Allergy Allergy is an increased reaction of the body to foreign substances of a protein nature. Allergens can be food, drugs, cosmetics, household aerosols, plant pollen, insect bites, household dust.

Every pet owner should know how allergies manifest in dogs. This will help the animal as soon as possible, avoiding unpleasant consequences. In addition, knowing the negative effect on certain substances, it will be possible to exclude the occurrence of allergies in the future.

Varieties of the disease

Allergies in dogs occur as a result of exposure to various substances. There are the following types of reactions:

Clinical picture

WHAT DOCTORS SAY ABOUT EFFECTIVE ALLERGY TREATMENTS

Vice-President of the Association of Children's Allergists and Immunologists of Russia. Pediatrician, allergist-immunologist. Smolkin Yuri Solomonovich

Practical medical experience: more than 30 years

According to veterinarians, any substance can be an allergen. However, there are a number of foods that most often cause allergies.

These include:

• chicken meat. The most common food allergen. This is due to the use of feed containing various additives. They accumulate in meat and adversely affect the health of the animal.
• egg white.
• Fish and seafood.
• milk and dairy products.
• soy and products containing it. When using sausages with a high content of soy, an allergic reaction often occurs.
• yeast.
• red fruits and vegetables.

Among the substances most often allergic cause:

• cosmetics in the form of shampoo or liquid soap. Especially often the reaction manifests itself when exposed to hygiene products for humans.
• medicines. More often, allergies are caused by various antibiotics, butadiones, morphine, quinine, sulfonamides.
• products with fragrances: fabric softeners, air fresheners, etc.
• some houseplants and pollen.

Signs of illness in a dog

How do allergies manifest in dogs? Symptoms can be external and internal. In the first case, there are visible negative changes in the appearance of the pet.

In the second case, there is a violation of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and other internal organs.

External signs appear as:

• skin itching, accompanied by severe scratching and sores.
• hair loss.
• wetting of the armpits.
• lacrimation. In some cases, the formation of mucus is observed in the corners of the dog's eyes.
• otitis externa, swelling and redness on the inside of the ear.
• unpleasant odor from the mouth and from the body, the formation of sores on the lips.
• swelling of the paws and muzzle.
• bluish gums.
• the appearance of cracks between the toes, hyperemia.

With internal disorders, symptoms such as flatulence, diarrhea, vomiting, sneezing and coughing are manifested.

You can also understand the development of allergies by the behavior of the dog: it constantly itches and licks, rubs against various objects, shakes its head, and its appetite decreases.

The more symptoms appear, the more dangerous the allergy is for the animal.

In any case, an urgent consultation with a veterinarian is necessary, because. serious complications may arise. Allergies can lead to hormonal disruptions, complications in the digestive tract, metabolic disorders, etc.

Also, the disease can be fulminant and delayed type. In the first case, the symptoms of the disease appear almost immediately and in a pronounced degree.

In the second case, there is a gradual accumulation of the allergen and its action. Initially, the symptoms are practically not noticeable, it is difficult to learn about the disease.

They appear in full measure after 1-2 weeks, when the body weakens from the constant exposure to the allergen and its critical accumulation occurs. A delayed-type reaction is more dangerous, because. there is a strong weakening of the body.

Important! Each breed of dog has its own characteristics, incl. and with the development of allergies and its symptoms. The most susceptible to the disease are animals of small breeds, as well as Shar-Peis, Labradors, Bulldogs, German Shepherds, Huskies.

Diagnostics

Allergies are very difficult to diagnose. The symptoms are often similar to those of other diseases, making it difficult to identify. In addition, it is necessary to determine from what the disease develops. Therefore, diagnosis is impossible without contacting a specialist.

During the examination, the veterinarian must take a blood test, urine, feces and skin scrapings from the dog. Wool is also examined for the presence of fungi, bacterial and cytological studies. In the absence of deviations, the veterinarian diagnoses the dog with an allergy.

The next stage of diagnosis is the identification of allergens. To determine what the dog is reacting to, a test is done. It is carried out similarly to the test in humans. For this, allergy tests are applied to incisions made on the skin.

After a short period of time, the veterinarian examines the surface, identifying whether symptoms appear. The presence of a reaction indicates an allergen.

It is worth noting that the presence of various diseases reduces immunity and enhances the action of the allergen. As a result of fungal infections, viral diseases, scabies, kidney failure, diabetes mellitus, the presence of helminths in the body, the symptoms become pronounced.

Treatment

After identifying the substance to which the dog has an individual intolerance, treatment is prescribed. It is important to remember that no medicine will help to cope with the disease if contact with the allergen continues. In addition, it is completely impossible to cure the disease.

Treatment begins with elimination of contact with the allergen. Further, symptomatic therapy is prescribed, aimed at eliminating the unpleasant signs of the disease.

How to treat allergies? Absorbents are prescribed to remove toxins and toxins. Be sure to give dogs antihistamines.

In the presence of individual intolerance to pollen, it will not be possible to exclude interaction with the allergen. Symptoms do not go away and appear every season. Therefore, antihistamine tablets are given to reduce the unpleasant symptoms of the disease.

