On a hot summer’s day towards the end of August Suzie, our Cairn terrier, began scratching. At first it was mostly at the bottom end of her bare tummy. When she rolled over you could see the flesh was red and itchy-looking. She scratched and scratched and scratched. Knowing a little about allergies in dogs, we wondered if our dog’s symptoms related to an allergy. But what sort of allergy?

Dog allergy symptoms always needs thorough investigation.

Definitely not fleas!

Suzie had recently been de-bugged, but we still checked her from head to toe. No fleas, no flea droppings.

We gave her a thoroughly good combing, but there was no sign of tics either. Could it be something she had eaten, or perhaps rubbed against?

Our dog’s health is something we take seriously and seeing the poor little creature scratching until she gave herself great bald patches and drew blood from the skin beneath was distressing not just for her, but for us too.

Shortly after this particular problem she began to swell up underneath and it now to add to her problems it seemed she was coming into season. An urgent visit to the vet was called for.

Rescue dog

At this point, it should be explained that Suzie is a rescue dog.

She had not been with us very long and we knew hardly anything about her background.

The people at the rescue centre had – as with all their newcomers – taken her to their vet to be checked over. But, apparently, it is never easy to determine categorically if a female dog has been spayed. This is because the incision is so small that the site of the wound soon fades away and after a few years has vanished altogether.

Not entirely convinced

While some of the swelling and itchiness could be attributed to her being in season, our vet said he wasn’t entirely convinced that was the root cause of the dog problems because many of the other signs and symptoms were absent.

Dogs come into season around every six months, so the only way we could know for sure, he explained, was to see how she was in six months time.

Carry on scratching

Meanwhile, she carried on chewing, licking and scratching – now mostly in the region of her feet. The vet suggested distraction techniques. Every time she started scratching, we should clap our hands, throw something on the floor (near her, but not at her) or make any other sudden noise to take her attention away from the itch.

While that did work during the daytime, it seemed that at night when she was tucked up in her bed in another part of the house she could lick and scratch to her heart’s content and no-one would be any the wiser. Until morning.

Aloe Vera gel and some anti-inflammatory tablets did help a little in the early stages.

As part of the distraction process we took her for long walks in the fields and woods around our home. Only instead of curing the problem it made it flare up again.

Not allowed tidbits

We knew Suzie wasn’t suffering from a food allergy, because her High Oats dried food had not changed since she joined our family. And being on a diet, she was not allowed tidbits. What else could it possibly be?

Off we headed to the vet again.

Could it be stress-induced, we asked?

He thought not. Suzie is a very laid back sort of dog and has never shown any outwards signs of stress. Her diet, then? She has, on his advice, lost almost a third of her original body weight and apart from the itchiness, is in great form.

Could her need to chew great chunks of herself be hunger-induced?

No, he told us. Dogs – however hungry they are – do not tend to eat themselves.

Squatting on the grass

He still believed it was some sort of allergy and now thought it might be related to grass.

‘Eating it?’

‘More likely walking, playing or weeing on it.’

Female dogs squat down to urinate, and most of Suzie’s trouble was in the area of her body that touched the grass when squatting.

Researching this point on the web, we came across a site that explained the nature of contact dermatitis. This occurs when part of the dog’s body comes in contact with a substance to which he/she might be allergic.

Following on from our vet’s comment, we learned that the itching produced by grass pollen is the same as that produced by dust mites.

So how does one overcome such a basic problem?

Walk on hard surfaces

Our vet prescribed some more anti-inflammatories to ease the soreness and the low doses of steroids certainly did provide temporary relief. He suggested that I keep her on the lead and try to restrict her walks to hard surfaces.

Mercifully, it worked. She stopped biting and chewing at herself. The skin problem cleared up and the hair began to grow again.

Until December.

Back to square one

That was when the snow came, with a vengeance. And the rain. And the frost.

The roads and pavements were gritted and once again Suzie began the old routine of licking, biting and scratching.

We were back to square one.

This time, it seemed entirely possible that she was allergic to the grit the workmen had put down to prevent people falling on the ice.

More visits to the vet. More tests. More Aloe Vera. More tablets. More distraction therapy.

And that’s the trouble with various kinds of allergy in dogs – you never quite know when they are going to strike again. Determining the root cause of an allergy is a long drawn-out process and is a real pain (in both senses of the word).

Allergies common in dogs

Dog allergies, according to the experts are surprisingly common. They can be particularly sensitive to substances in their food and/or in the environment.

Protein (milk, eggs, wheat), bacteria and pollen can all be responsible. Allergens apparently enter the body by being breathed in, swallowed, touched or injected.

The answer is to remove the dog from the allergens.

Yes…. we understand all that, but it’s more easily said than done.

In severe cases, blood tests and hyposensitisation are called for.

Thankfully, Suzie seems to have stopped scratching, for now. But we are keeping our fingers crossed that such allergies in dogs are a thing of the past as far as Suzie is concerned.

