Dog Food – Boxer’s are notorious for having food allergies. Your dog may become allergic to an ingredient in their dog food
that they had previous eaten without any problem, sometimes for years! The Boxer dog is especially sensitive to dog food
with a high grain content, particularly those including corn or wheat. Treatment - The process of determining the
cause of your dog's allergy may take months. Currently, clinical testing is very unreliable for canines. Elimination testing,
done at home, is the common way to help your dog. Each day is a step toward recovery. Process of elimination of such foods
that contain high contents of grain. The dog must be fed a strictly 100% hypo-allergenic diet. If the dog is given even
a small amount of food that was previously in his or her meals, the test will be corrupted and an owner must begin again from the
beginning. Talk to your veterinarian, they may prescribe a hypo-allergenic dog food and have you add supplements, vitamins to
help boost the immune system.
After your Boxer is fed this for 1 month, every week or 2, a food element is added, one normally found
in their dog food or treats. For example, you may want to begin with chicken. If your Boxer seems fine, add rice the following
week and so on. Keeping this strict diet for your Boxer and keeping a close eye on his or her reaction will show you what
specific food your dog is allergic to.
Respiratory: This will cause coughing, sneezing, Wheezing and sometimes choking
sounds. This can range from mild to quite severe. Dogs with this type of allergy can sometimes literally be struggling
to be able to breathe. However, the most blatant symptom will manifest as itching, quite severe itching. A Boxer may have such
an uncontrollable urge to ease the itch that he or she licks, bite or scratches excessively and to the point of ripping out fur. These
types of dog allergies more often strike female Boxers and begin to occur between the ages of 1-4 years old. However, a Boxer
of either gender may have this at any age.
Trees, Weeds, Pollen and Other - Just as a human have "seasonal allergies,
so may your dog. A Boxer can be allergic to outside elements all year long. Dust Mites, tiny microscopic bugs, can be
present indefinitely if they are not purposefully eliminated. Treatment - Dust mites can be eliminated by washing everything
you possibly can in hot, sudsy water. The entire home must be dusted with a product that actually lifts the dust away and does
not simply send it scattering into the air. Carpeting must have a deep cleaning, usually done best by a professional.
This type of over haul cleaning should be done every 4-5 months. To learn more about the Dust Mite, please visit http://www.dust-mites.org/