Let Us Help Detect and Treat Seasonal Pet Allergies
Seasonal Allergies Frustrating Your Furry Friend?
It’s not just humans that suffer from the sniffles each season, your furry friends can too! Between gnawing obsessively on their paws to the never-ending scratch and the jingle-jangles their collar makes, seasonal allergies that bear watery eyes, frequent sneezing, and red ears are just as miserable for pets.
If you’ve noticed these things, your pup may just have seasonal allergies.
The Culprits
Seasonal allergies that affect pets are sensitivities to things in their environment, with the most common allergens being:
Grass
Pollen
Fungi
Weeds
Mold
Spring is typically the season your pet will begin to manifest signs of seasonal allergies because this is when everything begins to wake up and blossom.
Seasonal Allergy Symptoms in Pets
Dogs relieve allergies through biting and scratching, which can then leave their skin sore, irritated, and inflamed. Other seasonal allergy symptoms in pets include:
Sneezing
Runny nose
Watery eyes
Hair loss
Shaking their head
Scratching ears
Congestion in the chest
Licking
Combating Seasonal Allergies
It can feel awful watching your pup suffer from seasonal allergies, so the best thing you can do is schedule a checkup at the vet. The vet is able to properly diagnose seasonal allergies and make recommendations such as over-the-counter antihistamines like Benadryl or Claritin.
Another way to support your dog in this season is bathing them regularly in hypoallergenic shampoos to help remove and reduce the allergens on their coat. Brushing your dog every day can also help mitigate this.
Fatty acid supplements have also been shown to be helpful because they may reduce skin inflammation caused by allergies.
Staying Ahead of Seasonal Allergies
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely cure seasonal allergies, but there are proactive things to keep your pooch more comfortable. It’s always important to get a proper diagnosis to ensure the allergies are seasonal or environment-related, and not a parasite or food allergy.
From here, you can give your dog OTC allergy medications and keep their coat clean and debris-free.
For more information about seasonal allergies in pets or to schedule an exam, connect with Alicia Pacific Vet Center today.