Hormonal drugs - corticosteroids - help in the fight against the disease. They allow you to remove inflammation, reduce sensitivity to substances that cause a reaction. However, as a result of taking various side effects, they are prescribed only for the acute development of allergies.

Itching, peeling, rash, swelling are eliminated by local formulations: various ointments and creams. Ointment for allergies is necessary, because. prevents the development of fungi and infections in the affected areas. Conjunctivitis and rhinitis are treated with cromones.

Be sure to treat allergies prescribed immunomodulatory drugs. They strengthen the body, increase the protective properties. As a result, it is possible to cope with the disease in a short time.

It is recommended to include in the diet various preparations containing iron, vitamins C and E, fish oil, bifidobacteria. The animal must receive a sufficient amount of clean water, because. it promotes the rapid removal of toxins and allergens from the body.

The list of medicines used to treat allergies and its symptoms is presented in the table.

Important! Medicines for dogs are prescribed only by a veterinarian. It is forbidden to engage in self-treatment of a pet. This can lead to irreversible consequences.

Medications to treat allergies in dogs

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) can be used to treat a dog's allergy. It consists in accustoming the animal to the allergen by its specific processing and further introduction into the blood. As a result of the procedure, allergies do not appear for several years.

Autolymphocyte therapy (ALT) has a similar principle of action. In this case, lymphocytes are isolated from the blood of a sick dog, and vaccines are converted and made on their basis, which are injected into the blood of the animal. Action is also enough for 2-3 years.

Prevention

From the development of allergies in animals, prevention includes the following activities:

• constant airing of the room where the dog is located.
• cleaning indoors without the use of chemicals.
• smoking ban; providing access to drinking water.
• walking with a pet during flowering in open areas, away from plants; washing paws after walking.
• occasional washing with flea shampoo.
• nutrition control.
• selection of high-quality hypoallergenic foods.
• introduction of new products in small portions (for food allergies).
• periodic introduction of immunomodulatory drugs into the diet.

If a dog has an allergy to certain foods, you should stock up on antihistamines. Their timely reception will make life easier for the pet and reduce the risk of developing various negative consequences.

Particular attention should be paid to the nutrition of puppies, because. they do not have strong immunity, and normal development requires the intake of a sufficient amount of vitamins, micro and macro elements and other useful substances. Therefore, the diet should be balanced and nutritious.

Video

First aid

If acute signs of allergy begin to appear, measures should be taken immediately to eliminate them. In some cases, the disease can lead to unpleasant consequences, even death (with a strong reaction).

In this case, the following actions are taken:

• the pet needs to be injected with an antihistamine (give a pill or an injection).
• put the dog in a comfortable position so that nothing interferes with normal breathing.
• provide free access to fresh air.
• if the animal has vomited, it is necessary to clean the oral cavity of food debris.
• if the pet has fallen into anaphylactic shock, the hormonal agent dexamethasone should be administered immediately.

It is important to remember that timely assistance will avoid unpleasant health problems for the dog. Especially in cases where allergies are especially pronounced.

With the normal functioning of the body of a German shepherd, the animal, like a person, has the ability to absorb all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins from food that enters the body during the meal. In a healthy shepherd dog, the course of digestion proceeds normally and without any external manifestations. In the process of changes acquired in case of illness or in the presence of congenital defects of the dog's body, certain foods or their components can cause a severe allergic reaction.

The main causative agents of allergic processes can be all types of protein compounds of various origins (both animal and vegetable). A certain danger is posed by artificial dyes added to human food and in the production of many animal feeds.

In some individual cases, in cases of complications, as well as in case of any advanced infectious disease, an allergic reaction can be caused by a strong meat broth, indigestibility of lactose (milk), some cereals, individual intolerance to certain minerals and vitamin supplements, other plant components of the ingredients of the dog's diet.

It is not possible to assume in advance which product or its compatibility with another product may lead to an allergic effect. Most often in dogs, an allergic reaction is expressed in indigestion, a general breakdown, less often anaphylactic shock, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, general malaise, very rarely it causes respiratory or cardiac arrest, which leads to death.

Any manifestation of an allergy in a German shepherd is extremely dangerous, but fortunately in practice it is quite rare. Symptoms are usually expressed as minor skin reactions or extensive and severe internal reactions. With obvious allergic manifestations, events develop with terrifying speed, so the owner of a German shepherd must be clearly aware of the order of his actions. Often the symptoms of an allergy are similar in manifestation to a food intolerance to a certain product, this must be clearly graded and the possible consequences of the dog's self-treatment should be understood.

