Diagnosing and treating allergies can be a challenge.
While symptoms of this problem may seem as simple as a case of "itchy skin",
the exact problem can be very complex. Signs that your dog has
allergies may include vomiting, diarrhea, licking, scratching,
chewing/rubbing of feet, legs, face & belly, irritated or infected ears, "scooting" of the
rear-end, scabby and/or oozing sores and/or a sour smell to the ears or
skin.
Sometimes
allergies are only the beginning of the problem. Dogs that
suffer from untreated allergies or whose allergies are hard to diagnose
and/or control, will many times develop secondary infections of the skin and
ears. The most common skin infections to result from allergies are
yeast infections and bacterial hair follicle infections. Yeast infections
are often
associated with the excess moisture from licking/chewing (paws, ears, skin folds) and/or
excessive skin secretions from scratching.
Bacterial hair follicle
infections can be a reaction to flea bites or other irritants or
can be generalized, recurrent infection due to skin trauma caused by
the dog chewing or scratching. These types of infections lead to
further irritation and discomfort for the dog, which leads to further
licking, chewing and scratching of the skin. A vicious cycle
develops in which the poor dog is constantly mutilating itself either due to
the underlying allergy problems or due to the secondary skin infections.
Many
times owners and veterinarians get caught-up in treating the allergy
symptoms (ear and skin infections) and the underlying allergies do not get
the attention necessary to resolve the issue. While it's important to
treat and control on-going skin irritation, remember that if your dog's skin
problems are a result of allergies, you cannot CURE the problem by treating
only the SYMPTOMS (ear and skin infections). You must diagnose
and treat the underlying allergies, or you will be treating skin irritations
on a recurring basis with no hope of completely eliminating the problem.
Before
I go further, I need to make a couple of suggestions that may help keep you
and your dog from having to deal with allergy problems or may help you if
you are already dealing with this problem. First and foremost, let me
stress the importance of feeding your dog a QUALITY diet. In my
experience, 90% or more of allergy problems can be solved with proper diet.
This is not an area where you should scrimp or be negligent. I cannot
begin to tell you how important it is that you feed your dog a top
quality food (not just for dealing with allergy problems!). Feeding
your dog a quality food can mean the difference between a happy, healthy pet
and a sickly, needy pet that is always taking medication and/or needs
special care. Diet can and does affect every system of the dog's body
and the lack of proper nutrition can only lead to health problems down the
road.
It
is vital that you listen to your BREEDER and feed the recommended foods for
the life of the dog. If you have chosen a knowledgeable breeder from
whom to purchase your puppy, this person will have the most reliable
information on what type of dog food your dog will need. If you have
chosen your breeder well, this person will also be available down the road
to help you if you have questions or concerns about your dog's diet in later
years. You should always consult with your breeder before
switching foods, even if it is your veterinarian that is recommending the
change. This is not to say that you should not listen to your
veterinarian, but you must remember that your veterinarian is a general
practitioner while your breeder is (or should be!) a breed specialist.
As
for my own recommendations for feeding (and dealing with allergies), I only
recommend two basic brands of dog food, Eukanuba or Pro Plan. In
addition, I only recommend certain formulas of these foods for my Cockers.
I only recommend Eukanuba small or medium breed (puppy or adult) regular
formulas, or their performance food. I only recommend Pro Plan
Chicken & Rice puppy or adult foods or their performance food. These
are the only foods that I recommend for my Cockers on a regular basis.
Additionally, I particularly discourage the use of any Science Diet products
or any other formulas (such as lamb or beef) with my Cockers.
For
dogs that have proven to have a food sensitivity to the foods above or that
may need an all-natural food alternative, I also recommend Solid Gold Hund-N-Flokken Adult food or Hundchen
Flokken puppy food. (I strongly recommend using the Solid Gold
Seameal supplement listed below when feeding this food.) For
dogs that have contact or airborne allergies or other skin conditions in
which a diet supplement may be helpful, I recommend Solid Gold Seameal
Powder w/Flaxseed Meal or The Missing Link.
