Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Flea Allergies in Canines

Flea allergies in canines, commonly referred to as flea dermatitis, is the most common variety of allergy discovered in dogs and is brought on by the bite of a flea. It is the principal cause of itching in dogs, and it just takes the bite of one sole flea to induce an allergic reaction on a pet's skin. Flea allergies may cause itchiness in your dog for anywhere between a few hours to a couple of days and might take 3 to 7 days to appear after the first flea bite.

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The Causes of Flea Allergies in Canines

Fleas are only seen on an animal while they feed. Similar to a mosquito, fleas will bite a dog and suck in blood for nourishment. As the flea does this, they will inject a modest amount of saliva under your pet's skin that might be comprised of nearly fifteen different allergens. If the dog is sensitive to one of the allergens that were injected by the flea, it will incite an allergic response that results in the dog itching. Just about half of all canines will develop flea allergies, and while it's more often found in grown dogs, puppies can also suffer from flea dermatitis.

Diagnosing Flea Allergies in Canines and Recognition of Its Warning Signs

Dog owners usually aren't aware that their pet has fleas owing to their very minute size and considering how hard fleas can be to eliminate. What makes diagnosis of a dog flea bite allergy especially challenging is the fact that it just takes one solitary flea to induce a flea allergy and the warning signs may not be noticeable for nearly one week later than when the flea bite happened. It doesn't take an infestation to bring on dermatitis. The warning signs of flea dermatitis commonly include intense scratching and itching or biting of the coat and skin, inflammation of the skin, skin rashes, and reddening of the skin. As a consequence of the ceaseless itching and scratching, hair loss all over the animal's posterior, primarily near the area commencing in the middle along the spine to the base of the tail and in their rear legs region, is also a pretty solid indication of flea allergies in canines. The vet can also detect flea allergies in your pet employing advanced skin and blood screens to look for specific allergy causing substances and to eliminate other possibilities including bacterial, yeast and fungal infections.

Flea Treatment Should Start Out With An Effective Flea Eradication Program

The first stage to a projected sort of flea treatment will necessitate flea control both on the dog as well as in your dog's nearby surroundings. Even if there's an impeccable flea control plan instituted, it is not out of the ordinary for dog's to still receive an occasional flea bite. Dogs which spend much of their outside will be a more arduous challenge.

Desensitization and Conventional Treatments for Flea Allergies in Canines

A vet may oftentimes try the use of desensitization as a method of flea dermatitis treatment. It necessitates injecting the dog with small measures of flea antigen over a prolonged amount of time, possibly even the rest of the animal's life. This type of treatment has been found to be successful in close to one half of the patients, but might become very expensive after a while. Antihistamines and traditional medicines, like corticosteroids, are also generally prescribed by the veterinarian to remedy flea allergies in canines. These drugs can usually provide relief for flea allergies; but, it has been shown that there are significant side effects when using corticosteroids. Ultimately, this form of treatment may be counterproductive.

Natural Treatments for Flea Allergies in Canines

Due to the side effects related to taking steroids, an expanding number of dog owners are turning to holistic remedies for flea allergies in canines. There are a number of natural ingredients utilized in these herbal formulas that are both effective and safe for your pet. German Chamomile has been utilized to clean and soothe the skin for many centuries. A few other herbs have also been found to aid in improving total skin health and provide soothing and restoration benefits to the skin, and include Marigold, Witchhazel and Cleavers.

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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Get Rid of Canine Fleas

Fleas are a major worry that all dog owners eventually have to contend with. Anybody who owns a dog has almost certainly have faced the unpleasant task of getting rid of fleas on dogs, a job which has time and again proved to be more trying than it looks.

Fleas aren't simply an issue because they bite and cause hours of aggravating itching and scratching for your pet, but they can also lead to more critical issues including tapeworm infestations, flea allergies in dogs and in extreme situations, anemia.

As a result of their astounding resistance, fleas are terribly challenging to manage. A female flea might lay more than 2,000 eggs during her life, which suggests that infection could come suddenly and the eggs she laid could continue to exist for several months in her habitat while merely awaiting a timely victim. Consequently, it is critical to get rid of canine fleas as well as the fleas residing in the animal's living area. The perfect places to look for fleas include rugs, sand, carpeting and bedding.

The Best Approaches to Get Rid of Canine Fleas

To totally eradicate fleas on your pet and in his or her surroundings, it's imperative to learn the lifecycle of the flea. There are four stages that constitute the life cycle of the flea. As with the majority of insects, the fleas starts life in the egg stage, grows into larva, then matures to the pupa phase until lastly making it to the adult stage.

The Flea's Egg Stage

The fleas eggs are pale in color and are so minute that they are difficult to find without using a magnifying glass. Even though the eggs are initially laid on the dog's skin, a lot will with time drop onto the ground to carry on their life cycle. Around half of the total flea populace is made up of eggs. Depending upon the living conditions, the eggs hatch in anywhere from two to four weeks. The higher the warmth and dampness in the surroundings, the quicker the eggs will hatch.

The Flea Larvae Stage

After the flea egg hatches, it goes into the larvae stage where it grows to roughly 1/4 inch long. The flea larvae subsist on organic waste materials and in the adult flea's feces. They're uncomfortable in vivid light and tend to go into hiding deep within their existing surroundings, if at all possible in a balmy and humid place. Climate controlled habitats are the ideal habitat for the flea lifecycle to prosper. Outside, larval gestation will only occur in wet, shady regions.

