Allergies in dogs: how to treat without medication?

Allergies in dogs - what are they?

Allergies, like in humans, are a misreaction of the immune system to foreign substances. Both humans and pets can suffer from them. Dogs are no exception, and there are a number of different types of allergies in dogs.

How to recognise an allergy in a dog?

Allergies in dogs usually manifest themselves through itching or frequent licking.

The itchiest areas are often the spaces between the toes, the upper abdomen, the head, the cheeks, the lower neck, the chest and the belly. In other cases, reddening of the skin around the ears, inflammation of the skin or itchy eczema around the anal glands can be signs of allergy. Allergies can also manifest as ear infections.

The following symptoms may be signs of an allergic reaction:

• Itching
• Urticaria
• Swelling of the face, ears, lips, eyelids or earlobes
• Red, inflamed skin
• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Sneezing
• Itching in the ears
• Chronic ear infections
• Itching and discharge from the eyes
• Constant licking

Types of allergies in dogs

Dermatitis due to flea allergy

Flea allergic dermatitis is an allergic reaction to a flea bite, as many people are allergic to the saliva of fleas. Affected dogs have severe itching, especially at the root of the tail, and the skin may become red, inflamed and covered with scabs.

Food allergy

Food allergies and hypersensitivities can also cause itchy skin. In dogs with food allergies, the ears and paws are most likely to itch, and gastrointestinal symptoms may also occur.

Environmental allergens

Allergens such as dust, pollen and mould can cause atopic allergies or atopic dermatitis. These allergies are often seasonal and may occur at certain times of the year. As with food allergies, paws and ears are most commonly affected (but also wrists, ankles, muzzle, groin, eye area and spaces between toes).

With any skin allergy, there is a risk of secondary infection as your dog scratches, bites and licks himself. This puts him at risk of yeast and bacterial infections, which may then need to be treated.

What to do if the dog has an allergic reaction without medication?

If you feel your dog is allergic, you should address the problem immediately and remove the allergen.

Unless you want to go to the vet and have tests done to determine exactly what your dog is allergic to (these are also very expensive). Try an elimination method - gradually change your dog's food or cosmetics and see if your dog's allergy improves.

You can use hemp ointment for dogs to treat irritated skin.

Our recommendations:

1. hypoallergenic dog food.

Hypoallergenic dog food contains only one type of protein so that the allergen can be clearly excluded, which is clearly stated in the contents of the pellets. The least allergenic protein is lamb, salmon or game. Feed allergies are often caused by chicken, beef, pork or grain proteins contained in the pellets. For this reason, there are so-called grain-free products that are completely grain-free.

2. hypoallergenic cosmetics

Hypoallergenic shampoos and gels help soothe irritated skin, relieve itching, rebuild the protective skin barrier, and control the skin microflora.

3. food supplements

Allergy supplements help with skin and coat problems caused by hormone imbalances, metabolic disorders or allergies. They contain highly unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3 and 6), zinc and other active ingredients that support the metabolism of the skin.

In consultation with the vet, antihistamines or corticosteroids can also be administered, but this is not relevant for our article today "How to treat allergies in dogs without medication". :-).

How to treat allergies in dogs without medication?

Allergies in a dog without medication are treated by eliminating the allergen and ideally using appropriate supplements - such as the proven CBD drops for dogs.

We are happy to advise you on product selection and dosage. In general, we recommend starting with a 5% concentration of CBD drops for dogs under 15 kg and a 10% concentration for dogs over 15 kg in case of allergies. It is ideal to administer 2 drops in the morning and 2 drops in the evening.

Does CBD help with allergies in dogs?

One of the effects of CBD in dogs has already been shown to be effective against allergies.

We have observed that when CBD drops (oil) are given to the dog at the time of allergy symptoms, the allergy symptoms subside for a few days after application. After that, dogs should only receive a maintenance dose and even with hypoallergenic food, CBD can be completely discontinued and only given if there are problems.

My personal experience with the use of CBD for dog allergies

My name is Lucia Garabashova, I am the author of a series on hemp for animals. We have several animals at home, including Charlie the dog. His allergies started in his second year of life. Although I try to feed my animals as much as possible, we all sin from time to time and eat something that is not of good quality but tastes good (like some unhealthy treats) :-). One day Charlie started scratching his ears and licking his paws uncontrollably. Each time we ended up at the vet and got antibiotic drops in his ears - this process repeated about four times and eventually I got fed up. I didn't want to keep going to the vet to get ear drops - I wanted to tackle the problem in a different way, preferably without medication.

So I gave Charlie (35 kg) 10% CBD for dogs and gave him 2 drops twice a day. Fortunately, his ear infection started to subside. In addition to the drops, I gave him hemp oil, hypoallergenic dry food and only cans of 100% meat.

After three months, when Charlie was suddenly completely symptom-free (previously the inflammations occurred every 14 days), I started to reduce the drops, but the hypoallergenic diet remained. Occasionally allergic reactions would occur, then I would immediately put him back on the drops and within a few days everything cleared up immediately and no vet visits or medication was needed.

Since then, Charlie just sticks to the diet that is good for his body. However, I know that when the symptoms appear, I take CBD for a few days and the problem is fixed. It is a great relief for us not to have to resort to conventional treatments.

And my recommendation is that we very often see clients feeding their dogs only low-quality canned food or leftovers of their own food. This kind of food is not suitable for dogs and can cause allergic reactions.

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Article author:

Lucie Garabasova



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