First aid in case of an allergic reaction in a German shepherd:

• In case of respiratory arrest and other severe manifestations, it is necessary to inject the dog with an antihistamine (diphenhydramine, suprastin, etc.), with an average form of an allergic reaction, these same drugs can be fed to the dog by placing a tablet on the root of the tongue. The dose and procedure for removing the dog from such a state is required in advance (in advance, this means in advance, in advance, foreseeing a possible danger, by no means during the complication itself, otherwise do not waste precious time - take the dog to the veterinarian) check with your veterinarian. Please consult your doctor before purchasing a puppy. As your dog matures, see your veterinarian regularly for "for the future" advice;
• In case of vomiting, lay the dog on its side, free the mouth from vomit, you can insert a bar, holding the tongue with it and provide open breathing to the animal;
• After providing first aid, and ensuring the life of the dog, contact a specialist as soon as possible, but it is better to take the dog to the veterinarian yourself, the sooner you do this, the more likely it will be to save your pet;

After providing first aid and removing the animal from anaphylactic shock, the shepherd dog is assigned a long rehabilitation recovery regimen. During the recovery process, it is recommended to use a decoction of a string as a drink; for complications in the form of scabies, use a spray based on hydrocortisone. In cases where you cannot purchase such a drug, you can make it yourself:

• Take 300 ml of pure water, 80 ml of medical alcohol, 50 grams of glycerin and four ampoules of hydrocortisone;
• Mix the ingredients in a container and pour into a regular spray bottle;
• Apply the solution by spraying onto the coat. After spraying, it is recommended to rub the solution.

Increasingly, special formulations for dogs with food sensitivities have begun to appear on the pet food markets. It is impossible to recommend such feeds to everyone in a row, since special feeds themselves may be the culprits of allergic reactions.

First of all, the owner of a German shepherd needs to find out the cause of the allergy and exclude this component from the diet of the German shepherd. This is done in a simple way - by passing an analysis for allergic tests. Only after you can identify a safe diet and eliminate hazardous foods will your German Shepherd start to get better.

In the process of identifying allergic foods, it is recommended to switch the dog to boiled rice and lean beef porridge, excluding other foods and supplements in the form of any vitamins and minerals.

The dog should have plenty of drinking water. It is strictly forbidden to feed any other food products, and even more so leftovers from your table, this can lead to a provocation of an allergic process and cause the death of an animal.

For more effective relief, areas on the dog's body affected by an allergic reaction should continue to be treated with a hydrocortisone spray. In exceptional cases, the German Shepherd's paws are bandaged in order to prevent undesirable scratching of wounds, or a special overall is put on the dog to protect wounds from mechanical stress. Combing wounds leads to aggravation of the condition and additional infection of the body.

As a rule, the allergy disappears, provided that the diet is strictly followed and the allergen itself is excluded from the dog's diet for two months. However, after the visible disappearance of clear evidence of the allergic process, your German Shepherd will still need a rehabilitation period of nutrition.

Rehabilitation will be as follows: every five days, and preferably once a week, the dog's diet includes one new product that is not included in the list of allergic tests. For example, several chicken eggs are added to the beef porridge on which the dog has been all the time after anaphylactic shock, after a week of such feeding, if an allergic reaction does not occur, the eggs are excluded from the diet and a new product is added (carrots, cabbage, zucchini, or chicken offal etc.). The whole procedure is repeated again. In this manner, the necessary components of a new diet for your dog are identified. Cook new types of products to be included in a separate bowl and mix with the main porridge before serving.

Of the meat components for the diet of a German shepherd, turkey meat, boneless chicken, chicken offal, boneless rabbit, beef udder, lungs, and liver are suitable. All fatty meats, especially pork and lamb, are prohibited for dogs with allergies.

Of the cereals, in addition to rice, you can use millet, wheat or other Artek-type cereals, but they should also be included in the diet gradually.

After the withdrawal of the dog from the allergic state, it is necessary to moderately diversify its diet. The procedure for introducing new foods into the dog's diet is very laborious and time consuming, but if you do everything right, you will ensure a long and joyful life for your pet. After all, even analyzes and tests that determine the allergen are not always accurate, and may represent an erroneous opinion.

In the case of vitamin and mineral supplements, you should definitely consult your veterinarian when including them in your dog's diet. When they are included in the main diet, the same progressively-excluded diet construction principle is used as with conventional foods. In fact, all allergic manifestations are prerequisites for serious diseases that are difficult to diagnose and treat. But fortunately, in most cases, the manifestations taken for allergic reactions actually turn out to be just an element of food intolerance, which quickly disappears when the shepherd dog is transferred to a different diet and does not involve such horrific consequences as anaphylactic shock.

Read also

What should be the care of a puppy, how a shepherd dog behaves in an apartment and much more about care and maintenance.

Allergy in animals

Insidious allergy
If earlier in the warm summer months only my mother sat at home, tightly closing all the doors and windows, now she is not so lonely: as it turned out, our French bulldog is also allergic to plant pollen.
Why and how does an allergy appear and manifest itself in dogs and cats - let's try to figure it out together.

Allergy (Greek allos - “other” and ergon - “action”) is an increased sensitivity of the body to any allergen substance. The causes of allergies can be a variety of factors or even a number of coincident factors. Under the influence of stress, a hormonal surge, or certain changes in the body, the immune system begins to perceive a substance as harmful and tries to get rid of it by producing antibodies. Allergies affect a lot of living beings, but people, dogs and, to a lesser extent, cats suffer from it most of all. It is impossible to cure an allergy, but by limiting contact with the allergen and undergoing a course of preventive treatment, all unpleasant symptoms can be alleviated, if not completely eliminated.

