lurking out there in Spring is flea allergy dermatitis. As most of us have probably experienced, fleas run rampant once it starts to heat up and some of our unlucky pets are allergic to flea saliva so on top of the normal flea itchiness, just a single flea causes intense itching and chewing of the neck, sides, bellies, and the area above the tail. The excessive licking and chewing if left to continue will often cause ‘hot spots’.
The most important thing for pets that have flea allergy dermatitis is to eliminate the fleas. This is easier said than done and is often a multi-step process including treating all the pets in your household for fleas all year round and also treating the environment which hides up to 95% of the flea population, which is a bit scary when you think about it! There are so many flea products out there and the choices can be overwhelming, so this is where we come in, we would love to help you work what treatments will work best for you and your pets to eliminate or prevent a flea infestation.
The dark horse of the allergy group is food allergies. It has similar signs to other allergies; licking, chewing and itching, but can also sometimes include diarrhoea and other digestive problems. Diagnosing a food allergy is done by the use of an exclusion diet for a minimum of 8-12 weeks. It is generally the protein source which the pet is allergic to so these ‘hypoallergenic’ diets (such a Hills z/d diet which we recommend) use a different protein (often venison, fish or duck) and then we see if there is a reduction of the symptoms while on the new food.