If your dog is like many others and suffers from allergies, it may seem like treating the symptoms is an ongoing and often expensive process. Though curing a dog’s allergies isn’t really possible, there are a handful of treatment options that can really help make sure your dog is comfortable.

A properly balanced and healthy diet is one of the easiest ways to help solve your dog’s allergy problems. Switching your dog from a commercial dog food brand to a premium holistic brand can greatly improve skin and fur condition. Since they help with your dog’s overall health and well-being, premium dog foods can really help your dog’s allergy problems.

Ensuring that your dog’s diet contains plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids is also important. These specific fatty acids have a part in stimulating growth and development of brain function, as well as natural anti-inflammatory effects. This anti-inflammatory effect helps reduce or prevent allergies. To ensure that your dog is getting plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids, many veterinarians recommend giving your dog a fish oil capsule regularly. A fish oil capsule that also includes vitamin E is even more beneficial.

Make sure that your dog gets bathed regularly, since this can also help reduce allergy problems.  Specially formulated dog shampoos can help make sure that your dog’s skin irritation is minimized. Hypoallergenic and anti-itch shampoos specifically designed to lessen allergy problems can really help your dog, as can any dog shampoo containing oatmeal. Even regular bathing without a specially created shampoo can help a dog’s allergies, since it will get allergens out of their coat and limit their exposure. It is also essential to be certain that you rinse your dog’s coat completely. Leftover soap residue can worsen itching and cause severe irritation.

If bathing and changes in diet do not improve your dog’s condition, a trip to the vet may be in order. Allergy shots and medications can often clear up problems that even the best diet and bathing can’t always help.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 7:16 pm and is filed under Dog Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.