Did you know that your dog can get seasonal allergies just like you do? When we get seasonal allergies we usually have symptoms that involve itchy watery eyes, sneezing or other symptoms involving our respiratory tract such as coughing or breathing difficulties. When our dogs get allergies, they usually present different symptoms like inflammation and irritation of the skin, or allergic dermatitis.
Your dog will likely be very itchy and chances are he has started to scratch excessively. He may be generally pretty irritated or may continue to scratch and bite at one certain part of his body. You might even notice that he’s trying to rub or scratch against the floor or furniture in an attempt to get the itching to stop. The more he itches, the more inflamed, tender, sore and irritated his skin will become. It may produce sores that are either open wounds or scabbed over and even patches of hair loss. There may also be certain areas of his skin that develop “hotspots” which are typically very irritated looking and red, and are infected and inflamed. They may bleed, or ooze puss and generally cause hair loss. These are due to the overgrowth of normal bacteria. You can also watch for generalized redness all over his body. He may have red oral tissue, red puffy eyes, a red muzzle or red chin, red inner thighs, belly or paws. He may even have a red tail base or anus.
If your dog is having an issue with seasonal allergies then it’s very likely that he’s also having issues with his ears. As part of the generalized allergic reaction and response, his ear canals will probably also become inflamed and itchy. Bacteria and yeast can also build up and cause his ears to become infected. If you notice your dog has excessive head shaking, or scratching at his ears, or even hair loss around his ears- chances are he’s got an ear infection. He can also experience discharge from his ears and an unpleasant odor.
It’s not as common for a pet with allergies to have respiratory issues as we do, but it’s not totally unheard of either. There is a possibility that your dog will have coughing, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, etc. just like we do. If your dog is having a reaction to seasonal things like grass, pollen, mold or ragweed then it’s not uncommon for them to develop allergies to other allergens that can be inhaled.
Ways To Provide Relief
There are some pretty easy ways to provide some much-needed relief to your pooch if they are dealing with allergies. First, check their food. Often times feeding them a better diet, full of real, whole food and not crappy processed ingredients will usually go a long way to help. A lot of times they are having a reaction to something in their food that doesn’t agree with them. If they are having allergies, you will want to put them on an anti-inflammatory diet. They’ve probably been eating a diet that is high in carbohydrates, grains, and potatoes. This will make allergies worse. Usually, you can find a high-quality food that uses fresh fish, as it’s main protein source with a very low carbohydrate content. This food will help a lot. Stop feeding them high carb scraps from the dinner table too. Just like we don’t do well on high carb, standard American diets, your dog doesn’t do well either. Most commercial foods are processed carbs and fillers. It’s like feeding your pet low-quality fast food every day and for every meal. You can see why that’s going to cause health problems.
Also, you can check your dog for leaky gut or dysbiosis. Usually, when seasonal allergies get progressively worse from one season to another it is because of leaky gut.
Krill Oil To The Rescue
Krill are these little shrimp-like crustaceans shown in the picture above. Whales devour these little guys like crazy; maybe the whales know something we don’t- no wonder they are so smart. In other articles, we have already discussed the many benefits of adding a good source of oil that is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and a good quality krill oil is chock full of Omega-3’s. Dogs usually get way too many Omega-6’s because their food is full of them and not nearly enough Omega-3’s. They cannot produce Omega-3’s on their own and can only get them from a supplemented form.
We know that Omega-3’s are a huge way of reducing inflammation throughout the body. Our Allergy Chews and 15 in 1 Multi Chews are made with Krill oil, which is a fantastic way of upping the amount of Omega-3’s that your dog is getting. Krill oil is only going to help them and has so many benefits. Omega-3’s really help to suppress the body’s inflammatory response and also can help with some of these other things:
- Shiny coat and healthy skin
- Helps maintain a healthy weight
- Helps prevent and treat cancer
- Helps lower blood pressure
- Helps and supports dogs with renal disease
- Helps support and up immune function
- Great for brain function (helps with developing brains as well)
- Helps prevent heart disease
- Helps prevent liver and kidney disease
- Helps with arthritis because it lowers inflammation
- Can help with pain reduction
This is just a small list of some of the benefits of adding more Omega-3’s to your dog’s diet. You can get Omega-3’s in some other forms as well, but we love Krill oil because dogs require a smaller amount than some other supplements because they are better able to absorb Krill oil. Also, some fish oils can contain mercury, but we don’t worry about these heavy metals in krill oil. We can promise though, that if you give your dog krill oil, in form of our Allergy Chews or 15 in 1 Multi Chews, you will see an improvement in their allergy symptoms. You will also see a ton of other benefits as well. Your dog will be a happier, healthier version of themselves with beautiful skin and coat and a whole other host of positive benefits.