{"id":3173,"date":"2017-05-01T20:18:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T00:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/?p=3173"},"modified":"2017-05-01T20:18:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T00:18:19","slug":"scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-3172\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" \/>Many pet owners may have experienced allergy problems in their pets, sometimes without even realizing it. While humans tend to suffer from sneezing, runny noses, and watery eyes, allergies in pets generally crop up as skin and ear problems.<\/p>\n<p>Allergies can make your pet miserable, and may even be detrimental to his or her health. With the right tools and a little elbow grease, it\u2019s possible to manage your pet\u2019s allergies, which will make both of you feel much better!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Pet Allergies 101<\/h3>\n<p>Simply put, an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/?s=allergies\">allergy<\/a> is an overreaction of the immune system to otherwise harmless foreign particles in the bodies. Which substances (allergens) that will trigger allergies can vary widely from pet to pet, and may include dust, pollen, dander, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/camping-with-a-pet\/\">fleas<\/a>, a particular food, or other items.<\/p>\n<p>Pet allergies can occur at any time in a pet\u2019s life, but are often discovered between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. Common allergy symptoms in pets include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Scratching, chewing, or licking at the paws, ears, face, armpits, or groin<\/li>\n<li>Head shaking<\/li>\n<li>Inflamed or bumpy skin<\/li>\n<li>Rough red or black skin<\/li>\n<li>Hair loss<\/li>\n<li>Ear infections<\/li>\n<li>Skin infections<\/li>\n<li>An unpleasant odor<\/li>\n<li>Sneezing<\/li>\n<li>Watery eyes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hot spots, caused by excessive scratching or licking of a particular area, may result if a pet\u2019s allergies are left untreated. Hot spots are painful and may lead to a secondary infection that requires treatment.<\/p>\n<h3>Diagnosis and Treatment<\/h3>\n<p>Besides <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/bring-to-a-vet-visit\/\">examining<\/a> your pet and taking a look at his or her history, your veterinarian may recommend the following diagnostics to either rule out allergies or to determine the cause:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Skin cytology (to look for bacteria or yeast overgrowth)<\/li>\n<li>Cultures (to check for infection)<\/li>\n<li>Skin allergy testing<\/li>\n<li>Blood antibody testing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Treating Allergies in Pets<\/h3>\n<p>Depending on the type of allergy your pet has and its severity, your veterinarian may recommend oral antihistamines, topical treatments, fatty acids, steroids, prescription diets, or allergen specific immunotherapy (allergy shots). We\u2019re also excited to announce that we\u2019ve added additional allergy treatment tools to our arsenal! We\u2019ve found great success using Apoquel, an oral medication used for allergy relief and in more severe cases where Apoquel is not appropriate, we also offer the Cytojet injection which is both safe &amp; effective in escalated cases. In addition to treatments offered by your veterinarian, you can help your pet to feel more comfortable at home by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making sure your pet is on flea preventive medication year-round<\/li>\n<li>Bathing your pet regularly with a hypoallergenic shampoo and conditioner as recommended by your veterinarian<\/li>\n<li>Soaking your pet\u2019s paws daily to ease inflammation and prevent allergens from being tracked into the home<\/li>\n<li>Supplementing with an omega-3 fatty acid supplement (ask your vet for more details)<\/li>\n<li>Vacuuming your home and laundering pet bedding weekly to prevent the buildup of allergic triggers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Allergies can be extremely detrimental to a pet\u2019s health and well-being. If you suspect your pet is suffering from allergies, please give your team at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\">Dupont Veterinary Clinic<\/a> a call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many pet owners may have experienced allergy problems in their pets, sometimes without even realizing it. While humans tend to suffer from sneezing, runny noses, and watery eyes, allergies in pets generally crop up as skin and ear problems. Allergies can make your pet miserable, and may even be detrimental to his or her health. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[249,250,251,233,252,253],"class_list":["post-3173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-you-your-pet","tag-allergic-pets","tag-allergies-in-pets","tag-pet-care","tag-pet-health-wellness","tag-pets-allergies","tag-seasonal-allergies-in-pets"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets - Dupont Veterinary Clinic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets - Dupont Veterinary Clinic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many pet owners may have experienced allergy problems in their pets, sometimes without even realizing it. While humans tend to suffer from sneezing, runny noses, and watery eyes, allergies in pets generally crop up as skin and ear problems. Allergies can make your pet miserable, and may even be detrimental to his or her health. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-02T00:18:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a149393fa10716f5f5b1c1cd4305f4a\"},\"headline\":\"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-02T00:18:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":506,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Allergic Pets\",\"Allergies In Pets\",\"Pet Care\",\"Pet Health &amp; Wellness\",\"Pets &amp; Allergies\",\"Seasonal Allergies In Pets\"],\"articleSection\":[\"You &amp; Your Pet\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/\",\"name\":\"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets - Dupont Veterinary Clinic\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-02T00:18:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a149393fa10716f5f5b1c1cd4305f4a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\",\"description\":\"Our Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a149393fa10716f5f5b1c1cd4305f4a\",\"name\":\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dupont Veterinary Clinic\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dupontvet.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/beyond\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets - Dupont Veterinary Clinic","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets - Dupont Veterinary Clinic","og_description":"Many pet owners may have experienced allergy problems in their pets, sometimes without even realizing it. While humans tend to suffer from sneezing, runny noses, and watery eyes, allergies in pets generally crop up as skin and ear problems. Allergies can make your pet miserable, and may even be detrimental to his or her health. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/","og_site_name":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic","article_published_time":"2017-05-02T00:18:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/"},"author":{"name":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a149393fa10716f5f5b1c1cd4305f4a"},"headline":"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets","datePublished":"2017-05-02T00:18:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/"},"wordCount":506,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg","keywords":["Allergic Pets","Allergies In Pets","Pet Care","Pet Health &amp; Wellness","Pets &amp; Allergies","Seasonal Allergies In Pets"],"articleSection":["You &amp; Your Pet"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/","name":"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets - Dupont Veterinary Clinic","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg","datePublished":"2017-05-02T00:18:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a149393fa10716f5f5b1c1cd4305f4a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Dupont_iStock-472354100-1024x682.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/scratch-that-itch-getting-a-handle-on-allergies-in-pets\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Scratch that Itch: Getting a handle on Allergies in Pets"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/","name":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic","description":"Our Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a149393fa10716f5f5b1c1cd4305f4a","name":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dupont Veterinary Clinic"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/author\/beyond\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dupontvet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}