How to recognize an allergy?
Most often, an allergic reaction manifests itself in the form of a small rash on the skin, redness, itching of varying degrees and hair loss, dandruff, an unpleasant smell from the mouth and from the skin, wetting of the armpits or chest, otitis, darkening of the skin. If your dog has at least some of these symptoms, you can safely go to the veterinarian for advice, because your pet is most likely allergic.

food allergy
Food allergies in dogs are very rare: only about 10% of all allergic dogs react specifically to any food, but this type of allergy is the most difficult to detect.
Signs:
The first sign is redness of the skin and itching. At first, this may not really bother the dog, but the more the allergen accumulates, the more noticeable the symptoms: the itching intensifies and can reach the point that the animal will scratch almost around the clock, tearing the skin to blood. Dandruff and excessive dryness of the skin, hair loss in certain areas can also be signs of a food allergy. Dogs cannot sweat, so wet patches are signs of weeping eczema. Dark discharge from the ears and a strong sweetish-sweet smell coming from the dog mean problems in the body. A dog can, like a person, sneeze, cough, with allergies in animals, watery eyes, there are discharges from the nose.
Allergenic products:
In general, an allergy can be to anything - from cereals to mineral supplements. But most often, animals are allergic to: boiled and raw poultry meat, eggs and fish in any form, dairy products, soy and products from it, yeast, red vegetables and fruits, citrus fruits, fish oil, vegetable oils. Products that are contraindicated for dogs are also strong allergens: sugar and chocolate, spices; salted, smoked, fried foods.
What to do:
Stock up on patience and money. Figuring out which food your pet is allergic to can be tricky. This may take months. But still, you should not give up. Depending on how you feed your dog, there are two options for solving the problem.
No. 1. If the pet is accustomed to dry food, then you should buy a hypoallergenic food. The price of such a product can somewhat confuse an unprepared dog breeder: 2 kg of food costs about 150 UAH. Considering that it may take about a month for the symptoms of allergies to disappear, then treating a dog will cost you a decent amount.
Proper nutritional change after treatment with hypoallergenic foods is also very important! During the week, you need to mix the new food with the previous one so as to slowly increase the amount of the new one, and so on until it is 100% of the dog's food. During this period, bifidobacteria should be added to food.
Sometimes it happens that a dog develops an allergy to gelatin bones, treats, dog crackers, vitamins, and so on. Therefore, during treatment, it is worth removing everything edible and tasty from the dog's visibility, except for the prescribed therapeutic food. And in no case should you give anything from the table! Sometimes one small piece of sausage can hurt so much that you have to start treatment again.

No. 2. If you're leaning towards natural feeding, the first thing you need to do is determine which food your pet is reacting to. Put the animal on a "safe diet" and change the protein source. That is, if your dog is used to eating beef, then switch him to rabbit meat, duck, or some other meat (not chicken) that was not previously in his diet. Vegetables (low glycemic index, non-starchy, non-red) and daily vitamins (C, E, B) can be left.
Treats are excluded. Only after the symptoms have subsided should you gradually add other protein foods to your meal to determine which food your pet is allergic to. When it is found, you just need to make sure that the dog does not eat it anymore, and also carefully select the ingredients of the food to avoid trouble in the future.
But remember that in any case, you need to consult a veterinarian and only after that change the diet.

Allergy to dust, household chemicals, pollen, etc.
The problem is that if a food allergy is harder to detect, but it is easier to remove the allergen, then in the case of a non-food allergy, it is easier to guess what exactly your pet’s reaction to, but getting rid of the allergen is almost impossible.
Signs:
The manifestations of such an allergy are very diverse: skin itching, tearing, etc. Damage to the skin due to scratching often leads to a fungal or bacterial infection. The most basic difference from a food allergy is that the reaction only happens at certain times of the year (when the plants bloom) or in a certain place (sometimes moving will solve a dog's allergy problem).
Allergens:
The most common allergies are plant pollen (ragweed, linden, poplar fluff), household dust and dust mites, mold, aromatic substances (sticks, perfumes), household chemicals (sprays, aerosols, etc.).
What to do:
Unfortunately, eliminating the allergen from the dog's environment is quite difficult. If you are allergic to pollen, it is best to move it to a place with a different climate. Dogs do much better in areas with cleaner air. The best option is to move to live where there is no plant that the dog reacts to. You can alleviate allergies by doing wet cleaning in the house every day.
But, of course, it is not always possible to move somewhere or clean up every day. In this case, only drug treatment is suitable - if ordinary allergy pills do not help, then most likely the veterinarian will prescribe strong hormonal injections that will alleviate allergy symptoms. Most often, allergies are seasonal, so if your pet itches only at certain times of the year, it makes no sense to put him on a diet, but you should immediately go to the veterinarian for medicine.

Signs:
Most often, weeping dermatitis occurs. But this disease can occur not only due to allergies, but also due to insufficient skin care, arthritis, or blockage of the anal glands. On the body of the dog, small spots are formed, approximately round in shape, slightly pinkish and moist. The hair falls out in these places, and the dog is constantly trying to lick or comb these eczemas. If the cause of these spots is not removed, then your pet can seriously injure himself.

