Dogs that are allergic show common signs that tell you they're suffering.
They may have excessively watery eyes.
They may cough and sneeze frequently.
Obsessive scratching and biting may indicate a problem with their skin.
More serious symptoms include diarrhea, exhaustion, and moodiness.
An allergic dog may exhibit one or a combination of several of these symptoms.
If your beloved pet is showing these signs, particularly an increasing or chronic rate, make an appointment with your vet and take them in as soon as possible.
Be sure your dog has all the needed shots and has been dewormed.
This preventive measure is one sure way to avoid allergic reactions in allergic dogs and keep them healthy and happy.
Learning what caused the allergy is the first step in treating the symptoms or avoiding the problem completely.
Allergic dogs may react to insects like fleas and ticks or other parasites that they pick up outdoors or bring home with them from the breeder, shelter, or pet store.
A careful inspection of the skin near the base of the fur will help you identify fleas, mites, and ticks.
While fleas and mites are small busy insects, ticks will attach themselves to the dog's skin and bloat as they suck your dog dry of its blood.
Ticks may not only cause allergic reactions, but they can introduce infections into your dog's blood system.
While skin allergies and irritations are most common, allergic dogs can also react badly to specific foods, and these allergic reactions can be serious, even life-threatening.
Allergic dogs can also react to mold, pollen, and household dust.
So frequent vacuuming and dusting can be as important for your allergic dog as it is for you and your family.
Particularly with fleas and mites, you may find small red bites or marks on your allergic dog.
Or perhaps the dog has been scratching the same area so long that he's created bald spots in his coat.
Normally, the allergic dog is reacting to the insect's saliva.
It is important to shampoo your flea- or mite-infested allergic dog as soon as possible with a commercial flea and tick shampoo.
You may need to do this several times until the insects have completely disappeared.
Of course, the best way to avoid fleas, mites, and ticks is to keep your allergic dog indoors during the warmer summer months when these insects are plentiful.
If your allergic dog has open sores or wounds, you may have to wait until they healed before spraying or bathing with a medicine that skills the insects and their eggs.
These solutions are, after all, pesticides and can be dangerous if they enter your dog's blood stream.
To assure prompt treatment of the allergy and pest removal, you should visit your vet as quickly as possible.
Your vet may have medications that can be administered orally or by injection that will not also irritate or infect existing sores and wounds.
If your dog vomits or has diarrhea more than once a week, or if these problems continue for more than a day or two, they may be having an allergic reaction to their food.
Switching to a different brand may quickly solve the problem.
Also be sure that you're giving your allergic dog enough water to avoid dehydration, which can also cause and result from these symptoms.
But you should probably visit the vet anyway to assure your allergic dog doesn't have another serious illness or injury that needs special medicines or treatments.
Your vet will also be able to recommend different types of food that won't create a problem for your allergic dog.
Frequent and unexpected changes in behavior may also reveal mood changes that signal allergic reactions in dogs.
If you notice that your dog's energy level has gone down for no reason, it could be an allergy (or many other problems like anemia).
An allergic dog may also show uncharacteristic aggression by growling, nipping, or biting people that touch or threaten to touch the inflamed area.
In this case, you should immediately visit your vet to learn the cause of unwanted behaviors.
Subtle injuries and diseases, in addition to allergies, may be driving your dog to do the unthinkable.
If you have trouble identifying the source of the problem, it may be that your allergic dog is reacting to more than one allergen.
Perhaps he has fleas, but he's also eating an unknown grass or plant outdoors.
Treating the fleas alone won't solve the problem in this case.
Or he may have a problem with his food, but there may also be more mold spores drifting in your indoor air that make the allergic reaction worse.
It can be difficult to identify and treat an allergic dog when there are a combination of sources.
Common sense tells us that you may need to do the same things to protect your allergic dog that you do to reduce your own allergic reactions.
Keeping your home free of dust and dander by frequent regular cleaning and vacuuming is important.
Regular cleaning and maintenance of your air conditioning and/or heating system will also reduce the number of allergens in your indoor air.
Avoiding going outside when the grass is tall, especially during the summer, will reduce exposure to harmful insects.
A regular routine of grooming and bathing maintains health and well-being and removes potential allergens for long-term comfort.
One final point: Research your dog's breed to learn about specific substances that could cause allergic reactions, then inspect your home to be sure it's free of these potential threats to your allergic dog's health.
And as with any allergy problem, taking the steps necessary to reduce exposure will help avoid problems for your allergic dog.