Posts in Category: Seasonal Pet Care

Seasonal allergies are a PAIN – the sneezing, the itching, the mucous-y YUCK… but did you know your pet can suffer from these irritants too? The good news is IT CAN BE MANAGED! Here’s what you need to know:

The Usual Suspects – Trees, Grass, Flowers

All three of these elements can cause an allergy flare up in our pets – don’t be surprised if you get back from a trip to the park and both you and Rufus are itchy and teary – it can affect us the same!

How to Help at Home

• Give Them Dawgs a Wipe Down!
  
  • Sometimes just a quick wipe off can make a tremendous difference! Our doctors have two main suggestions so long as we are still talking SEASONAL allergies: a wet cloth or a paw scrubber
    
    • Wet Cloth: Wet a cloth with warm water and gently wipe each paw pad, making sure to get in between the toes, then wipe with a dry cloth when done.
      
    • Paw Scrubber: These make the process super easy! You can find this product at pet stores, Walmart, Amazon, etc. and average about $20 across the board.
      
• Everyone and Everything is Getting Bathed!
  
  • Having BATH TIME more often this time of year can make a BIG difference. The pollen sticks to your pet’s fur just like it does to our clothes and keeping the coat clean and free of irritants will make your pet’s life better.
    
  • Bath time also goes for the LAUNDRY: those pollens that are on your pet’s fur transfer to their favorite nap spot every time they lay down. So even if we are keeping up with baths for our bodies, we still need to keep bedding up to snuff to make it count.

Over the Counter Relief Options

• BENADRYL: Benadryl 25mg tablets are a wonderful medication to have on hand for your pets! You can buy the generic brand, it is the exact same… however, do not use Children’s Benadryl, liquigels, or any other types of options available.
  
  • Dosing is 1-2 milligrams per 1 pound…. what this means as a pet owner is EASY MATH! All you have to do is take your pet’s current weight and divide it by 25 – that answer is how many tablets to give. For Example:
    
    • If your pet weighs 25 pounds, give them 1 tablet up to twice daily.
    • If your pet weighs 50 pounds, give 2 tablets up to twice daily.
    • if your pet weights 40 pounds, give 1.5 tablets up to twice daily.
      
• ZYRTEC: Zyrtec 10mg tablets have a slightly bigger kick to them if Benadryl doesn’t seem to do the trick. The generic brand can also be used for this however, do not use liquigels, DM, or any other type available.
  
  • Dosing is the same as Benadryl, so 1-2 milligrams per 1 pound. So again, take the weight of your dog and this time divide by 10 for your total tablets to give. Note: Zyrtec is also only given once daily in the evening. For Example:
    
    • If your pet weighs 25 pounds, give 2.5 tablets once daily in the evening.
    • If your pet weighs 50 pounds, give 5 tablets once daily in the evening.
    • if your pet weights 40 pounds, give 4 tablets once daily in the evening.

Prescribed Relief Options Our Doctors Love

• Apoquel: Common starting point for pets who need that extra boost. It’s a tablet, or recently available in chewable form, that is given once a day in the evening.
  
• Cytopoint: If giving meds everyday isn’t reasonable for you or if your pet is bad at taking meds, then this is an AWESOME option for you. Cytopoint is an injection that is boostered one month after the initial dose and then it can be anywhere from every three months to a couple times a year that they will need to come in for another.
  • The reason behind this is that all pets are not built the same, just like us humans. Some of us are a little more sensitive to the environment while others may only need a little support during the allergy seasons. Test and Learn!