Canine Atopy and How to Reboot Your Allergic Dog's Health

By Megan Marshall

Canine atopy can be a most distressing allergic condition, equally for your itchy-scratchy-sad dog and for you. There are few conditions that have so many different treatment options and approaches as canine atopy or atopic dermatitis. And the responses to these treatments are just as varied and individual.
Get the information you need to navigate your way back to a position of control over your best friend’s health and well-being.
Find out about the flare triggers, the clinical diagnosis process and the treatment options, in both the conventional and complementary medicine realms.
Learn about taking charge of what your pet eats by switching to an all-natural home-prepared diet and see your dog return to glowing health.
Best of all, take charge of your dog’s long-term health to minimise your vet bills and maximise the joy of pet ownership, while taking advantage of the make-at-home remedies and treatments and other first-line-of-defence strategies for dog lovers on a budget.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Megan Marshall
• Release date: Sep 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310944123

Megan Marshall

Megan was born in South Africa where she worked as a copy editor for many years. In mid-life she emigrated with her husband and daughter to Australia, settling initially in Sydney. Nowadays she lives in regional Victoria with her husband, horse and dog. She has had a publishing career in Australia, mainly as a copy editor and project manager, and now focuses on writing and animal welfare support.

Book preview

Canine Atopy and How to Reboot Your Allergic Dog’s Health

By Megan Marshall

Copyright 2014 Megan Marshall

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, Licence notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

Preface

Canine atopy—an introduction

What is allergy or allergic response?

Does breed play a role?

Diagnosing atopy in your dog

Finding the flare triggers

Fleas and bacterial infections

Environmental allergies

Food sensitivities/allergies

A modern condition?

Doing an elimination diet

Blood/Skin allergy tests

Managing atopy in your dog

Management options

1. Feeding after the elimination diet

2. Allergen avoidance

3. Hyposensitisation or immunotherapy

4. Medication

Allopathic, or conventional, drug treatments

CAM treatments

5. Topical treatments

The future

Breeding out the condition

The status quo

Hope for the future

A natural way

Natural diet

Natural life

Remedies and treatments you can make at home

Iodine paw rinse

Apple cider and hydrogen peroxide paw/skin rinse

Apple cider vinegar ear drops

Calendula ear drops

ACV rinse - Kill fleas on your pet

Topical flea-be-gone spray

Easy calendula ointment

Calendula balm

Shampoos

Basic natural shampoo

Scented shampoo

Oatmeal shampoo

Anti-itch herbal rinse

Rooibos tea salve

Antibacterial soap

Powdered eggshell

Simple sauerkraut

Bone broth

Rooibos tea for dogs

About Megan Marshall

Preface

When our vet told us our much loved cocker spaniel Beckett was atopic, it was just a word to us. My initial response was okay, so what do I give him to fix this?

It took me a while to realise that it wasn’t going to be that simple.

Canine atopy is a life-long condition that is tricky to treat because there are many possible treatment routes and regimens and because treating it properly calls for an informed and co-ordinated approach on the part of the pet owner.

To put it simply, you have to take overall charge of your atopic dog’s treatment.

An atopic dog that is untreated or whose treatment is not optimal is a miserable dog. Which goes double for that dog’s owner!

Often it can take a long while and many hours of research to sort through all the different treatment options and approaches out there and decide on the best way forward for you and your dog.

I have travelled that route and I wrote this book to save you most of the trouble and speed you on your way back to having a happy and healthy dog!

Good luck!

Canine atopy—an introduction

Although many chronic canine conditions (like diabetes and heart conditions) call for life-long treatment, it is unusual for there to be so many treatment options and regimens available for just one disease.

The broad range of treatment options and combinations available for canine atopy, in both the realms of conventional veterinary medicine and complementary and alternative medicine, makes therapeutic decisions and long-term management of the condition difficult.

You might find yourself seeing a number of different veterinary health professionals about your dog’s condition who all come at it from the perspective of their particular discipline, leaving you without a coherent management action plan.

Since canine atopy is not curable yet and the condition has to be managed over the lifetime of your