1-1 Premeier Issue FINAL PROOF.pdf Mar. 2014 | Page 6

PETS H by Christine Miller

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Does Your Dog Have Allergies?
Trixie our much-loved rescue dog had been licking herself to
the extent that she was creating some “raw” spots on her skin.
Mind you, we have had Trixie for over 11 years and this is not
something that she would usually do. Trixie is a “mutt” but the
best “mutt” anyone could ask for. Of course, just like all dog
owners the first thing we looked for was the possibility of fleas
(please no, I pleaded). We checked her thoroughly. Nothing.
Bathed her with an oatmeal shampoo, hoping that would be
soothing. Didn’t work. Put cortisone spray on her, she licked it
off. Then I thought could she have acquired some sort of allergy,
at her age? Although she was fed a highly rated dog food, we
thought that it was time to make the switch.
Trixie’s story is one we hear quite often. Always for safety’s sake
we recommend going to see your local veternarian in case
it could be something detrimental to your dog. It is stated in
about 15% of cases it is a food allergy. The question is always,
to what? Of course it could be grass, pollens, fleas, grains, meat
etc. Let us discuss the possibility of pet food allergies.
The typical symptoms are:
• Itching, especially the feet, face,
trunk and anal area.
• Itchy ears
• Skin infections that clear up with
antibiotics but reoccur when antibiotic therapy is finished.
• Excessive gut sounds, passing gas,
and frequent bowl movements
• Self induced baldness due to
scratching and licking
We decided to put Trixie on a “grain free” diet. When you make
the decision to do this do it completely. What does this mean? It
means grain free treats and no table scraps. There are many excellent products to choose from, but keep in mind once you do,
give it time. Time does not mean one week, or even 1 month,
in Trixie’s case it took 3 months. One day we were sitting in
the living room and someone made the comment. “Trixie isn’t
scratching anymore.” What a relief for her and us that this was
the solution. H
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