Understanding and Treating Your Pet's Allergies

• Posted on 6 June 2018
• By Dr. Jill Tack
• Posted in allergy remedies, alleriges, pet allergens, pet allergy sympoms
• 0

You may think of allergy season as being in the spring, but the truth is that it’s allergy season all year long, even for our pets! Just like us, they can experience allergies due to both their environment and food.

You may think of allergy season as being in the spring, but the truth is that it’s allergy season all year long, even for our pets! Just like us, they can experience allergies due to both their environment and food. If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms in your fur baby, he or she could be suffering from allergies:

• Itchy, red, moist, or scabbed skin
• Increased scratching
• Itchy, runny eyes
• Itchy back or base of the tail
• Itchy ears and ear infections
• Sneezing
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Snoring caused by an inflamed throat
• Paw chewing/swollen paws

What Causes Pet Allergies?

If your pet suffers from allergies, you’re probably wondering what’s causing them. It may take you some time to figure out what your pet is allergic to because pet allergies can be caused by a range of factors, including:

• Excessive use of antibiotics
• Overgrowth of yeast
• Overuse of vaccines
• Leaky Gut Syndrome
• Food (common allergy-causing ingredients include wheat, corn, soy, chicken, poultry, and tomatoes)
• Environment (environmental factors that can cause pet allergies range from pollen and mold to cigarette smoke, and rubber and plastic.

Determining which allergens are affecting your pet is a similar process to allergy testing in humans. These are some common conventional and holistic approaches:

• Muscle Testing (holistic approach)
• Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM (holistic approach)
• Saliva Testing (semi-holistic approach)
• Blood Testing (conventional approach)
• Intradermal Skin Test (similar to humans, conventional approach)

Natural Remedies for Allergies

Once you find out what’s causing your pet’s allergies, there are many natural ways to go about easing them. Here are a few methods that we recommend:

• Cell Salts
• Bach Flower Remedies
• Essential Oils
• Candida Clear
• Herbs:
  • Nature’s Sunshine ALJ
  • Nature’s Sunshine Histablock
  • Pau d’Arco
• Remove offending foods
• Remove offending environmental products
• Build the Gut
  • With Probiotics to help:
    • Counterbalance good and bad bacteria in the intestines
    • Control yeast overgrowth
    • Work in conjunction with Glutamine
    • Support proper digestion and bowel health
    • Help remove toxins from the body
    • Improve immune system
    • Help manufacture B vitamins
  • With Amino Acids (Glutamine, Glutamate, Glycine, and/or Glutamic Acid) to help:
    • Correct autoimmune disease
    • Joint Pain
    • Thyroid deficiencies
    • Multiple food sensitivities
    • Repair Leaky Gut Syndrome
• Build the Immune System with:
  • Echinacea
  • Astragalus
  • Fermented Foods
  • Probiotics
  • Exercise
• Silver Shield

Considering the questionable ingredients that can be found in many pet foods, we recommend starting your pet allergy treatment by switching to either raw or freeze-dried food. A raw diet will eliminate all starches, grains, and poultry in all forms from your pet’s diet. Look for potato-, grain-, and chicken-free versions of freeze-dried food. Don’t forget to change your pet’s treats too! They can also contain offending ingredients.

Your pet’s allergies won’t disappear overnight, but with some patience and the right treatments, you’ll have them back on the road to wellness in no time.