The food that you feed your dog can influence many things. It can affect their appearance, their weight, their energy levels, and their behaviour. However, the main reason pet owners choose to feed their dog a high-quality diet is to take care of their health. Unfortunately, many commercial pet foods contain fillers and unhealthy ingredients that can trigger allergies. Pet allergies can also come from the outdoors, grooming products, or external parasites. If you have bought home a new puppy and nothing can explain their constant itching and bite, then it could be due to allergies. Alongside the help and advice from your vet, here is how to help your puppy cope with their allergies.
Feed the Right Food
Choosing a high-quality diet that is made from healthy and natural ingredients for your puppy can be effective at reducing allergies. Some pets do well on natural and/or grain-free diets. Your vet may recommend the perfect diet for your pup, but if they don’t, then you should consider raw puppy food from Bella & Duke. This food won’t contain grains, fillers, and nasty preservatives that can cause skin allergies and an upset stomach. Instead, this raw dog food for a puppy is natural and nutritious.
Try Natural Pet Supplements
Your pet’s diet should provide them will all of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that they need to stay healthy. However, there are a number of pet supplements that can help to support an allergic dog. These include omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, probiotics, quercetin, and L-theanine. In order to work effectively, these will need to be combined with diet, lifestyle changes, and vet care. Some of the supplements may not be suitable for puppies of a certain age, so you must speak to your vet first.
Bathe Your Dog Often
Using a gentle soap and fragrance-free shampoo that has been made specifically for puppies can help if you bathe your pet. Bathing should be done once a week. Look for a shampoo that contains aloe vera or oatmeal, as this can offer them many benefits. If your pet has a more serious condition, then your vet may prescribe a medicated shampoo. Make sure you clean the pup’s ears and check for secondary infections during each bath. If you think your pup has an outdoor allergy, then you should wipe them down every time they come back indoors.
Choose the Right Bed
When your puppy isn’t up to mischief, they will spend a lot of their time snuggling up on their bed. To reduce the risk of their allergies flaring up, consider buying them a hypoallergenic dog bed. These are less likely to collect common allergens, like dust mites. You should replace your pet’s bed annually, regardless of the condition and material. You can donate these to a local animal shelter. You should also wash their covers weekly with natural detergent and add a hypoallergenic liner.
Prevent Fleas and Ticks
All responsible pet owners should give their pets an effective flea and tick prevention treatment throughout the year. Many breeders and all pet rescues treat their puppies before they go to their new owners, but this will only protect your pup for a limited amount of time (depending on the meds). Some dogs have flea allergies and if your dog is allergic, it is common for them to chew the fleas off them. Their skin will react to a small number of bites or it can aggravate an existing condition.
Listen to Your Vet
This is the most important point of all. Listening to the advice given by your vet about changes you make to your puppy’s diet and lifestyle is essential to making the right choices and helping your puppy cope. Even if you manage to control the cause of the allergy, sometimes, medication is required to provide relief to your pet, to help them recover and to reduce the risk of a secondary infection. Make sure you follow your vet’s advice, finish all courses of medication, and return for a follow-up visit.
Will Require Ongoing Care
Taking care of an allergic dog is not an easy journey and one of the most important things that you must remember is that there is not a magic cure for your puppy. This condition is something that you will need to manage for their entire life. No matter how hard you try, secondary conditions may appear that will require their own methods of treatment. Your dog will appreciate your dedication and your vet will support you and work with you during this ongoing care, so don’t lose hope.
Some allergies will appear straight away, while others may take longer to notice. Whatever happens, it is important to remember that your puppy will love you unconditionally and even though it is hard, it isn’t their fault that they have an allergy and there are many ways to manage and maintain them.