Allergens
that most commonly affect dogs are:
- Airborne
Particles - pollen, mold, dust, etc.
- Food - soy,
beef, wheat, rawhide, chemical additives, etc.
- Environmental
(contact) - chemicals, fibers (wool, cotton), grass, etc.
AIRBORNE
(inhalant) allergens may cause seasonal reactions or the problems
can be continuous or intermittent. These reactions are similar
to allergic reactions experienced by humans and are often caused by
the same factors. Plant pollens, mold spores, animal dander,
dust mites, and other airborne particles can all cause allergic
reactions in dogs. The symptoms for allergic reaction to
one or more of these allergens may include rubbing and/or scratching
of the ears and face, shaking of the head, ear infections in one or
both ears, nasal and/or eye drainage, and/or skin irritation.
Airborne allergies tend to show up when a dog is 1½ to 2 years
of age and the allergic reactions tend to get worse each year.
This is unless the dog has moved to a new area where it is exposed
to new allergens.
FOOD
allergies are a reaction by the dog's body after eating a specific
ingredient or ingredients. Contrary to popular
belief, by-products and preservatives are not the most common
allergens found in dog food. Reactions are more often the
result of protein (beef, lamb) or grains (wheat, corn, soy).
Food allergies are rarely a sudden manifestation of symptoms after
feeding a new food. Reactions generally occur in dogs that
have been eating a specific diet for 6 months or more. The
reaction to food is only seen after the dog has become "sensitized"
to the specific ingredient. Symptoms of food allergy can
include the same nose, eye and skin problems as listed above, but
these symptoms are often combined with vomiting, diarrhea,
licking, chewing, or gnawing of the feet and/or groin. Colitis
(gastrointestinal -GI) symptoms, such as mucus or blood in the stool
and frequent stools, may also be exhibited by a dog with food
allergies. If a dog is maintained on a
consistent diet, food allergies are most likely to show up in older
puppies (under one year of age) or in middle age or older adult
dogs. Some of the more common causes of canine food allergies
are beef, chicken, milk, eggs, corn, wheat, and soy.
CONTACT
allergens are substances or items in the dogs environment that cause
an allergic reaction. Shampoos, fleas, laundry detergent, rug
cleaners, carpet fibers, bedding materials or grasses can all cause
allergic reactions. These reactions can be seasonal (in the
case of grass allergies) or they may occur after a new cleaner is
used in the home or after new carpet or furniture is brought into
the home. Symptoms can include licking, chewing and
gnawing of the feet or groin or reactions may manifest as skin
irritation or sores, especially in the armpits, at the elbows, hocks
and around the rear-end. Fleas especially can
cause the dog to do significant damage to its skin, so these issues
must be addressed and treated quickly to avoid further injury to the
dog.
Before
beginning expensive testing and treatment for allergies, be sure
that the following causes of skin irritation have been ruled out
and/or addressed:
- Fleas
- Worms
- Mites
- Mange
- Ringworm - a
fungal infection, NOT a worm
- Bacterial or yeast
infections
- Airborne
(inhalant) allergies are often discovered after a dog shows signs of
itchy skin, but no visible skin irritation can be found. In
the first stages, the dog consistently licks, rubs
or chews a portion (or portions) of its anatomy, but close examination
of the skin reveals no visible trauma, injury or irritation. From
this point however, the dog's licking and chewing begins to induce
self-inflicted trauma and can lead to changes in the skin environment.
Changes in the skin can include excessive
moisture from saliva or skin secretions, an increase in the number of skin
surface bacteria or yeast organisms and/or irritation/injury from scratching/chewing/licking.
This trauma and the resulting skin changes lead to secondary
infections (yeast and/or bacterial), hair follicle infections and other
skin disorders. In cases of chronic allergic skin
irritation, it's not uncommon for the skin to thicken and develop a
"corrugated" (elephant skin) look. Over time the skin may also
develop a dark pigment, due to the chronic inflammation, and the coat
(especially on light colored dogs) may become stained a reddish brown.