Related posts:

1. Dog Allergies
2. Dog Skin Allergies
3. Dog Allergy

Fat dogs are unhealthy dogs. No-one would dispute that fact.

Obesity is an even more serious health issue in dogs than it is in humans. Being overweight puts a tremendous strain on virtually every bodily organ.

Shorter lifespan

Overfeeding is one of the worst things anyone can do for their dog.

The fat dog has a much shorter life span than the slim dog. And the resulting problems are not just medical but social too, because the unfortunate animal’s enjoyment of life will be drastically curtailed.

Allowing him to laze around all day in the garden, or draped all over the furniture is not doing him any favours.

Too many treats

Giving pets too many goodies is no good either. Dogs devouring treats, snacks, biscuits, cakes and things that fall from the master’s table are guaranteed to make them put on weight. And they will keep putting it on until they end up not just fat but with a host of medical conditions like diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and osteo-arthritic pain.

What loving owner would willingly do that to their pet dog?

None, we are sure. It’s thoughtlessness rather than actual cruelty that does the damage.

Fat dogs, fat owners?

Quite often we find that the really fat dog is companion to a fat owner. Both are rather too fond of their food, it seems. The human’s love of snacking is transferred to his furry friend.

While it is important to keep careful watch on the dog’s weight, it is absolutely vital to do so when he is getting older. Fat old dogs are a real cause for concern. They do not eat as much as younger dogs and puppies, and they take less exercise. They are therefore more likely to put on weight unless watched very carefully. Dogs, like humans, slow down as they age. If they don’t take as much exercise, they don’t need as much food. Logical, when you think about it.

How can you tell?

How can you tell if your dog is too fat?

Admittedly, it is not always easy, particularly if he has a think coat and belongs to a particularly chunky breed.

Ideally, it should be possible to feel the ribcage, but if those bones are buried underneath a couple of heavy coats of fur, that makes the task rather more difficult.

Exercise

Of course, one of the ways to keep your dog’s weight down is to give him plenty of exercise. If you’re not able to take him out for lots of long walks yourself, but you have a garden, have you considered pet water fountains? Dogs can play under these for hours and work off a few calories!

Obesity is a serious health risk

The thing to do is arrange for health checks with the vet or nutritionist on a regular basis.

Maybe when the innoculations are due… or before, if a problem is suspected.

Obesity is a serious health risk. But it is one that can be avoided, so easily.

The time to seek help for potentially fat dogs is before trouble sets in. With this as with everything else, prevention is better than cure.

No related posts.

Dog skin allergies appear in various forms and have many causes.

Maybe the dog in your life has a problem.

He has developed itchy, yellow pustules on his reddened, ulcerated skin. Parts of his body are dry and crusted while other parts have gone bald and the whole area smells bad. Poor dog. Your heart bleeds for him.

What can you do?

Take him to the vet. Without delay.

It sounds like a bacterial skin infection and could well be caused by an allegy. But the non-medical layman/woman should not attempt to diagnose something as serious themselves.

This sad state of affairs may not be an allergy at all.

It could be the result of parasitic infestation (dog fleas, tics, etc.), a hormonal problem or even deficiencies in the immune system. He could be suffering from a variety of skin conditions which may, or may not be connected to an allergy.

Determining the cause

The vet will want to carry out skin tests. He may also decide to do some blood tests, or a skin biopsy. He will want to determine the cause of the condition, very quickly.

Having diagnosed the problem, he may well prescribe a course of antibiotics and/or anti-inflammatories. If an allergy does prove to be at the root of the problem, most skin allergies in dogs can be controlled and some even cured. The type of dog skin allergy treatment prescribed by the vet will depend on his clinical decision.

Distressing for owner

It is distressing for an owner to see his dog scratching and scratching until he makes himself raw red and induces bleeding.

This really does call for a visit to the vet. It might just be a local reaction to some irritant, meaning that all he needs is some special creams or potions to be applied to the affected area. But again, that decision is for the vet.

One vet we spoke to recommended Aloe Vera, which is a natural remedy and very soothing. It can come in a gel or a cream and should, he explained, be applied immediately before a walk or a meal in order to prevent it being licked off immediately after application.

The dreaded ‘lampshade’

Another vet recommended that one of those dreaded lampshade-shaped head collars should be worn during the acute period of the condition.We all know what dogs think about them…. not to mention their owners whose legs and furniture are perpetually being bashed by the things.

But then desperate conditions call for desperate measures.

And when it comes to desperate conditions there is no doubt that allergies are high on the list.

Hotspots, bites and dandruff

If the allergy is mild and the skin in relatively good condition, a dog shampoo might be all that is necessary to clear up the problem.

There is, say experts, much therapeutic value in special dermatological shampoos… not just for dog skin allergies, but also for eczema, hotspots, bites and dandruff.

Related posts:

1. Dog Allergies
2. Allergies in Dogs
3. Dog Allergy