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Allergy season is upon us, so I thought I would post some basic care tips to help you get through the season more comfortably. Most of these tips can also be used year round to keep your pups in excellent health.
- FOOD: Is your pup eating a quality, limited ingredient food? If not, take a list of your dogs food allergens with you to the pet store and spend some time shopping for the best food that you can afford that doesn’t contain any of your pups allergens. If you’re not sure what your pup is allergic to, find a limited ingredient food – 1 meat , 1 carb – and try a small bag. Continue to try different brands until you find the right one for your dog. Remember: Just because it says allergy formula on the bag, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for your dog. There are many “allergy formulas†that my girls can’t eat.
- PROBIOTICS & DIGESTIVE ENZYMES: I highly recommend the Miracle Pack from Nusentia. We have had great luck using that for our dogs. Probiotics and digestive enzymes helps to balance the digestive system, boost the immune system, improve skin and coat condition, relieve gas, and reduce allergy symptoms. This formula contains Bromelain which is a natural antihistamine & anti-inflammatory. The powder can be easily added to food at each feeding.
- SUPPLEMENTS: Organic Virgin Coconut Oil has been very helpful to Emma and Phoebe during allergy season. My dogs LOVE to have the coconut oil added to their food. It is great at fighting yeast, boosting the immune system and improving the skin and coat. Along with adding it to food, it can be used topically on hot spots and in ears. Dosage is 1 tsp per 10 lbs or 1 TBS per 30 lbs AM & PM. Coconut oil melts at 76 degrees. You can feed it in solid or liquid form. You can find Coconut Oil in the natural foods section of your grocery store.
- BATHING: Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly bathing can be a great help you your dog with allergies. We bathe the girls weekly during allergy season or they end up with skin infections. A gentle, castile based shampoo works best. If you have a larger dog that is harder to bathe but likes to swim, that is also a great option. We take Emma swimming quite a bit. It’s a great way to remove allergens from her skin and coat, and I’m sure the cool water feels great on her irritated skin.
I hope these tips are helpful to you and your pup. I’m always here if you have questions. Remember, I’m not a vet or even an expert. Just a gal with two dogs with allergies. If you haven’t been over to our Facebook page, be sure to stop in and share your story. If you’re in need of help there are lots of great people to offer advice. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon!
Andi
I have been a fan of probiotics for a while now. My whole family uses them, and Emma has been on the before during antibiotic use and during the treatment of her systemic yeast infections. I have recently came across a link on Twitter about probiotics being helpful for those with food and seasonal allergies, so I decided to do a little research.
First off, let’s discuss what probiotics are.
Probiotics are good bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms in the digestive tract. There are about 400 different types of probiotics that occur in the digestived tract, Lactobacillus acidophilus is the most common. Probiotics can be helpful in preventing diarrhea caused by antibiotics or stomach infections, they can help with stomach inflammation, and they can even boost the immune system. This is where they come in handy for decreasing your pets allergies.
In order to fight off allergies, your pets immune system needs to be in proper working condition. It’s been said that 80% of your immune system resides in the intestinal tract. If that’s true then probiotics will be a huge help to your pup during allergy season.
I’ve been giving them with every meal along with the Oil of Oregano and have seen great improvement with both Emma and Phoebe. Granted things have cooled off nicely here, which always helps but I think the combo has been helpful too. There has been less itching, no gas, and they’re blackened skin spots have faded away. Emma and Phoebe are taking a probiotic and enzyme combo from Pet Balance. Emma is using the powder form of both (more economical ) and Phoebe is using the easy to feed Probiotic/Enzyme combo tablet. I love these! I wish they were cheaper or were made to dose larger amounts of food ( 1 tablet treats 1/2 cup of food). These are perfect for Phoebe since she is so against anything in pill form, and she eats 1/3 c food AM & PM, so I give her a half tablet with each meal.
The enzymes are made to break down food so they are easier for you pet to digest. They can be helpful with excessive shedding, joint issues, weight problems, & stool eating. If you have a cat, they can be helpful with hairballs too!
I’ve used other types of probiotics and had pretty good luck, but I really do like this brand. I was so happy to find their website. My runner up suggestion would be the Plant Enzymes & Probiotics from Animal Essentials.
I hope this has been helpful for you and your pup. If you have any questions feel free to contact me here or on our Facebook Page. I would love to hear about your experiences with probiotics or anything else that has helped your pups allergies. Take care of yourself and your pup. Talk to you soon!
Andi
Dogs with Allergies on Facebook
I had a previous post about Emma’s systemic yeast infection and I thought I would provide a little more information about it. Systemic yeast can mimic some allergy symptoms, and sometimes your pet will have both. I treated Emma naturally for about two months and her symptoms seem to have cleared up. If your dog is having major issues, I would suggest seeing your veterinarian first since they can prescribe an antifungal antibiotic, and a chlorhexidine shampoo. If you are completely against the use of antibiotics or standard antifungal shampoo, then you can follow this treatment below. I AM NOT a vet! I just prefer to treat my animals naturally if possible. This is what I found and it seemed to work well. First choose your antifungal: Oil of Oregano or Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, the add Glutamine Powder & the Probiotic of your choice. If you’re already giving coconut oil to your dog for other health benefits, you can use it along with the Oil of Oregano.
Oil of Oregano – For small dogs: start with 1 capsule & work up to 2 ( 1 AM/1 PM). For large dogs start with 1 capsule AM & PM & work up to 2 capsules AM & PM. I prefer the NOW Foods brand, and have not had much luck with other brands. You can find this in the natural foods section of your grocery store, at places like the Vitamin Shoppe, or online vitamin stores.
Organic Virgin Coconut Oil - 1 tsp. per 10 lbs, or 1 Tbs. per 30 lbs. AM & PM: You can find this in the natural food section of your grocery store. I recently stumbled upon it at Wal-Mart too, it located with the cooking oils. Coconut oil is a natural antifungal and helps rid the system of yeast.
L-Glutamine Powder – Dogs 1 – 25 lb: 1/2 500 mg capsule AM & PM
25 – 50 1/2 – 1 500 mg capsule AM & PM
50 – 100 lbs 1 – 2 500 mg capsules AM & PM
L- Glutamine is restorative and reparative to the digestive tract. It’ helps balance and heal the digestive system. It’s also a great immune system booster. It is an amino acid that we produce, but we can benefit from more of it when we’re ill or stressed. When yeast is over abundant in your dog’s system it will eat holes in the digestive tract causing leaky gut syndrome and it results in a very stinky dog. Plus, nutrients from your dog’s food aren’t being absorbed. You can find this at your local vitamin store, the natural food section of your grocery store, and I recently found this at Wal-Mart too.
Probiotics - I don’t have an exact dose for probiotics. Emma is using the probiotics from Animal Essentials and she gets 3/4 tsp per day. Follow the instructions on the package. You can find probiotics at your grocery store, vitamin shop, or Wal-Mart or Target. When we were using capsules, I would give Emma 2 – 4 of them. Probiotics restore the good bacteria in the digestive tract which can be wiped out from overuse of antibiotics. If your dogs is put on an antifungal antibiotic, make sure your put them on a probiotic as well.
I hope this helps you and your pet. It’s a great natural way to restore and balance your dog’s system. Take care and we’ll talk soon.
Andi
Dogs with Allergies
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