Flea allergy SYMPTOMS: Seasonal itchiness, especially of rear back and tail area; hair loss; scabby skin; visible fleas, or pepperlike debris on skinHOME CARE: Treat dog and home or outside environment for fleasVET CARE: Sometimes steroids to reduce inflammation or itchiness; veterinary-prescribed treatmentsPREVENTION: Avoid fleas

1. SYMPTOMS: Seasonal itchiness, especially of rear back and tail area; hair
loss; scabby skin; visible fleas, or pepperlike debris on skin
HOME CARE: Treat dog and home or outside environment for fleas
VET CARE: Sometimes steroids to reduce inflammation or itchiness;
veterinary-prescribed treatments
PREVENTION: Avoid fleas
FLEA ALLERGY
FLEA ALLERGY

2. Flea allergy is the most common allergy affecting dogs, with some
surveys estimating 40 percent of the dog population affected. Allergic dogs
develop skin disease when they react to a protein in flea saliva, and it may
only take one bite to provoke all-over itching.
Signs are seasonal, which typically are the warm summer months of flea
sea-son but can be year around in some parts of the country. The most
common sign is extreme itchiness on the rear half of the dog, particularly the
area on the back immediately above the tail.
Flea control is essential for dogs suffering from flea allergic dermatitis.
There are many products available to safely eliminate fleas on your dog and
his environment.
ATOPY or INHALANT ALLERGY
SYMPTOMS: Front-half itching; face rubbing; foot licking; armpit
scratching; neck and chest itchiness
HOME CARE: Keep dog’s coat and environment clean
HOLISTIC HELP: Calendula ointment; Echinacea; vitamin C and E
supplements; EFA supplements; flower essence remedies; bathe with
oatmeal products
VET CARE: Skin testing; allergy shots; sometimes dietary supplements of
EFAs
PREVENTION: Avoid dust, pollens, or whatever causes the problem
Ten to fifteen percent of the dog population is allergic to something they
breathe from the environment, making inhalant allergy, or atopy, the second
most common allergy in dogs. Atopy can develop in any dog, but does have
a genetic component. Breeds most commonly affected include the small
terriers, especially the West Highland White Terrier, as well as Boxers,
Dalmatians, Golden Retrievers, English and Irish Setters, Lhasa Apsos,
Miniature Schnauzers, and Shar-Peis. Most signs first develop when the dog
is between one to three years old.
Some surveys indicate that nearly half of all flea-allergic dogs also suffer
from atopy. This allergy is the equivalent to human "hay fever" with dogs
reacting to the same things owners do. Pollen, mold, fungi and even the
house dust mite make people cough, wheeze and have difficulty breathing,
but atopic dogs more typically suffer itchiness on the front half of their body.

3. This includes recurrent ear infection (see OTITIS), face rubbing, foot
licking, armpit scratching, and neck and chest scratching. Atopy, like flea
allergy, may also be seasonal.
To get rid of the allergen, you must first know what's causing the
problem, and that can be hard to determine. Although blood tests are
available, they aren't considered reliable by most veterinarians and re-
searchers. Instead, intradermal skin testing helps diagnose atopy. Suspect
allergens are injected into the shaved skin of the sedated dog. In five to 15
minutes, positive reactions become swollen, red and elevated, while negative
reactions fade away.
Dogs may react to a single or multiple allergens, but even when you
know your dog reacts to house dust, it's nearly impossible to eliminate
exposure.
Totally eliminating exposure to environmental allergens is impossible
with dogs that typically are indoor/outdoor pets. After all, an owner can't
vacuum the yard, or filter the air. But reducing indoor exposure can be
helpful, and cleanliness is key. Reservoirs that attract and capture allergenic
substances should be reduced or eliminated; trade rough surfaces like
carpeting and upholstery for linoleum or wooden floors and smooth fabrics
that are easier to keep clean. Water filters on a vacuum help scrub particles
from the air; avoid brooming, which tends to float allergens rather than
capture them. High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter systems can be
helpful, too.
Other treatments may help relieve your dog's symptoms, even if
eliminating exposure is impossible. Dogs are furry dust mops and carry
allergens with them, so bathing or just rinsing off the coat helps enormously.
Use plain water, or an oatmeal-type shampoo product, which is has natural
anti-itch properties. The webbing of the dog’s toes in the footpads can
absorb allergens like grass pollen, so rinsing off the dog’s feet after outdoor
excursions may relieve some symptoms.
Veterinary prescribed antihistamines relieve the symptoms in some dogs,
and cortisone-containing drugs can help reduce itching. Some dogs benefit
from dietary supplements of the essential fatty acids that help promote
healthy skin and fur. The proper combination of these compounds appears to
reduce the inflammatory skin response that results from atopy.
Holistic veterinarians recommend using calendula ointment two or three
times a day to sooth the itchy areas. The herb Echinacea can help the

