Just like people, dogs can suffer from extreme seasonal allergies, and just like people, they are miserable. Extreme seasonal allergies can make dogs feel super itchy and generally wretched. There are some things that owners can do, however, to help ease their dog’s seasonal allergy symptoms.
Related: Hypoallergenic Dog Food – Because Dogs Have Allergies, Too
Extreme Seasonal Allergies – Managing the Beast
To properly manage extreme seasonal allergies, you’ll have to approach it from a few different angles. In most cases, dogs with extreme seasonal allergies require a combination of topical and internal medications as well as preventative care to help manage their symptoms.
Preventative Care
You can ease some of your dog’s discomfort from extreme seasonal allergies by wiping its feet down with hypoallergenic baby wipes every time you finish taking it out. When your dog walks around outdoors, all kinds of pollen are getting on its feet. In dogs with severe seasonal allergies, this pollen causes a strong inflammatory response. Simply wiping its feet with a hypoallergenic baby wipe when you come inside will help alleviate some of this inflammatory action.
If you have the time, a wash down with cool water – no soap – after taking your dog out helps immensely as well. The cool water is soothing to your dog’s skin, and it also washes off any pollen that settled onto your dogs fur while you two were out and about.
One bath you’ll need to make time for is a weekly bathing with an aloe and oatmeal shampoo. A good quality aloe and oatmeal shampoo soothes irritated skin and helps promote healthy skin. It gets off accumulated allergens as well as dead skin cells, and it greatly improves the quality of life of a dog suffering from extreme seasonal allergies.
Also consider giving your dog fish oil on a daily basis. 1,000 mg of any quality fish oil capsule will do. Fish oil is full of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which promote healthy skin and repair damaged skin from the bed up. You won’t see results for about six weeks, but it’s doing its thing.
Related: The Best Hypoallergenic Dog Food for Itchy Skin
Topical Treatments
Many times, dogs with severe seasonal allergies will require more than just pad wiping and regular bathing with an aloe and oatmeal shampoo. If you find that these methods aren’t working, don’t discontinue them. Your dog still needs them. Instead, see your vet and ask about a shampoo with cortisone. A 1% cortisone shampoo can drastically improve the itchiness of a dog’s skin. Remember to always let the shampoo sit on your dog’s skin for 10 to 15 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
Medications
Just like regular bathing may not be enough, topical treatment might also not be enough. In that case, you may need to add medications to the mix to address your dog’s extreme seasonal allergies. Your vet will have recommendations for you, and many of them may be over the counter medications.
Oral antihistamines like Benadryl and Citirizine can help alleviate severe allergy symptoms. In addition, oral steroids or other medications may be warranted to reduce inflammation and irritation due to your dog’s severe seasonal allergies.
Always Talk to Your Vet About Extreme Seasonal Allergies
You vet should always be your number one source for information and help regarding any condition your dog may have. In the case of severe seasonal allergies, you should begin with the preventative tips I’ve laid out here and follow up by scheduling an appointment with your vet right away.
Severe seasonal allergies are uncomfortable for your dog, and they can lead to ear infections, skin infections, and hot spots secondary to their allergies. So if your dog is licking and chewing excessively, has itchy skin, itchy ears, or eye discharge, get it to the vet right away and learn everything you can about what you can do to help your dog’s extreme seasonal allergies.
Have you ever dealt with extreme seasonal allergies in your dog? How did you cope?
