Flea Allergy Dermatitis Diagnosis
Posted by admin on 30 Jun 2008 at 12:59 am | Tagged as: Pets Allergy
In one of my previous articles, I was talking about dog allergy. I’ve been asked by a reader how can a flea allergy be diagnosed in dogs with dermatitis?
First of all, let me tell you that allergic or not, no dog should have fleas as a general rule. Of course, from time to time, your dog will have the occasion to get fleas from outside, from the park, from grass, but the dog owner, if he is responsible enough, and if he cares for his pet, would give the dog anti-flea treatments. Some vets advise that such treatments to be given for prevention purposes to dogs or cats, even if they don’t manifest any dermatitis symptoms.
Flea Allergy Symptoms
The main symptom which can lead you to suspect your dog has a flea allergy is scratching. By this, I don’t mean the regular scratching which all dogs do, but almost continuous scratching, with high intensity.
If you notice that at your dog, closely examine his fur, carefully look between the hairs, to see the skin. Many times, you’ll see the flea running fast and hiding behind other hairs, thus making it almost impossible to catch it. Other times, you’ll see nothing moving. However, if the dog’s fur has signs of black dirt, small spots of dark color, then you may suspect he got some naughty fleas.
If the dog has a strong flea allergy, you’ll be able to observe skin irritations, dermatitis, and even the fur shedding in unusually big amounts.
Getting your dog diagnosed for flea allergy
If you notice any of the above mentioned symptoms, do not attempt to treat flea allergy dermatitis by yourself, but rather take your dog to the vet. He’ll be able to diagnose a flea allergy on the spot, and anyway, think that your dog shouldn’t have fleas at all, under no circumstances, so use anti-flea products to prevent that. It is important that your dog is flea free, especially if you intend to leave it in a pet care center for a while when going on vacation. All pet sitters in San Diego and in any other cities will require your dog to be in perfect health in order to take it in.
Your vet will tell you if you need to let your dog be taken a blood sample to get him tested for flea allergy.
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