The initial line of defense against allergies should involve minimizing exposure to problematic allergens in order to try and prevent them from occurring in the first place i.e. avoidance strategies. Even though medication may still be necessary, it may be possible to lower dosages if the dog allergies prevention measures applied reduce the allergy frequency or severity.
A healthy ‘prevention mindset’ can help an owner detect undesirable changes in their dogs health sooner. Spotting and acting quickly to address the early warning signs of an allergy can often be far more straightforward and less expensive than having to deal with a cascading sequence of negative events. In some cases, untreated symptoms may deteriorate suddenly and develop into a serious or even life-threatening condition, or alternatively, they may end up causing chronic and debilitating long-term problems.
Furthermore, even though preventative measures may be not readily applicable to all types of allergy, in the case of concurrent allergies (having more than one type of allergy), helping prevent just one of the allergies may result in a notable improvement in the overall quality of life for the dog.
In the section Allergic to Dogs Prevention, we covered numerous ways that a person can reduce their exposure to dog allergens. In many cases, the same principles can be employed with equal effectiveness when helping a dog that suffers from allergies. Although both the dog’s physiology and type of allergy involved will dictate the optimal approach/technique employed, at heart, the key point remains allergen avoidance.
Unpalatable as it may seem, it could be said that the best form of prevention concerning dog breeds known to be allergy-prone, in particular members of the Retriever, Setter and Terrier groups, would be not buying them in the first place. However, such breeds are very popular and choosing a dog outside of these groups does not guarantee it will be allergy-free. Therefore, good practice dictates that if your dog does exhibits allergy symptoms, consider not breeding with it to prevent such traits from being passed on to successive generations.
The following tips and advice about allergies in dogs prevention will focus on practical ways to minimize allergen exposure and reduce the allergen load. This compliments the sections covering both conventional and natural medicines and treatments for dogs with allergies.
Tips, Advice and General Considerations Tips and advice on preventing allergies in dogs covering contact, brushing & grooming, equipment, reducing allergen build-up, communication and other considerations. |
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Allergy-Prone Dog Breeds Retrievers, Setters, Terriers and other breeds appear particularly susceptible to allergies. Check out our comprehensive gallery of allergy-prone dog breeds. |
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Controlling Common Dog Allergies Learn how to control and prevent common dog allergies that affect dogs – allergies to other animals, chemicals and materials, food, insects, medicine, microbial, plants and others. |
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