Does Your Pet Have Seasonal Spring Allergies?

Like people, our pets may also suffer from allergies with the change in season.  Spring brings warmer weather and, with it, an increase in fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.  If your pet is prone to suffering from skin allergies, these parasites will just make the problem that much worse!

Many pet owners don’t treat their pets over winter for external parasites (e.g. ticks and fleas) as they are often not seen.  ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is the usual trend regarding parasites.  However, South African winters are not cold enough to completely eradicate these parasites and their numbers may have actually increased.  With the warmer weather their numbers will exponentially rise, causing a sudden flea and tick problem.  Those pet owners who have treated their pets over winter won’t notice this sudden surge as their pets will have some protection compared to the naive pet owners which haven’t treated their pets.  So please remember to treat your pets even if you don’t see the tick or flea, it will prevent a problem and potential skin allergy and also protect your house from the fleas and ticks your pets carry inside!

Does your pet suffer from ear infections?  Now is the time to start regularly inspecting your pet’s ears, if you are not doing so already.  Ear infections often flare up with the change in season and warmer weather.  Regularly cleaning your dog’s ears will help reduce the wax load and keep the ear canals healthy.  Epi-Otic ear cleanser is a good choice for cleaning out your pet’s ears.

Pets with skin allergies may have a hard time with the warmer weather, especially if the allergy is seasonal.  Carefully choosing the correct skin shampoo, with the help of your veterinarian, will help control the problem over the warmer months. 

Please be careful when you start tending to your garden in the spring.  You grass and flower beds may be looking quite lifeless and your aim is to restore your garden.  Choose pesticides and fertilizers carefully, as some may be toxic to your pets.  If your pet likes digging they may be more susceptible to the harmful side effects of some of these products.  It’s best to do your research properly on the different products and not to rush in and use any product haphazardly.  Other ways of avoiding this problem is to lock your pets up while gardening or to try fence off the area you want to treat.