Puppy Allergies

Just like you, your canine companion can suffer from allergies. If your puppy has an allergy, the constant irritation can have a serious impact on its skin, coat and even its digestive system, unless treated immediately. First, determine the specific allergen that's affecting your puppy, and then apply the appropriate veterinary-prescribed care.

  1. Symptoms

    • Symptoms of puppy allergies include constant sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, runny nose, excessive itching and scratching, constantly chewing itchy areas, skin rashes and swollen faces or legs. Such symptoms may persist for two to three days after you determine the type of allergy your puppy has and remove the irritant, especially if it's a food allergy, according to the Vet Info website.

    Causes

    • Puppies can show allergies as early as 8 weeks of age, states Vet Info. While food is the main cause of allergies in puppies, other causes include inhalants such as pollen, dust, mold or smoke, and skin problems such as flea saliva that remains on the puppy's skin after a flea bite. Common foods puppies are allergic to are beef, corn, soy, chicken, wheat, flour or preservatives that manufacturers of puppy food use to keep their products from spoiling on store shelves. To discover the food allergen, feed your puppy a protein or starch diet that is unfamiliar, according to the Puppy Network website. Over the course of the next week, add back in the ingredients you previously fed your puppy one at a time until you discover the culprit.

    Considerations

    • Some breeds are more susceptible to different types of allergies than others. According to the Puppy Network site, terriers, golden retrievers, poodles, dalmatians, German shepherds, Chinese shar-peis, shih tzus, Lhasa apsos, pugs, Irish setters and miniature schnauzers are more susceptible to inhalant allergies. Cocker spaniels, West Highland white terriers and Labrador retrievers are more susceptible to food allergies, says the 2nd Chance website.

    Diagnosis

    • According to the Vet Info site, your vet will do blood and skin tests to determine the cause of your puppy's allergy. If your puppy has a food allergy, he can also conduct food trials to determine the cause if you were unsuccessful. Typically, your vet will inject your dog with an allergen and wait a few hours to observe any skin irritations. In addition, blood tests may reveal allergens in the puppy's bloodflow. For food trials, your vet will prescribe a different diet every two weeks until you discover the allergen.

    Treatment

    • Your vet will usually treat puppy allergies with antibiotics, steroids or antihistamines and may administer allergy shots for inhalant allergies so that over time your puppy will develop a resistance to the allergen, says the Vet Info site. If your dog has a flea allergy, vets and pet shops sell a variety of topical flea repellents. In the case of a food allergy, you vet will prescribe a specific diet that eliminates the allergen she found during diagnosis.