Itchy Pets , Summertime itches

Have you ever noticed that at certain times of the year your loved pet won't stop grooming, scratching, or chewing themselves?

Or maybe you have seen your pet rubbing or rolling themselves on things? If you have answered yes, to any of these, then the chances are your pet is itchy.

The cause for this irritation can be varied, but may include skin parasites such as fleas or mites, bacterial or fungal skin infections or allergies to name a few. Most commonly ( about 90% of the time) , however it is fleas causing the itchiness even when we don't see them. So get the flea prevention happening, it might just save a trip to the vets.

Allergies occur when the body's defence system becomes overly excited by,or, over responds to certain items. Allergies, just like in people, can not be cured but instead must be managed to keep your pet comfortable. There are thousands of different things your pet could be allergic too. These could include anything from flea bites, coming into contact with certain plants, their diet, or even inhaling pollens or dust mites. Sometimes the things that make our pets itchy can be identified through food trials, identifying and removing common irritating plants from the garden and having excellent flea prevention.

We can sometimes identify skin allergies through specialised blood tests or intradermal skin testing. Intradermal skin testing is a process where we inject, under sedation, multiple agents under the skin to see which one your pet is allergic too.

There are lots of things we can do to help manage your pet's allergies. Commonly, we look at ways to improve your pets skin barrier, and may even place your pet on medication to stop the itching by toning down the body's defence system if the allergen can not be avoided.

You dont have to put up with scratching and an uncomfortable pet . If your have an itchy pet give us a call and we will work together to get your pet feeling better.