We know it is coming, but don’t we just have to wait for the seasonal allergy to come and react to the problem? Well, obviously we can’t put our dog in a plastic bubble for 3 seasons out of the year, but that doesn’t mean there are not nutritional things that can be done to reduce the severity.

Nutritional Status

Your dog has a status or bank of nutrients that is drawn upon when under stress. Trace minerals, major minerals, protein and fat-soluble vitamins are stored by the body. When we are talking about seasonal allergies, zinc and manganese are probably the most important of these stored nutrients because they have the biggest effect on the dog’s barrier to allergens, skin and coat. The problem is we need to supplement with higher quality chelated zinc and manganese to make a difference. Adding more low-quality trace minerals will have little to no effect. For best results, start supplementing 60-90 days prior to allergy season. We would recommend Fido-Vite SportzDog, Toyz and Allergy in for seasonal allergy for their higher levels of zinc and omega 3. If seasonal allergy is complicated by a possible food allergy, be sure to use Fido-Vite Allergy.

 

Omega 3

When your dog is itching, there is discomfort and inflammation. To alleviate some of this discomfort and inflammation we can add omega 3 to the diet as omega 3 is anti-inflammatory. Be sure that your source of omega 3 is low in omega 6 as omega 6 is pro-inflammatory and dog foods tend to run high in omega 6. We recommend Fido-Vite CoMega DHA for additional omega 3 during the time when seasonal allergies are at their worst to aid in discomfort and possibly reduce other measures needed to get through the seasonal allergy. Because we use algae for the source of DHA omega 3, omega 6 is kept to a minimum.

 

Probiotics

With any allergy, candida yeast can be troublesome secondary infection. The best way to combat candida yeast is with probiotics supported by multiple prebiotics and postbiotics. Drug use by allergy dogs also can challenge the microbiome. Fido-Vite Allergy has an extra probiotic, saccharomyces boulardii, and a postbiotic along that tend to more effective when drugs are used to keep the microbiome healthy and candida yeast at bay!