- Food
allergies are notoriously difficult to isolate and can take a
significant amount of time to bring under control. They are
curable however and do not necessarily require extensive medication
or costly care. Time and effort are usually the key factors in
solving a food allergy dilemma.
Often
the first sign of a food allergy (in young dogs especially) will be
recurrent skin or ear infections. If these infections are not
associated with parasites (mites, mange, worms, fleas), abnormal ear canal
development or water, wax or debris being trapped in the ear, they
are likely to be the result of allergies. Treating the
ear infections is only the first step in eliminating the problem
however. You must also address the food allergy issue,
or the infections are likely to return within a short period of
time. For in depth information on ear infections you can
visit my 
page, so I'm not going to go
into much detail at this time. Suffice it to say that, while you
are treating the food allergy, you will need to maintain a vigilant
preventive maintenance program of ear care. This should include
regular cleaning and possibly the application of an anti-inflammatory,
antibacterial and/or an anti-yeast medication 2 - 3 times a week.
- Contact
allergies are many times easier to diagnose than other allergies as the
offending allergen is easier to isolate and identify. Symptoms are
generally sudden and can be quickly traced when the animal's environment
and habits are investigated. Contact allergens are not all that
common, but contact IRRITANTS (which cause skin irritation and can lead
to secondary infections) are not uncommon. The first indication
that something in contact with the skin is causing a reaction is that
all of the exposed areas of the skin will be affected.
Allergic
reactions in dogs are often quite similar, no matter the origin of the
allergen. This can make a definitive diagnosis very difficult.
The most accurate means of diagnosing a specific inhalant allergy is to do a
"skin test." This is a procedure in which very small quantities of
common allergens are injected under the skin with a tiny needle. The
degree of reaction to each substance is then "graded". The substances
to which the dog has the most severe reactions will be considered allergens
for that dog. The advantages of doing the skin test over various blood tests is that
there tend to be fewer false positive reactions. Thus the noticeable reactions
are a stronger basis to support a diagnosis of inhalant allergy. This
will also give a more accurate diagnosis of the allergens that are
truly significant to your dog.
There
is also a blood test, known as an ELISA
test, for diagnosing inhalant allergies. Unfortunately, there can be a fairly high percentage of false positive
allergen reactions with this test. It does, however, have some
advantages over the skin test. To start with, it requires a shorter
period of time without antihistamine or corticosteroid treatments before the
test can be administered. Additionally, a completely negative
result on the ELISA test is a more reliable diagnosis that your dog does NOT
have inhalant allergies than is a completely negative result on the skin
test.
Once
your dog's allergenic substances have been identified, your vet can combine
the offending substances into an allergy serum that can be used to
"hyposensitize" your dog. Statistically, the success rate of hyposensitization
is similar whether the serum ingredients are determined by a skin test or by
an ELISA test. After the serum has been manufactured, the dog will
receive a series of gradually increasing
injections of the allergy serum. This treatment plan is designed to reduce the dog's response to the
substances that trigger allergic reactions. This treatment has a
success rate of approximately 75% in treating inhalant allergies in dogs. Of the
75% that respond to hyposensitization, about
half of the dogs will eventually be able to discontinue symptomatic allergy
medication.
You
will notice that the tests above are for inhalant allergies.
While many laboratories include food substances in their allergy "test
panel", this is not a reliable method of diagnosing food allergies.
There are tests under development that may eventually be useful in this area
but, at least for now, food allergy diagnosis is a matter of elimination.
While some cases of food allergy can be solved with a simple change of diet
or removal of an offending treat, severe or hard to diagnose cases may
require a strict elimination diet. This means the dog is given a
strict diet composed of a
single fresh, home-cooked protein source and one grain (or other starch).
The ingredients of this new food must be items that have not been in
ANY of the foods that the dog has EVER eaten. The dog is also
given bottled water in case there is an allergen in the local water supply.
