Taking Care Of Labrador Retriever Allergies
Sometimes some dogs can be extremely allergic to environmental allergens. Unfortunately Labradors have a breed predisposition to certain allergies. Labrador allergies are horrible because they can cause your beautiful dog’s coat will start to appear patchy and mottled when fur falls off. What makes Labrador allergies worse is the distress that the dog is in when experiencing the symptoms of the allergy.
Without allergy testing a vet will not be able to diagnose the problem and will only be able to medicate your dog to treat the symptoms. This is not an ideal situation, as you don’t want your dog on steroids and other medications long term. Plus the scratching, chewing, and licking that your dog does to alleviate the symptoms will only make things worse and expose it to bacterial infections. There are a few things you can do to cut down on exposure to allergens so that your dog is healthy.
A sure sign that your pet is suffering from Labrador allergies is constant scratching that is accompanied by the head shaking and rubbing. Check your dog’s ears, they should be a healthy pink and have no odor. If the ear is red and the dog feels pain when you touch it then it has an ear infection. You should seek treatment for your dog straight away as continued scratching and biting will leave the skin exposed to bacterial infections.
One of the things that can cause an ear infection is Labrador allergies to fleabites. Puppies are especially susceptible to this. If you see a blank discharge that smells in your dog’s ear do not attempt to clean it on your own. You could accidentally push the infection deeper into the ear, worse you could accidentally puncture your dog’s eardrum. A vet is the best person to handle any treatment. They should check if the eardrum is intact before proceeding with treatment even if you have not tried to clean the dog’s ear.
Labrador allergies are manageable once you know what the problem is. If it is an environmental factor then you can eliminate this factor from your home to solve the problem. If the problem is related to pollen then you can keep your dog indoors early in the morning and early in the evening. If your dog loves swimming then make sure to take off its collar and dry your dog as much as possible as soon as it’s out of the water. You should also clean your dog’s ears with a cleaning solution from the vet.
If food is the problem then you should talk to your vet about what foods to cut out. Try not to feed your dog table scraps as some table scraps can cause your dog to have Labrador allergies. Proper Labrador care means avoiding table scraps in your dog’s diet no matter how pleading your dog may look. You should also use anti-flea medications to avoid flea infestations and eliminate constant scratching.
December 7th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
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ai@
http://wahp.me
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:14 pm
June 28th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
David
July 4th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
My dog has similar problems. I recommend a lamb & rice food. Your dog could be allergic to the food you are feeding him. Allergies are very hard to deal with, especially because your dog can not tell you he’s hurting. Also, check to see if he is allergic to your grass or tree bark. Give him no table scraps, and also be aware of the treats you are giving him, they could be a factor as well.
What works for my dog is– Natural Diamonds lamb & rice adult food.
If you go to the vet, dont let them put your dog on steriods, they are very bad for the dog and will only hurt him in the long run!
July 10th, 2010 at 10:40 am
August 11th, 2010 at 9:00 am
September 5th, 2010 at 8:42 pm