What Are The Most Common Allergies?

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of things that pets can be allergic do. The most common type of allergy we deal with are the inhalants. What we mean by inhalants is anything that can float in the air such as dust, molds, weeds, grasses, tree elements, fungii, dustmites, hair sprays, perfumes, etc. Usually these allergies are to some degree seasonal. Either they only occur at a certain time of the year or they are at least worse during a certain season.

The next most common type is food allergies. Many of our pets develop allergies to specific proteins or ingredients in their diet, such as chicken, wheat, beef, etc. They tend to exhibit the same symptoms as pets with inhalants allergies, but with food as the cause the symptoms tend to be all year round. Chronic ear infections have also been associated with food allergies, so if you have ear problems that do not seem to resolve as they should, ask your veterinarian if there may be a connection.

The least common category is contact allergies. This usually occurs when a pet, especially a dog, has an allergy to things such as grass and they spend the majority of their day outside. But they can also be allergic to things such as the type of detergent or soap you use to wash their bed. Contact allergies usually cause a lot of redness and inflammation along their underbelly where they lie. I only see a few cases of this a year; the others are much more common.

Back