4. immune system work more efficiently, particularly when given before
allergies start in early spring. Vitamins C and E have both been shown to
have anti-inflammatory effects. Holistic vets suggest dogs under 15 pounds
can take 250 milligrams of vitamin C a day during allergy season, while
heavier dogs do better on 500 to 1000 milligrams a day. Giving too much
will cause diarrhea, so err on the side of caution. For vitamin E, you can give
50 international units (IU) once daily during allergy season to pets under 10
pounds, and give 200 IU to dogs weighing from 10 to 40 pounds, and 400 IU
for dogs over 40 pounds. It’s best to give with food, to prevent upset
tummies.
Hypo sensitization, or immunotherapy, may also help certain dogs. The
treatment is a gradual process in which the dog's resistance to allergens is
enhanced by exposing him to gradually increasing amounts of the
substances. After skin tests determine the culprits, the dog is "vaccinated"
with minute amounts of the allergens in the hopes that resistance to them
will build and reduce the dog's sensitivity and resulting symptoms. Because
improvement from immunotherapy is slow, injections are usually continued
for at least a year. Maintenance injections may be required for life.
FOOD ALLERGY
SYMPTOMS: Intense all-over itching all year long; rarely, vomiting or
diarrhea
HOME CARE: Feed appropriate diet
VET CARE: Elimination diet to diagnose; sometimes a therapeutic vet-
prescribed diet
PREVENTION: Avoid problem foods once identified
Depending on who you consult, canine food allergies are considered both
common and rare. Some surveys estimate up to ten percent of all dogs are
affected by food sensitivity of one kind or another. These animals react to
one or more ingredients in their diet. Protein like beef, milk, corn, wheat, or
eggs in commercial pet foods are typical culprits. However, diagnosis is
difficult and may be complicated by other allergies.
If the pancreas doesn’t work right, the dog can’t digest protein
completely. In this case, exposure to large quantities of undigested protein
can cause an allergy. Some dog breeds are more prone to pancreatic

5. insufficiency, and as a result are more likely to develop food sensitivities.
Finally, food allergies may develop if the immune system over-responds.
Some dogs seem to inherit a suppresser-function that malfunctions. Size of
the protein particles doesn’t matter, and the bowel can be perfectly healthy,
but the immune system over-reacts and mounts an inappropriate response to
protein.
The typical food-allergic dog is two years old or older, and suffers intense
all-over itchiness that occurs year round. Canine food allergy less often
results in vomiting or diarrhea. There may be an increased risk in West
Highland White Terriers, Miniature Schnauzers, Golden Retrievers, and
Shar-Peis. However, any dog can develop the condition at any age, even as
early as six months old.
As in other allergies, avoiding the allergen--the food ingredient(s)--
relieves the symptoms. A 10-to-12-week-long veterinarian supervised
elimination diet diagnoses food allergy and identifies the culprits. The FDA
says diets labeled to control allergies can only be prescribed and distributed
by veterinarians, and there are several on the market.
Food allergies tend to develop only after the pet has been exposed to the
protein, be that corn or beef or lamb. Therefore, veterinarians identify the
problem proteins by feeding the pet unique ingredients he’s never eaten
before. Diagnostic diets that contain novel ingredients like rabbit and potato,
or kangaroo and rice, are available by prescription and must be used under
veterinary supervision. Once the symptoms go away, suspect proteins are
added back to the diet one by one to see which prompts a relapse. Once
identified, the trigger ingredient can be avoided by choosing foods that don’t
contain it.
Such a "hypoallergenic diet" minimizes allergic reactions. Since every pet
is different, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all hypoallergenic diet.
There’s nothing about lamb or alligator or kangaroo that’s hypoallergenic—
they just are novel.
Unfortunately, the novelty may wear off once the food is fed routinely. If
that pet has any of those predisposing factors like a pancreatic insufficiency,
an inflammatory bowel disorder, or a problem with its suppresser function, it
may be only a matter of time before he develops a sensitivity to the new
protein. Complicating matters even further, veterinarians fear running out of
novel proteins.