What to do?
Until you have established the cause of dermatitis, it is worth putting a plastic collar on the animal's neck and tight socks on the paws to avoid skin injury. The most common cause of weeping dermatitis is fleas or ticks, so you should carefully examine your dog for these insects. There is some pattern in the occurrence of spots: if they are located behind the ears, then this is most likely an ear infection, if closer to the hips - blockage of the anal glands. First you need to eliminate the cause, and only then take up the treatment of stains. Your veterinarian will advise the correct treatment.

Allergies are a very common phenomenon in our time, so even if your dog starts itching and sneezing, the main thing is not to panic: if you talk to dog breeders, you will find out that each of them has ever encountered an allergy problem in pets and dealt with it successfully.

Darina "Gift" Olefirenko
magazine "ZooFriend" № 4 2009
Published with permission from Ch. magazine editor Natalia Natadze photo by Daria Pushkareva

German Shepherd: diseases inherent in the breed and their symptoms

When purchasing a German Shepherd puppy, you should immediately study the necessary information about the diseases inherent in this breed. Despite the endurance and power of these dogs, they are prone to various diseases. Some ailments can be acquired due to heredity, others can appear during life. Whatever trouble happens to your pet, be it vomiting or diarrhea, you must be prepared for anything. In this article, we will cover the most common German Shepherd diseases and their symptoms.

sick or healthy

If your dog is active, in a playful mood, with a shiny undercoat, looking at you with clear and clean eyes, then there is no cause for concern. For complete certainty, you can touch the nose - it should be wet and cold. But a healthy shepherd can also have a hot dry nose if she just woke up or overheated in hot weather. In this case, you should not worry - for a German shepherd this is normal.

Also a good indicator will be an excellent appetite and regular defecation of a well-functioning intestine.

Is your dog not eating well, vomiting, diarrhea? Looks sluggish, sits in the corner and does not respond to the nickname? Did you notice redness and pus in her ears or eyes, combed bald patches of faded hair? Do not think about what to do - contact your veterinarian immediately. Your dog is sick.

Learning to predefine

The responsibility for the health of the German Shepherd lies entirely on your shoulders. In order to be able to help the dog in time, you must not only take care of it, but also constantly monitor its physical condition.

Spending a lot of time with a shepherd dog, you know her routine: how much time she sleeps, how she plays, how she behaves at home and on a walk. Accordingly, you will immediately understand if something goes wrong.

If the puppy has vomiting or diarrhea, then this is a digestive disorder. The dog drinks a lot - a sign of poisoning. Even if the puppy just got tired not for the first time, it is worth considering. But you don’t need to argue for more than two days, contact a specialist.

Prevention

When buying a puppy, a competent breeder is obliged to issue a vaccination sheet, with which it is best to immediately see a veterinarian. He will tell you which and from what vaccinations have already been made, and which vaccinations are needed in the future. After all, it is these procedures that can prevent a number of deadly diseases.

Dangerous diseases

Shepherd diseases can be divided into several groups:

A deadly disease is called "plague of carnivores" or "distemper".

Symptoms: diarrhea, vomiting, cough, temperature above thirty-nine degrees, lack of appetite, pus from the eyes and nose, increased nervousness.

What to do: In order to prevent it, it is necessary to vaccinate against the plague on time. If you suspect that the puppy is already sick, immediately take him to the doctor.

infectious hepatitis. Symptoms: lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, temperature above forty degrees, redness of the eyes, pus from the nose, weakening of the hind limbs. Even convulsions, paralysis are possible.

What to do: at the first signs of illness, it is necessary to show the shepherd to the veterinarian.

Leptospirosis. Infection with fever can be obtained by contacting a pet with rats or wild ducks.

Symptoms: rapid fever, refusal to eat, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, or vice versa - constipation, mouth ulcers. Pregnant females may have miscarriages.

What to do: as soon as you find the first signs - frequent bloody urine, immediately begin treatment, after consulting with a specialist. Do not delay this, because not only an animal, but also a person can become infected.

Parvovirosis. Indigestion or heart failure. Depending on the physical development, the puppy can either easily endure the disease, losing interest in food for a while, or with a difficult period, with vomiting, diarrhea.

Parainfluenza. Symptoms: intractable chronic cough.

What to do: if the puppy received the necessary vaccination on time, then the disease is easily tolerated.

Rabies is a fatal disease that affects both dogs and humans.

Symptoms. The first stage: the shepherd is either alienated from society, or vice versa - does not leave the owner a single step. Because of the increased nervousness, the dog is afraid of everything. Hallucinations are possible. The second stage: the animal becomes too aggressive and starts attacking people for no reason. Rabies is replaced by convulsions, loss of voice. But with any irritation, the dog again begins to rush. The third stage ends with paralysis.

Otodectosis. Ticks living in the ear canal can cause ear infections in your dog.

What to do: in no case do self-treatment, not knowing what exactly caused otitis media. Otherwise, the disease will become chronic. Contact your veterinarian - he will identify the symptoms of the disease and prescribe treatment.

Itchy scabies is caused by sarcaptoid mites. Symptoms: the affected areas of the skin lose villi and become covered with a crust.

