Marshall
Preface
When our vet told us our much loved cocker spaniel Beckett was atopic, it was just a word to us. My initial response was okay, so what do I give him to fix this?
It took me a while to realise that it wasn’t going to be that simple.
Canine atopy is a life-long condition that is tricky to treat because there are many possible treatment routes and regimens and because treating it properly calls for an informed and co-ordinated approach on the part of the pet owner.
To put it simply, you have to take overall charge of your atopic dog’s treatment.
An atopic dog that is untreated or whose treatment is not optimal is a miserable dog. Which goes double for that dog’s owner!
Often it can take a long while and many hours of research to sort through all the different treatment options and approaches out there and decide on the best way forward for you and your dog.
I have travelled that route and I wrote this book to save you most of the trouble and speed you on your way back to having a happy and healthy dog!
Good luck!
Canine atopy—an introduction
Although many chronic canine conditions (like diabetes and heart conditions) call for life-long treatment, it is unusual for there to be so many treatment options and regimens available for just one disease.
The broad range of treatment options and combinations available for canine atopy, in both the realms of conventional veterinary medicine and complementary and alternative medicine, makes therapeutic decisions and long-term management of the condition difficult.
You might find yourself seeing a number of different veterinary health professionals about your dog’s condition who all come at it from the perspective of their particular discipline, leaving you without a coherent management action plan.
Since canine atopy is not curable yet and the condition has to be managed over the lifetime of your dog, it stands to reason that you are the only constant factor in his or her treatment and therefore that you need to take control of your companion’s treatment.
Your options for a coherent management plan are set out clearly in the following pages, with the emphasis on commonsense strategies for dog owners with unlimited love but limited resources.
So let’s jump right in.
What is allergy or allergic response?
The immune systems of all mammals make antibodies to deal with substances that are foreign, or not part of the body.
Different antibodies are made to deal with different substances. For example, IgG protects against viral diseases after vaccination and IgE, involved in atopic dermatitis, protects against parasites.
IgE antibodies coat the animal’s mast cells (immune system cells) where they wait for parasite proteins to which the host has been sensitised. When they encounter parasite protein, the mast cells release chemicals, or mast cell mediators, to try to destroy the invader.
In an allergic animal, this system is oversensitised and there is a disproportionate release of mediators (hystamine and other vasoactive components) in the skin in response to apparently harmless substances such as house dust mite faecal pellets, giving rise to inflammation and itching.
The itching need not be on parts of the body that come into contact with the allergen/s.
For allergy to be present, the dog first needs to be allergic and then it needs to be exposed to the allergens to which it can develop an abnormal immune response.
WRAP UP: So, an allergic reaction is the body’s way to stop, remove or isolate foreign proteins. This natural process becomes a problem when the body overreacts, doing more harm than good.
Atopy
