Fall Time Allergies? How a Healthy Gut Can Help!
If your dog suffers from allergies, they are not alone. According to a 2018 Banfield Pet Hospital study, “environmental allergies are on an upward trend, with a more than 30 percent increase in dogs and 11 percent increase in cats over the last decade.”
Springtime comes to mind when you think about allergies in people and pets, but some pets suffer from allergies in the Fall. These reactions can be caused by plants such as sagebrush, pigweed, goldenrod, lamb’s quarters, curly dock, ragweed, and mold. These types of allergies are referred to as inhalants. However, they are not only breathed in by the dog or cat but can also settle on the fur and skin, causing skin reactions.
Read on for symptoms and how probiotics can help your pet with fall-time allergens in cats and dogs.
What are symptoms of allergies in your dog or cat?
- Symptoms of fall season allergies in dogs include:
- Skin itchiness
- Redness and irritation on the skin
- Painful stomach
- Diarrhea
- Ear infections
- Eye infections
- Bumps on the skin
- Hair loss Scratching and chewing on feet or skin
- Sneezing Watery eyes
- Reverse sneezing
What can you do to help your pet with seasonal allergies?
Jan Suchodolski, a leading veterinary researcher at Texas A&M, suggests that the overuse of antibiotics often disrupts the gut microbiome, which may put a dog at increased risk for health problems like allergies. Taking care to rebalance the gut after antibiotic treatment helps keep your dog or cat healthy and happy.
A diverse and healthy gut microbiome has been shown to help ward off certain seasonal and food allergies. Good bacteria like those found in our Good Guts for dogs and Good Guts for cats can actually help to prevent opportunistic, bad bacteria from colonizing in places like skin, within ears, and even in urinary tracts. What’s the easiest way to maintain a healthy gut? A daily probiotic and digestive supplement.
To remove pollen and allergens from the skin, frequent baths with special or very gentle shampoos can help to rinse off these allergens before they start to bother the skin. For dogs that lick at their paws, rinsing paws when they come in from walks or hikes, can also help to eliminate things they may have picked up outdoors.