Allergies in my puppy?

by Nicole
(West Lafayette, IN, USA)

Our puppy is sneezing quite a bit, chewing her paws, and she has had problems with brown wax in her ears for about a month.

We have taken her to the vet for the brown wax (she also has small red marks on the inside of her ears, but they told us that was from her scratching) and they gave us a solution to put in her ear each night. One ear cleared up, and the other continued to have the wax, now that ear has cleared up and the other ear has wax in it again.

She has been sneezing quite a bit and she constantly chews her paws and (more recently) she has been biting her legs. I know that I should speak to the vet, but I have talked to her and she just pushes off the idea that it could be allergies. My dog is a 15 week old female mini dachshund.

I just want to help her feel better if it is allergies that are bothering her. Should be more persistent and have them test her (if they do that)? I am a new dog owner and am not sure what to look for.






Hi Nicole
Your pup is showing several classic symptoms of dog allergies and personally I think that's what's causing her symptoms. However, I'm not a veterinarian!

I'd recommend taking your pup to another vet for a second opinion, as your current vet isn't taking your concerns seriously. Don't worry about being an 'overprotective mom' or anything like that, this pup is your baby and she is relying on you to take care of her, so do whatever you feel is necessary.

There are tests that can be done for allergies, but you can also do some 'detective work' yourself at home. dog food allergies are a common culprit, but it could also be a reaction to seasonal stuff such as pollen or mould, or to anything that she comes in contact with on a regular basis such as shampoo, a particular fabric perhaps in her bedding, clothes or toys, ingredients in dog treats, shampoo or deodorizer used on carpets... just about anything.

You are in the best position to know when her symptoms seem at their worst and what she is in regular contact with. I'd recommend putting her on a hypoallergenic dog food and begin to remove possible triggers one at a time until you find one that seems to improve matters. Bear in mind that she will probably need to be away from the 'trigger' for several days before you'll notice much difference, unless she has a very severe allergy response to something.

The links in the above paragraphs are to other pages on my site that deal with canine allergies, you'll find info. and links there to some natural products that can help alleviate some of her symptoms while you try to track down the root of the problem. You may also want to try giving her a little Benadryl (dosage is 1/2mg per lb of body weight, given every 8 hours) to see if it helps at all. It's not the answer as it simply eases symptoms of allergies for a short while, however if you do notice an improvement that will reinforce the notion of allergies being the problem.

I hope this helps and that you manage to find out what is making your little girl so uncomfortable. I wish you the very best of luck and hope she feels better soon.