Of course, allergies have been present in the evolution of every living organism, plants and animals alike, but our modern day lifestyle has caused more and more furry friends to develop these atypical conditions since there are more and more “specialized” breeders that mingle and mangle with the Mendel rules or genetics and genealogy.

Dealing with a dog with allergies is not something laughable. If you see that your furry friend starts to shake their head and scratches their eyes with his or her paw or on any furniture or even your knees, then you need to consider allergies. Trying to pinpoint to what your dog is allergic to can be something nearly impossible, though there are things that you can do to keep the work to a minimum.

Remove all pollen or spore issuing plants

Check with the vet for special food intake or chicken broth.

Do not feed him or her bones or rawhide until you can control it.

Try to keep the environment dust and hair free.

Gasp!  Surely, you will feel like a heel.  But instead of shrugging your shoulders or feeling miserable, you will do a lot better if you correct the situation.  How?  Give each pup their own time with you, give the older pup special “privileges” that the other will not have.  It will always depend on the relationship between you and your dogs, but a choice is to give the older one first dibs on the dog treats, a bigger meatier bone than the new dog, and so on.

Have you ever done a pillow?  It is the same thing, I promise.  The greater advantage is that doing it yourself is that you can choose and handpick the fabric that will conform your dog’s bed.  To calculate how much fabric you will need just measure your dog while he or she is lying on his or her side, this way you will know how long does the bed have to be.  Add to that measure about 10 inches to calculate additional room if he or she has the tendency to lie flat on his or her belly.

To stuff the cushion, you can use foam, tow, or even fabric leftovers.

In addition, a couple of empty bottles of soda will make great comforters if filled with hot water and wrapped with two or three towels, wrapping the hot bottles will prevent the pup burning him or herself.  In terms of food, if you are just not able to purchase a small box of dog kibble from the convenient store, you can use baby food just for a day or two. On the other hand, if you are able to find kibble, even though it is adult food; you can soak it a little bit on chicken brew to make it more palatable for the new comer.

To reduce this problem, all you need to do is to soak the rawhide on purified water (the same one you use to drink) for a little while and then toss it into the microwave for a couple of minutes.  Microwaves will dry the rawhide back and will eliminate all the possible microorganisms that can also be the culprits of your pup having an upset stomach.  Soaking it in water will force it to loose the salt and remaining chemicals that most producers use to whiten the raw hide.

You have to read and research and decide what it is that you want to do and the course you are willing to take.  However and regardless on what you might have read, dogs are not vegetarians; they do enjoy fiber in the form of fruits and vegetables, but none of these should be their primary diet.  Dogs are mainly carnivores and should be treated as such, I promise you, the circle of life still will continue and your dog’s karma will remain unharmed if you feed him or her meat and you stay either a vegan or a vegetarian.