Demodicosis is caused by species-specific mites. In the latent form, there is no itching, but in any case, you can recognize this disease by small, mitten-eaten, spots on the undercoat.

What to do: The veterinarian will always have advice on the purchase of a suitable drug for recovery and restoration of the coat. But if such a nuisance still happened to the pet, then you should not use it for breeding.

Wandering scabies mainly affects puppies, which can easily infect the owner. The tick usually stings on the neck and back, causing intense itching.

Notoedrosis is usually caused by a tick bite on the head, after which the hair on the infected areas falls out.

Linguatullosis. The carriers of this disease are spiders living in the grass. Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, due to lack of appetite in the dog, exhaustion is observed.

Litters eat wool in the neck, tail and limbs of dogs, they do not attack people.

Fleas are carriers of various infections, larvae of worms. Before you start removing fleas from an animal, you need to disinfect the room.

Ehrlichiosis is not contagious to humans. The brown mite causes a chronic illness, mostly without specific symptoms.

Genetic diseases

Corneal dystrophy appears without any reason in the form of tears from the eyes and clouding of the cornea.

Cataracts, or clouding of the lens, usually occur after the dog's eight years of age.

Hemophilia A and B is a disease of dogs. Symptoms: lameness, bleeding disorders, swelling.

von Willebrand disease is a violation of the synthesis of platelet aggregation factor.

Malabsorption syndrome is the indigestion of food. The reason is an excess of microflora in the intestines. This disease is especially manifested in German shepherds.

Hypopigmentation refers to the disappearance of pigmentation where it should be.

Panostitis is an inflammation of large tubular bones.

Elbow dysplasia is a violation of the procedure for the development of bones in the elbow joint.

Hip dysplasia is a developmental disorder.

Underdevelopment of the kidneys - a violation in the development of kidney tissue.

Familial nephropathy. Regardless of the general development of the animal, the kidneys remain in a small state.

Epilepsy is a disease of the nervous system.

Pituitary dwarfism is commonly found in German Shepherds, which show drastically reduced proportions.

Progressive axonopathy. Symptoms: deterioration in gait, slight trembling, nervous tic.

Myelopathy in German Shepherds is paralysis of the hind limbs.

Hermaphroditism is the presence of both male and female sexual organs.

Monorchism is the absence of testicles in males.

All about the German Shepherd

Blog about choosing a puppy, education, care, treatment and training of a German shepherd

Mar 8 2008

food allergy

Normally, the body has the ability to distinguish between foreign substances necessary for life, and foreign substances that can harm the body. That is why, for the most part, animals and people are able to normally tolerate various food products that make up food. However, in some individuals, tolerance is more selective: some foods are not recognized and cause abnormal reactions.

The cause of an allergic reaction can be foods, some plants, insect bites, some drugs, etc. Among foods, protein, protein-polysaccharide, protein-lipid, and other complex protein compounds can have allergenic properties. Dangerous for allergic animals and food dyes. Often strong broths are a source of trouble for both the animal and its owner. For example, the reasons for the development of an allergic reaction of the body may be:

• intolerance to milk or feed enriched with cereals (due to a deficiency of certain enzymes, such as lactase or amylase);
• a reaction caused directly by the ability of some products or their components to immediately, without prior preparation, start an inflammatory process (for example, histamine in some products of low quality);
• excessive fermentation in the large intestine, leading to the release of toxic substances (for example, undercooked meat products).

In food allergies, almost every ingredient commonly found in a dog's diet can cause the condition. Most often, allergens are chicken, beef, fish, veal, milk, cereals, soy. The majority of allergic dogs - 60% - react to at least two different proteins. And only some animals give an allergic reaction to this particular type of product. So, for example, some dogs can absolutely calmly eat wheat porridge, while in others it causes allergies. Sometimes this reaction is not constant, but periodically occurs only in combination with some additional factors. It is impossible to predict in advance what can cause an allergic reaction in a particular dog.

The reason why one particular animal reacts inadequately to the intake of any food component into its body has not yet been clarified. Most often, food allergies are expressed by the reaction of the skin and wool: the skin may turn red, peel off, itch; wool fall out and thin. Somewhat less often, an allergy is manifested by a disorder of the digestive system, even more rarely - by edema or bouts of bronchial asthma.

However, fortunately, allergic reactions are quite rare. According to French experts, only 10% of dogs are prone to this disease. Not all breeds of animals are equally prone to allergic reactions. However, there are breeds for which food allergies are a scourge. These primarily include exotic breeds that have appeared relatively recently - Shar Pei, Chow Chow, Dogo Argentino, etc.

Allergic reactions sometimes occur and develop very quickly, so the owner must take appropriate measures very quickly.

Sometimes the symptoms of an allergy overlap with those of a food intolerance: the latter has the same symptoms as a food allergy but does not affect the immune system.

Allergy, depending on the degree of development of the disease, is expressed in different ways. It can be difficult breathing, and severe itching, rash, and redness of the skin. There may be a runny discharge from the eyes and nose, and frequent urination and defecation. The gums take on a bluish tint. With more serious manifestations of an allergic reaction, swelling of the mucous membranes, and sometimes other parts of the body, appears.

