An allergic reaction suffered by your pet might be a good reason to visit your Boca Raton emergency vet clinic. But you might wonder what caused your dog to suffer from an allergy and what are the symptoms.

Common Allergies

Allergies are quite common in dogs and affect all backgrounds and breeds of dogs. Many allergies will begin to appear when your dog reaches 6 months in age. Some allergies are inherited while most are caused by allergens.

What Causes Allergies?

There are any number of substances that can act as allergens but most are proteins of plant, insects or animal with a small portion being chemical in nature. Just like in humans, your dog can suffer allergies from pollens, dust mites, mold spores and shed skin cells. Symptoms to look for with these types of allergies include a runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing. You also want to watch for a dog who scratches himself a lot.

Food Allergies

Proteins cause the majority of food allergies in dogs with most caused by dairy, beef and wheat. Dogs who are suffering from food allergies may vomit, burp, have diarrhea and even lose weight. But the most common sign of a food allergy is itching and scratching. The only way to diagnose food allergies accurately is to eliminate the food causing the reactions. This means taking your dog off the current diet and giving him something he has never had before and then reintroducing old foods until you discover the problem.