This
elimination diet is strictly adhered to, with no additional treats or
goodies, for a minimum of 3 months. If the dog's allergy symptoms
subside during this time, then you can make a pretty reliable assumption
that the dog has a food allergy. To confirm the diagnosis and identify
the allergen(s) your dog is sensitive to, you must "challenge" the
dog's body by reintroducing individual food items. To do this, you add one (and only one!)
food ingredient
to the dog's diet each week. If the allergy symptoms return at any
point, then the most recent item added to the dog's diet should be
considered an allergen. Remove this item immediately from the dog's
diet and wait a week (or until allergy symptoms have subsided again) before
introducing additional ingredients. Keep in mind that finding
one allergen does not mean that you have identified everything that your dog
is allergic to. You should continue the elimination trial until you
have compiled as complete a list as possible of "safe" and "suspicious"
ingredients.
The
goal is to eventually find a
commercial food (and treats!) that your dog can eat. To do this,
you must have a complete list of ingredients that are safe for your dog.
You will then investigate individual food brands until you find one that
appears to be safe for your dog. Once you find an appropriate food,
you will then gradually add increasing amounts of this food (over a two week
period) into your dog's diet. If there are no immediate allergic
reactions, you will take him completely off of the home-made food
and evaluate his condition on just the commercial food. If your dog
shows no allergy symptoms after 2 months of the commercial diet, then you
should be able to consider the food issue resolved. Remember
that even though your dog may be stable on his new diet, you must continue
to introduce any new treats (or ingredients) one at a time, over a one week
period.
If
you suspect your dog may have allergies,
you should immediately focus on ways to prevent or minimize the symptoms and
conditions associated with this problem. By working to prevent
allergic reactions before they become severe or develop into other forms of
disease, you can save yourself a lot of work and expense and your dog a lot
of pain and discomfort. I've given you information above on how
to isolate and remove possible allergens from you’re dog’s diet or environment.
The following information may be help you prevent a full-blown allergy
problem from developing.
-
If your dog is not on one of my recommended foods
and seems itchy, has dry, flaky skin or is suffering from a skin or
ear infection,
try changing
him over to one of my recommended foods (slowly) and see if this helps. It will take
4-8 weeks to see
the results of a food change.
-
In the meantime, treat bacterial or yeast infections
of the ears or skin accordingly. Keep grooming and hygiene up to date and, if necessary, you
can speak with your veterinarian about using Benadryl to control serious itching (use children’s
formula and dose by weight).
-
Steroids
may be necessary to reduce the inflammation and the immune system
reaction to the allergens.
-
Another anti-itch treatment that I’ve found works well
for immediate itch relief is hydrocortisone shampoos and sprays.
The shampoo can be used weekly and the sprays can be used for spot
treatments as necessary.
-
Herbal
or medicated shampoos
may also help.
Look for aloe, oatmeal, jojoba, or eucalyptus shampoos.
-
Frequent vacuuming and air purifiers
can help control allergens in your home.
-
Remember that treats, rawhide and chew toys must also be
evaluated as possible allergens. Remove all of these from the dog’s
diet and replace with items whose ingredients you have already
determined are not allergens for your dog. You
might try all-natural treats (Solid Gold), home-made treats
(I have several pages of these posted on my web-site) or Eukanuba or
Iams
biscuits. Introduce these new items slowly, one at a time, in two week
blocks, so that you can isolate any allergic reactions (skin or ear
problems, throwing up, diarrhea, etc.).
-
Keep track of new
products or items you use or bring into the house. If your dog
suddenly begins showing allergy symptoms, this will help you find and
eliminate the
allergen quickly. Jot down new types of
household cleaners, soaps, shampoos, bedding, yard treatments, plants,
anything the dog may come in contact with or ingest.
-
Discuss allergy problems with your groomer as well and ask
them to use only hypo-allergenic products and to not spray the dog with
colognes or other substances that might cause a problem.
-
Another option for suspected allergy sufferers is to add fatty acid
supplements to your dog’s diet. I recommend The Missing Link®
Supplement, Solid Gold Sea Meal or Solid Gold Flax Seed Oil
supplements.
for
further information about Cocker Spaniels.