In anaphylactic shock, which in some cases is an extreme manifestation of allergy, shortness of breath can develop into suffocation, swelling can become very severe. All these signs can acquire a threatening form and lead to respiratory arrest and cessation of cardiac activity.

Sometimes food allergies are less pronounced and more protracted, lasting for months.

In order to properly diagnose a food allergy, the observed symptoms must be related to the particular type of food ingested by the animal. To do this, it is most reliable to resort to the method of feeding a deliberately “hypoallergenic” diet, which will be discussed in detail below.

First aid for an allergic reaction

• It is desirable to immediately eliminate the effect of the allergen, although it is very difficult to identify it, and "immediately" refers rather to the area of ​​good wishes.
• In a severe case, diphenhydramine or suprastin should be administered intramuscularly, in a mild form, suprastin, diazolin, diprazine or another antihistamine should be given in tablets.
• In case of cessation of breathing and cardiac activity, it is necessary to act as recommended for cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest.
• If the animal is in serious condition, it is necessary to give it a comfortable posture and provide access to fresh air. If vomiting is observed, the oral cavity should be freed from vomit.
• Make a subcutaneous injection of cordiamine and sulfocamphocaine.
• Enter intramuscularly dexamethasone, dexon or hydrocortisone (for anaphylactic shock).
• If the symptoms do not disappear within 15-20 minutes, you should repeat the injection of the antihistamine and inject ascorbic acid and immunofan.
• With a protracted nature of the disease, calcium chloride is prescribed orally - 1-5 tablespoons per day. To make it convenient to give this remedy (very bitter), calcium chloride may be diluted halfway with milk and a little sugar added. Dogs, as a rule, willingly drink such a "cocktail".
• With the prolonged nature of the disease, instead of water, you can give a weak decoction of the string, and wipe the animal with a stronger decoction or make wraps, soaking the fabric in the decoction, or rinsing it.
• For itching, a hydrocortisone spray has worked well. If there is no branded preparation, you can prepare it yourself by mixing 350 ml of water, 80 ml of alcohol, 50 ml of glycerin and 4 ampoules of hydrocortisone. Pour into a spray bottle, treat the animal, after which the applied solution is well rubbed into the coat.

Some companies produce food for allergic animals, which include lamb meat and rice. Of course, such foods cannot be recommended to all animals prone to this disease, since, as a rule, they also include other products that can cause an allergic reaction.

In the treatment of food allergies, one should try to identify non-allergenic foods first, and not those that cause allergies. Only by determining the maximum number of products that do not cause allergies, you can provide the animal with a normal lifestyle. To do this, it is recommended to transfer the animal to a diet consisting exclusively of rice and lamb, which are considered hypoallergenic foods, while excluding all vitamins and mineral and vitamin supplements. Drinking water should be given distilled or at least boiled. You can not give any pieces from the table - sometimes a piece of smoked sausage or cake can nullify your efforts in the fight against allergies.

In parallel with the hypoallergic diet, all of the above measures for the treatment of allergies should be carried out, combining them with external treatment of the animal. In places that were most susceptible to irritation during an exacerbation of allergies, you need to cut the hair and process it, alternating hydrocortisone spray, baxocide and baby powder. If the animal scratches in some places, then you may need to purchase or sew for him a blanket or light overalls that cover all the scratches. Sometimes you even have to wear socks on your hind legs. Scratching the skin can become a bad habit that is very difficult to break. As a result, irritation no longer arises from food, but from saliva and scratching with claws.

In 25% of cases, skin manifestations of allergies disappear within 1-3 weeks, in 50% of cases - after 9-10 weeks. When all manifestations of the disease disappear in the animal, that is, the animal stops itching, the skin becomes normal, alopecia disappears, etc., the next stage begins - for the final confirmation of the diagnosis. It consists in the fact that the animal is introduced into the diet one by one new products and fed to them for five days. For example, vegetable oil is added to a regular diet of rice and lamb. After five days, they return to the diet again without adding a new product, that is, to rice and lamb. If after five days there are no signs of allergy, then it is considered that the vegetable oil is not an allergen, and a new product, for example, grated carrots, is added to the diet, which already consists of rice, lamb and vegetable oil. Such a diet is followed for five days and returned to the previous one, that is, to rice with vegetable oil and lamb. If within five days after that the animal had no reaction to a new product, then it is also included in the diet. And now, for example, stewed cabbage is added to food consisting of rice with vegetable oil, lamb and grated carrots, and the whole procedure is checked again.

New types of food should be prepared separately, not mixed with already tested food. Of the meat products, except for lamb (lamb), boiled turkey is considered the least allergenic. If boiled turkey does not cause allergies, then by including it in the diet, you can try introducing cereals from other cereals. After rice, millet porridge is considered the least allergenic. You should separately cook millet porridge and add one teaspoon to the already tested diet. Gradually, its amount is increased, displacing rice. Of course, this is a very lengthy procedure, but if you do everything right and do not shorten the time for testing a new product, then you are guaranteed success: you will outline the range of products that your pet’s body perceives without giving an allergic reaction, and in the future you Feel free to include them in your daily diet. Immunological tests, which are sometimes offered to detect allergens, are not always effective.

