How To Tell If Your Dog Has Allergies

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With Benson recently diagnosed with seasonal allergies, I realized there were a lot of signs I should have been paying more attention to so that I could tell my dog has allergies! I could have saved him from a lot of discomfort and a trip to the vet.

Incessant Itching and Chewing

The weather has really warmed up over the last month, and Benson started to blow out his undercoat. There were clumps of it just flying off him and coming off on my hands when I would pet him! I have an undercoat rake and put it to good use, getting enough hair off with each brushing to fill a garbage bag! Seriously, where does it all come from???

I noticed that around the same time Benson started blowing his coat that he was scratching his sides and his chest CONSTANTLY. He was also chewing his legs quite a bit. And then he started scratching his muzzle with his front paws. He was in a lot of discomfort. I wondered if it could be due to the dead undercoat, and if I wasn’t getting enough out and it was making him itchy. I started brushing him several times a day and it seemed a bit better, but he was still scratching and chewing himself!

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Vet Visit

Since Benson was due for his annual shots, I made a vet appointment and mentioned his recent behaviour so they could check it out while he was in there. My neighbour had suggested fleas as a possibility but Grace and Benson are on a really good flea and tick medication. But the idea stuck and I found myself constantly flipping them over to look at their bellies for signs they had fleas.

At the vet, when they called me to give me the update while he was inside she said there were no signs of fleas (whew!). She said sometimes even a hitch hiker can cause them a lot of distress! A hitch hiker is a single flea that gets on them and the sensation if they aren’t used to it can cause a lot of discomfort before the medication takes care of them. But no hitch hikers on Benson…

Diagnosis

The vet’s diagnosis was allergies. I can say that I wasn’t overly surprised, since Bernese Mountain dogs are KNOWN for their allergies so I was just waiting for the inevitable to happen. Without an allergy panel, she suggested that I start to treat for seasonal allergies and see if there is any improvement before having to move into the food allergy rabbit hole.

Surprisingly, you can treat seasonal allergies with regular old Reactin! Just the plain Reactin though, nothing that has the extra ingredients. Benadryl is also given to dogs frequently but the vet told me that this should be used for swelling and not for seasonal allergies. If you suspect your dog has seasonal allergies be sure to contact your vet for the best information and amount to get the proper amount to treat your dog with.

Signs of Seasonal Allergies

As I thought Benson had simply been blowing his undercoat, I didn’t give much consideration to the other symptoms of seasonal allergies. Some of the more common symptoms of seasonal allergies are:

• Scratching/itchy skin
• Rubbing their face
• Licking and chewing their paws and legs
• Hair Loss
• Red Skin
• Ear infections
• Skin infections
• Coughing or sneezing
• Runny eyes and nose

Without realizing it, Benson had quite a few of these symptoms! He has not developed an ear infection but has been shaking his head more than usual. He has been prone to ear infections in the past though, so I have medicated ear cleaner for him. But combined with the scratching, chewing and face rubbing it now all makes sense! He has improved with the Reactin which is great since I didn’t want to have to start changing their food.

Food Allergy Symptoms

If seasonal allergies are ruled out, food allergies are the next suspect! Many dogs have food allergies (estimated to be about 10% of dogs) and need specific diets. While some of the symptoms are the same as for seasonal allergies, there can be some other symptoms:

• Itchy skin
• Hives
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Lack of energy or hyperactivity
• Aggression

How Food Allergies Develop

Food allergies take time to develop as the body’s immune system overreacts to certain ingredients in the food and produces antibodies to them. This is why your dog may seem to be fine with a certain type of food for a period of time before you start noticing symptoms of a food allergy. According to Patt Veterinary Hospital, most dogs develop allergies in their second year of life, so Benson definitely falls into that age category!

How To Diagnose A Food Allergy

When my vet was discussing Benson’s allergies with me, she said if we had to go the food route that a trial and error with different food types and proteins would need to be done. In this way we would eliminate all ingredients that Benson has eaten up until now and he would need to eat completely new food. He wouldn’t be allowed to have any treats or supplements during this elimination diet period! Poor Benson, he LIVES for treats and this is usually how I have to convince my beasts to do things! Like when they lie down on the sidewalk on walks and won’t budge for anything else…Or dragging Grace away from sitting on someone’s foot…

Bloodwork can also be done as an option to determine if your dog is allergic to certain foods. It is estimated to be up to 75% accurate in determining your dog’s allergies, and besides food can also be used to test for a variety of seasonal allergies and contact allergies.

Treatment of a Food Allergy

After doing an elimination diet and figuring out what your dog is allergic to, you will likely need to change your dog’s diet. You can find many hypoallergenic foods as well as limited ingredient foods to fit your pet’s needs. I know many people also make their own raw diet so they know exactly what is going into their dog’s meals! This can be a bit of a challenge though as you have to make sure they are still getting all the proper nutrients in their diet and can be quite time consuming.

I am happy to report that Benson has been improving since his vet appointment last week! His scratching and chewing has almost completely stopped! I will be keeping a close eye on him though just in case he starts reacting to his food. He is still shaking his ears a bit so I am going to have to pin my big boy down at some point today to give them a good cleaning…This is NOT a fun chore as Benson weighs more than me and fights the entire time and usually I need to back him into a corner before I can get in there! He also knows what the bottle is for…so I have started using a dropper that I can hide in the palm of my hand and get in there pretty quickly…

If you suspect that your dog may have an allergy, consult with your vet to narrow down what kind of allergy it might be and the best treatment for your pet. It really is no fun to watch your dog deal with allergies, and there are very effective treatments that can dramatically improve their symptoms and alleviate their discomfort. To give them some immediate relief for skin issues, you can check out these allergy relief products.

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