6. But understandably, some owners are reluctant to put their pet through the
tedious diagnosis process of an elimination diet that still may not pinpoint
the problem. Therapeutic diets from your veterinarian are typically higher
cost, and this may also be a factor. Some food-allergic dogs do well when
fed lamb and rice-based commercial diets, as long as they haven't previously
eaten these ingredients. Just remember that lamb and rice-based diets often
contain other ingredients, which may still cause your dog to react. And over
time, dogs may become allergic to any unique ingredient.
Diets using hydrolyzed proteins may offer help for some dogs. Basically,
the proteins are split into tiny pieces and concentrated. The immune system
reacts to complete or large pieces of proteins. It doesn’t recognize the protein
fractions and so has no allergic response. There are several hydrolyzed
protein diets for pets now available.
CONTACT ALLERGY is relatively uncommon in dogs, probably
because of their protective fur covering. When it occurs, the reaction is
similar to what people experience when exposed to poison ivy. The reaction
may happen hours after contact, or it may take weeks of repeated exposure
before symptoms develop. Signs include itchy bumps, reddened skin, weepy
sores and/or crust, blisters or pustules at the place of contact, and thinning
coat or hair loss. Signs of contact allergy may be mis-diagnosed (see
ATOPY, RINGWORM, or SEBORRHEA).
Typical sites of contact allergy skin disease are the sparsely furred areas
of the body like the feet, abdomen, muzzle and chin, groin, testicles and the
hocks and stifles which are the areas of the legs that contact the ground when
your dog reclines. Left untreated, the area of first contact may spread and
involve more of the body, because the dog will scratch and further damage
the skin. Potentially, any substance could result in a contact allergy, but the
most common culprits are household products like detergents and soaps,
insecticides like flea powders or collars, plastic or rubber dishes or toys, and
the dyes typically found in indoor/outdoor carpets. Diagnosis is based
primarily on incriminating signs, and identifying and removing the allergen
will resolve the problem. Cortisone-type medications prescribed by your
veterinarian help control the itching and keep your dog from further
damaging himself until the lesions heal.
Allergies cannot be cured, and avoiding the allergy source is the only way
to control the symptoms. To complicate matters, multiple allergies make

7. identification of the culprit(s) nearly impossible.
Dogs are often sensitive to more than one thing, and allergies tend to be
cumulative. For instance, if your dog is allergic to both fleas and to pollen,
they individually may not cause him problems, but the combination of the
two pushes him over his allergy threshold so that he itches. Every allergic
dog has an individual "itch" threshold, which is the amount of allergen
necessary to provoke signs of disease.
This is actually good news, for although eliminating all allergens may be
impossible, simply reducing the amount of exposure may substantially
relieve your dog's symptoms. In other words, get rid of the fleas, and your
dog may be able to handle exposure to house dust without scratching.
There can be many causes for itchy skin, and only a veterinarian can
diagnose canine allergy. Identifying the allergen(s) and treating the signs
should be a joint venture between you and your veterinarian, to best serve
the health of your dog.

8. Once You Learn My Simple Techniques for Unlocking
Your Dog's Natural Intelligence you will be amazed
at how quickly problem behaviors disappear and your
dog starts to obey you!
Sounds like a dream?
Actually, it isn't. Here's proof:
Dr. J Coates
Veterinary Advisor at petMD.com
“Today's dogs suffer from a lack of mental stimulation and quality time spent
with ‘their’ people. The resulting boredom and anxiety can lead to no end of
physical and behavioral problems. Brain Training
and exercises that will challenge and entertain dogs of all abilities.”
for Dogs is the solution! In a clear
and concise manner, Adrienne Farricelli walks owners through a series of puzzles