If, for example, a new product causes skin rashes or allergic itching, it should be permanently excluded from the diet and returned to the previous diet for a while until the allergy symptoms disappear. When enough foods pass the test and those that do not cause allergies are selected, vitamins are tested using the same principle. You should only start with very small doses of vitamins, with great care to increase their amount in the daily diet. You need to know which of the vitamins most often cause an allergic reaction. Owners of animals prone to allergies should be aware that among vitamin and mineral supplements, those containing seaweed and brewer's yeast can be potentially dangerous.

Of the ready-made anti-allergic feeds, in the first place, we can recommend the feed of the Canine diet d / d company, canned food (rice with egg) and dry food (lamb meat with rice).

Food allergy is a disease that is difficult to diagnose. In most cases, we should talk about food intolerance, when the transfer of the animal to another, better diet avoids trouble.

We all had to deal with people who are allergic to dogs, or rather, to their hair. However, the dogs themselves suffer from this disease no less than ours. Let's find out what this disease is in animals.

An allergy is considered to be an incorrect increased reaction of the immune system to certain substances. Such substances are easily excreted from the body, but in allergic animals they cause an inflammatory process. Moreover, the predisposition to this disease is mainly hereditary.

allergic reactions

specific, that is occur on certain substances, in particular, on a protein that is common in the environment. It can be the hair of other animals, pollen from plants. In animals, allergic reactions, as a rule, occur as a result of exposure to substances coming from the external environment. Allergy to external irritants is quite common, food is less common.

Manifestations of the disease

In any case, whatever the cause of the disease, the symptoms of allergies in dogs manifest themselves in the same way:

• combing;
• diathesis.

You need to take action at the first of its symptoms. Allergies are always accompanied by itching. It is necessary not to start this process, since systematic itching is accompanied by scratching and licking. The main thing is to prevent the development of secondary infectious lesions, when the animal, injuring the skin, introduces a large amount of saliva with microorganisms, and receives secondary pyoderma.

Diagnosis and treatment is always a long and expensive process, and only a doctor can say whether the treatment is justified. Sometimes the disease is easier to correct. If we talk about atopy, which is an intractable problem, then it can be treated periodically, as it occurs. Each animal has a different degree of manifestation of the disease.

It often happens that the use of local remedies is sufficient to relieve symptoms. Atopy occurs in all breeds of dogs, but there are breeds that are particularly susceptible to this type of disease. The absolute "champions" are the German Shepherd and the Cocker Spaniel.

But there is no breed and gender predisposition to food allergies. Contrary to popular belief, it is rare in dogs. Moreover, it cannot be said that there are allergenic products. There are no allergenic products, there is an erroneous opinion. There are specific animals with a reaction to a specific product. For example, some people are allergic to strawberries, others are allergic to chocolate, but this does not mean that people with a chocolate allergy should not eat strawberries, and vice versa.

It is believed that chicken often causes an allergic reaction in dogs. This is an erroneous opinion. It is also not correct to assume that animals are allergic to a certain type of dry food. Food allergies are so individual that no generalizations can be made in this area.

Reaction types

Allergy symptoms in dogs can include:

• immediate type;
• slow type.

The most dangerous is the immediate type of allergy. It is so called because it appears within a few minutes after the body has met with the allergen. The main symptoms of the disease are the appearance of edema and difficulty breathing. That is, you see a healthy little puppy, but some changes suddenly began to occur, and he began to look bad. An allergic reaction should be suspected immediately. This reaction most often occurs to insect bites.

The next type is slow. When the body meets the allergen for a long time for some time. It is not acute, most often in the form of skin changes. Why does an allergic reaction occur? Everything has to do with the immune system. An allergen enters the body, as a result of the action of immune cells, a reaction occurs, which is manifested by the disease.

Treatment Methods

For the treatment of a protracted allergic reaction, drugs are used: Prednisolone or Dexafort. Only a doctor can prescribe the exact treatment. You can fight allergies with hormonal drugs, but the effect will be short-lived. And further complications may develop. To strengthen the immune system, you can give the animal fish oil in courses.

The disease is treated in several ways. But the most effective will be the detection of a specific allergen to which the animal reacts, and the exclusion of contact with it. This is quite difficult, since the selection method cannot cover the entire spectrum of allergens to which the body can react.

Most often, antihistamines are given in large doses. Usually use drugs in tablets such as Prednisolone Dexamethasone, Dexafort. It should be borne in mind that drug treatment is a temporary rescue of the animal.

Allergens

The most common allergens that our animals can encounter are insect stings: bees, wasps and midges. If you live in a rural area or traveled somewhere in nature, the animal can bite so hard that swelling can lead to death.

An allergic reaction of the immediate type leads to changes in the skin and its work. This provokes the development of microorganisms, fungi and bacteria that constantly live on the skin, as a result of which a complication develops. The skin no longer performs its protective functions. Allergies must be dealt with. Most often, white French Bulldogs, Spaniels, Pugs, Chihuahuas, Yorkies, Labradors and Huskies are affected.

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