The Flea Pupa Stage

After crossing into the pupae phase, the flea pupa grow a velvety and tacky protective layer. This cocoon rapidly configures a helpful hiding spot as it becomes encrusted by waste and dust. If motivated by temperature, carbon dioxide or by manual influence, like that in a warm and sultry environment, an adult flea can emerge from its cocoon in as quickly as 5 to 10 days. Once the adult flea comes out of its cocoon, it will survive for no more than a couple of days if it's unable to feed. Pre-emerged adult fleas may survive inside the cocoon for up to 9 months. This is consequential for the reason that adult fleas still alive in the cocoon are resilient to insecticides spread over the environment and can appear a significant time after you use insecticides in your residence.

The Flea Adult Stage

As soon as the adult flea appears from the shell, it will have to rapidly get a host since it has to have blood in order to live on. Two days after obtaining a suitable host, the female flea will start laying about forty eggs per day. Adult fleas usually live up to three weeks. The complete life cycle of the flea may possibly be brought to a close in as short as two to four weeks, or up to ten months conditional to environmental conditions.

Treating a Dog for Fleas

There are numerous powders, sprays, shampoos and spot on preparations out there to liberate your dog of fleas. Be sure to talk with a veterinarian to decide on the most helpful and reliable flea pesticides for your home and canine.

Get Rid of Canine Fleas Indoors

Most pesticides are only successful against the adult flea, but environmental preparations are becoming more highly developed. Your veterinarian can offer you flea pesticides containing insect growth regulators that will help destroy the flea eggs and larvae. Prior to the use of any indoor product, you ought to vacuum the rugs and carpets to entice the pre-adult fleas to emerge from their protective cocoon. Be certain to toss away the vacuum bag following its use. You should also clean the bedding your dog has layed down on.

Get Rid of Canine Fleas Outdoors

Focus on dark, shaded regions. Spray an insecticide that contains an insect growth regulator and do this again every 2-3 weeks for 3 to 5 treatments.

The latest topical and oral flea control treatments should profoundly help you eliminate your flea problem. With determination and patience, you should be able to get rid of canine fleas in no time!

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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Dog Skin Allergies

Have you started to find your dog scratching and itching excessively? Is the itching creating exposed sores and disappearance of hair on your canine pal? If so, this is a sound indication that your pet could be stricken with dog skin allergies. Dogs do not display the normal red eyes and a runny nose the same way humans do when we are dealing with an allergy. Additional warning signs might consist of extreme licking of a particular area, or gnawing of the paws to the point of bleeding.

What Causes Allergies in Dogs?

An allergy occurs when a dog's immune system excessively reacts to particular allergens. The body will then produce antibodies as a means of protection when the cause of the dog's allergy enters the body. These antibodies will then join to immune cells in the skin and other organs of the body. So, while the allergens increasingly invade tissue surfaces, the antibodies prompt the immune cells to discharge powerful substances (referred to as histamines) into the neighboring tissue. This then causes the swelling and dog itching that is characteristic of dog skin allergies.

There are several things to consider when locating the root of skin allergies in canines. An allergy that affects a pet's skin is typically caused by one (or all) of these: food, airborne allergens, and fleas.

Flea Allergy otherwise known as Flea Dermatitis is generally brought about by the saliva of the flea. This is why it is extremely significant to liberate your canine of fleas frequently.

The atopic allergy is caused by the breathing in of airborne particles in the natural environment, including mold spores, tobacco smoke, pollen and dust, activate atopic allergies. If a pet is allergic to pollen, the pet will display signs, even if kept in the house as the particles will move into the home. Sneezing, coughing and wheezing usually go along with this variety of allergy.

Food allergies are the third most frequent type of allergy in dogs. The most likely reasons for food allergies in dogs consist of: corn, chicken, soy, milk, eggs, beef and wheat. Diarrhea and queasiness frequently accompany this type of dog allergy.

Contact allergy is the least common sort of dog allergy and is brought on by contacting something. Triggers can include plastic, grass and wool. A few pets can develop allergic reactions to particular chemicals in the home, but this is not very common.

How to Diagnose Skin Allergies in Dogs

A veterinarian may be able to diagnose the problem, however, although it might require a process of elimination to discover the cause of the dog’s skin allergy and could perhaps refer your pet to a veterinarian that’s a dermatology expert. In the case where fleas are ruled out, the animal might be put on an elimination food regimen for 10 weeks. The dog is given food he or she has not had in the past, for instance, poultry, lamb, and potatoes, with the previous food being reintroduced slowly until the allergy resurfaces.

The allergen is thought to be at least one ingredient if the dogs scratching is lessened by about fifty percent of what it was before. To check for atopic and contact allergies, dermatology specialists use an intradermal allergy exam that works by mildly sedating the animal with small quantities of prospective allergens which are injected into the skin on the shaved section. If your dog is allergic to a certain substance, the skin close to the area of the injection will become inflamed.

Treating Dog Skin Allergies

Keeping your dog away from allergens and remedying the symptoms of dog skin allergies are the most beneficial treatment techniques. Drugs that include steroids and antihistamines are often prescribed to ease symptoms of itching and swelling in dogs, but like all medicines they might come with undesirable side effects and the long-term effects are still undetermined.

Long term treatment using steroids is not advocated for these medicines function by restraining the immune system. Prolonged steroid use over time could leave your dog open to diabetes, infections and other illnesses.

Natural Remedies

Fortunately for dog owners, there are plenty of non-toxic and natural treatments for skin allergies in dogs. Melaleuca alternifolia can be applied as a topical to stimulate healthy skin and keeping the dog’s skin clean while Althaea officinalis root is a great and commonly accepted remedy for soothing the skin. Homeopathic treatments like Apis and Ledum have impressive soothing characteristics and are remarkably useful in healing inflamed and itchy skin, or small stings and wounds.

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