Pugs and Allergies

Grass Allergies

Although the Pug tends to be a relatively healthy breed, it does tend to suffer from certain specific allergies.

Grass Allergies

The main causes of allergies in Pugs are:

Grass Allergies

• The environment
• Food

Grass Allergies

Environmental allergies could be caused by dust mites, fleas, trees, grass and pollens.

While food is known to cause allergies in Pugs, there are no specific foods that can be identified. This is something that you will learn to pick up through trial and error.

If you think that your Pug is suffering from an allergy, either an environmental allergy or a food allergy, then it could have a skin rash and some inflammation or redness to its skin. There could be some loss of hair or the dog could be very itchy. If your Pug is scratching excessively in a specific area or breaks out in pimples this could also be a sign that it is suffering from an allergy.

Hot spots are also very common in Pugs. Pugs have a double coat and this can get hot and wet close to their skin, which often causes itchiness, redness, inflammation and loss of hair.

Other indications that your Pug is suffering from allergies could be sneezing, coughing or even wheezing.

You may want to try changing your Pug's food to a hypoallergenic food. For red and inflamed skin, it may mean that your Pug is not getting enough oil in its diet. Try giving it some fish oil, this may help. Another treatment you could try for sore, itchy skin, is to bathe your Pug with vegetable glycerin soap, instead of using the more commonly used dog shampoos. One thing not to use when treating skin irritations is a shampoo that contains alcohol. Shampoos that have oatmeal in them are believed to be soothing too.

If you suspect your Pug is suffering from a food allergy, the best way to deal with this is to cut out everything you are feeding and start from scratch. Unless you are feeding one good quality dog food, introduce new foods, one at a time, and only once a week. This way you will see if your Pug has a reaction.

Taking your Pug to the vet is ultimately the best solution to treating it correctly. Treatment is generally symptomatic and will probably include giving your Pug antihistamines, steroids, fatty acid supplements, medicated shampoos or changing the dog's diet.

Pugs and Allergies

Grass Allergies