We’re in the heat of summer with fall just around the corner---sadly I guess for some of us, and I’m getting lots of emails and questions about people finding their dogs itching, scratching, chewing on their paws, licking excessively, getting rashes and wondering what’s going on with their dogs.

Most likely it’s dog allergies, but not a lot of people know much about what allergies are in dogs.

So I just wanted to do a quick live series about dog allergies.

0:46 – 3 types of dog allergies

2:05 – Most common type of dog allergies and causes

3:48 – Symptoms of dog allergies

4:24 – How dogs get an allergic reaction

About 10-20% of our pets actually have a type of allergies according to veterinarians, and there’s 3 most common types found in dogs. 

The first one is flea allergy dermatitis. Just as the name conveys it’s caused by fleas.

An interesting fact is that it’s actually not the flea bites that cause the itching, but it’s the flea saliva. I really hope you don’t have flea issues and if you do, that you can get them under control.

The second type of allergy is food allergies. While this is becoming more popular, it’s still not the most common. It’s best to talk to your vet if you suspect that your dog might have an allergy to something in their food.

One of the things that you can tell that they might have food allergies is oftentimes they’re going to get upset stomach; they might have diarrhea, constant vomiting.

They might have nasal discharge and some other signs that are continuous and don’t go away.

If you suspect this, like I said just go to your vet. They’ll help you create a diet that you can pinpoint what ingredient is really causing it.

But the most common type of allergy found in dogs is actually environmental allergies also known as seasonal allergies.

This happens just from your dog getting exposed to things around them.

If your pup is more of an inside guy who spends most of their time indoors but you’re seeing signs that they might have an allergy, it is possible.

Dogs can actually be exposed to a lot of indoor allergens just like us. Things such as dander, dust, mold in your home, perfumes and cleaning products can be a really big thing especially if you use harsh chemicals.

I’m a huge proponent of cleaning with natural products. At some point  we can try to do a post on our blog about natural cleaning options that are safe for dogs.

Other things can even be fabrics. If they lay on the carpet, if you wash your dog’s bed and the detergent might cause a reaction.

These things are things that happen inside.

There are also things outside that your dogs can be exposed to. Just like us if we go outside oftentimes from spring to fall we can be allergic to pollen. So can your dog.

They can be allergic with pollen from grasses, trees, from the different types of weeds especially like ragweed.

So even if your dogs is just going for a walk around the neighborhood, or running around in field or on hikes, they’re going to be exposed to these things from the outside.

Just us humans, every dog is not going to have an allergic reaction.

Some of us if we’re outside in this particular season, we might be sneezing, we might have itchy noses, some dogs also get allergic reactions the same way. Except oftentimes they might express in different ways.

They might be itching, scratching, chewing on their paws, they might get rashes or red inflamed areas.

But how do these symptoms actually show up?

An allergic reaction in your dog is just because your dog’s immune system becomes over reactive. So what happens is the immune system is there to protect us, it’s also there to protect your dog.

If something harmful such as a virus comes in contact with your dog, the immune system will overreact to get rid of that substance. But what happens when your dog’s allergic to something, it has the same type of thing but to allergens.

So it takes these allergens such as the pollen and thinks that it’s harmful to the dog or that it’s a threat.

I know you're out there and wondering “How can I tell if my dog is allergic to something? Is it seasonal allergies? Is it something inside? Do I have to take the dog to the vet?”

We will upload another video soon to answer these questions. I’ll show you how you can check to see if your dog has any symptoms, give you some tips to prevent allergies or if you know that your dog has allergic reactions, some treatment options---all natural of course!

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Thank you for watching!