Dogs may suffer from seasonal allergies in the autumn if they are sensitive to environmental or food allergens that are present only at this time of year.
Allergies in the fall season only manifest themselves for a short time each year, but they can make your dog miserable and present health dangers. The release of allergens into the air by plants throughout the late summer is a common trigger for seasonal allergies.
Sagebrush, pigweed, goldenrod, lamb's quarters, curly dock, and other plants and the pollen they produce are common allergens for dogs in the autumn.
Fall allergies are often caused by the same things that cause environmental and food allergies all year long: pollen, mold, and maybe even dust mites. Dogs with inhalant allergies have reactions because the allergens they inhale get lodged in their hair and skin.
Symptoms of Fall Allergies in Dogs
As you prepare your dog for the fall season, note that dog owners often relate a limited number of common symptoms to fall allergies, including sneezing and eyes that are itchy and watery.
Dogs, however, often manifest their allergic responses in a variety of unique ways that aren’t as intuitive to dog owners. Dogs that suffer from seasonal allergies in the autumn may exhibit symptoms such as:
- Diarrhea
- Chronic ear infections
- Chronic eye infections
- Fur loss
- Itchiness
- Sneezing
- Skin redness
- Skin irritations
- Pain, especially of the stomach
- Watery eyes
- Skin bumps
- Scratching of feet or skin
- Watery nose
- Chewing on feet or body
- Sneezing
The causes of fall season allergy symptoms in your furry companion have to do with how their body responds to irritants. They are:
- Overactive immune response, or
- Inappropriate immune response to an irritant that is harmless, or
- Hypersensitivity to irritant
If you notice any new or odd symptoms in your dog during the autumn season, it’s important that you schedule an appointment with your dog's veterinarian as soon as possible.
Never try to diagnose symptoms yourself, or you may accidentally attribute an important symptom to something innocuous. Your veterinarian is always the best source for diagnoses and treatment.
How Fall Seasonal Allergies Are Diagnosed
The symptoms of your faithful sidekick will be evaluated by the veterinarian after they have thoroughly examined your pet.
The first step they would most likely do is to have you answer a series of questions about your dog's recent behavior, as they will want to gather information about your dog's symptoms, how much they are impacting your dog’s life, when they first became noticeable how the symptoms seem to have progressed.
This information will inform the veterinarian’s diagnosis and enable them to best treat the underlying causes of your dog's fall allergies.
Specifically, if your dog is exhibiting symptoms of a skin irritation or signs of a skin allergy, your veterinarian will examine his skin in great detail to diagnose the problem. In order to have a better idea of what might be triggering the inflammation, they may decide to do a skin test.
Your dog may be diagnosed with seasonal allergies by the veterinarian after they examine his skin and other symptoms, as well as after they hear the information you have to offer them about your dog's history.
Dogs are surprisingly prone to developing seasonal allergies, and fortunately, there are a variety of treatments available to help get them feeling better.
Surprising Facts About Fall Season Allergies
When your dog’s veterinarian gets to the bottom of the cause of your dog’s symptoms, they may tell you a few surprising facts that you might not have known before. They include:
Fall season allergies can develop over time. Many allergies in humans and in animals develop over a period of time. Humans and animals are not necessarily born with allergies. Chronic exposure to allergens can lead to allergic symptoms. So even if your dog never had a problem with allergies in the fall their whole life, there is always a chance that an allergy could develop.
Your veterinarian may recommend a change in diet to help treat fall season allergies in your dog. One reason for this surprising recommendation is because your dog needs to be in optimal health for their age in order for their immune system to react appropriately to allergens.
So even if, for instance, your dog’s allergy symptoms are caused by ragweed, a change in diet to a more protein-based food such as Jiminy’s Cravin’ Cricket Entree Wet Dog Food, may improve your dog’s recovery from fall seasonal allergies.
It’s important to be proactive and bring your dog to visit their vet as soon as you notice allergy symptoms. In addition to external symptoms, there may be internal symptoms that your dog is suffering with silently.
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