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Any dog can develop allergies, making them feel itchy, and scratching all the time. Most dog allergies affect the skin, or their ears. Flea allergies, food allergies, bacterial allergies, inhalant allergies, or any combination of these can cause symptoms in your dog.

If the allergy is severe, scratching can lead to open sores on your dog’s body. These wounds are ideal places for bacteria to grow, causing more itching, and more damage results. As the infection grows, deeper layers of tissue get infected with bacteria, becoming severe and possibly even fatal. These wounds will be painful and your dog may become irritable or even violent at times.

A dog’s ear canal has mast cells, that can get infected from allergy. Chemicals are naturall secreted in the ear to combat the infection, but they cause itching and a bad odor from the ears in advanced stages of infection.

Treating dog allergies
If you’re susceptible to dog allergies, you can get infected too, so it’s important that you give priority to treating your dog’s allergies. Proper treatment of dog allergies starts with considering the dog’s medical history and a close examination. You should look closely at all of your dog’s body for skin lesions, and signs of inhalant allergies (such as paw licking, lymph nodes etc).

Allergies are completely curable, but depending upon the type and cause of the allergy, different medications will be used. Antihistamines can be used in most dosg to cure itchiness caused by allergies. One of the most common antihistamines is clemastine (Tavist tm), but hydroxyzine (Atarax Rx), diphenhydramine (Benedryl tm), and chlorpheniramine (Chlortrimeton Rx) are all popular choices. It is always best to consult with your veterinarian for the proper medication, but you can often reduce the itching by using an oatmeal based shampoo or tar and sulfer shampoos to bathe your dog regularly.

Fleas are the most common allergy cause in dogs, so flea control is an essential part of treating your dogs allergies. Using a good flea control product like TopSpot, Advantage, Frontline or Program can eliminate fleas and the allergic reactions they cause in your dog.

Ear allertgies also requre a thorough examination of the ear before treatment. In severe cases, allergic infections may turn into bacterial/yeast infections. The first step is to remove excessive ear wax with medications such as Benadryl, or Dexamethasone. Then your dog should be given a course of oral antibiotics. For quicker results in severe cases, topical antibiotics can also applied. Use of these medications should be under the supervision of a veterinarian and the treatment can be painful, so painkillers may also be in order.

If your dog has food allergies, you will have to provide your dog with a diet that doesn’t cause the allergy. There are a number of commercially available diets that exclude the most common ingredients that cause allergic reactions in dogs, but if these don’t work you should definitely consult your veterinarian. While your dog is on a prescribed diet for food allergies, no other foods (even in small amounts) should be provided.

Conclusion
Different breeds of dogs may react differently to certain medicines so you should always consult with your veterinarian before treating your dog with any medications. Bathing your dog 2 to 3 times a week with a medicated shampoo like Skin-eze and providing your dog a healthy, nutritious diet will prevent most dog allergies.