As allergy season hits its peak, it is not just humans who are suffering — our pets are at risk too.
Experts are urging owners to spot the subtle signs of allergies that could leave animals scratching in discomfort.
Experts are urging owners to spot the subtle signs of allergies that could leave animals scratching in discomfort.
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00:00Our pets can suffer year-long, but at the peak season where we tend to suffer, those
00:07symptoms can be exacerbated. And for some dogs, yes, it is seasonal, but for others
00:11it's year-long. So very much so. How we recognise allergies and what we refer to as hay fever,
00:19our pets actually suffer, but in a different way. Their symptoms are different to how we
00:24experience and how we demonstrate allergies. While many owners focus on obvious problems
00:27like coughing or sneezing, experts highlight that skin irritation is a far more common allergy
00:32symptom in pets. Watching out for red patches, hair loss or excessive grooming behaviour after
00:39time outdoors can make a real difference in catching allergies early. But the symptoms you
00:43will see in your pet will be that scratching, biting, licking, chewing. And the key thing is
00:49if that continues and that scratching, that can lead into bacteria getting into the skin
00:55infection. So that's what we do want. We want to kind of get on top of it to prevent
00:59it getting worse. And we also want to get on top of it. So we give our pets kind of the
01:04relief they need. Early symptoms actually, ears. If you look at ears, people often see
01:10their dogs scratching their ears. To do it a little bit, it's okay. It's normal. But to be
01:15constantly going back to do that repeatedly, there's something going on there. And actually,
01:20allergies are generally evident in a younger pet, and then they kind of continue to progress.
01:26But as young as two years old, two, three years old, it's quite a common age for these symptoms
01:31to start to kind of peek out there and become more obvious. And the ears are a key part that
01:39tend to flare up. Underneath their armpits, their axilla, their groin as well, if you see
01:43redness of the skin, there's something going on there. So again, that younger pet, make sure
01:49that ear issue isn't something that's a sign of something else there. And again, your vet
01:53will be able to kind of dig into that and figure out what's going on for you. But that's
01:58what I would look out for. And then make sure if you're seeing those symptoms, get to your
02:03vet. And your vet then can actually help you kind of work out the path forward. But with
02:07that education, with that information, you're coming in with a little bit of a clearer mind.
02:12And also, you can go back as well after a consult to kind of just do your own research,
02:18because it's important that you know where to go to. There's a lot of information out
02:21there, but it's difficult to understand what is correct, what's incorrect, where do you
02:27go for something that's reliable?