​​We understand how difficult it is to have an itchy dog or cat. We do not recommend giving over the counter human medications to pets. We suggest you talk to a vet to figure out whether this is what's needed for your situation. 

An antihistamine such as these may provide short-term relief but do not address the underlying cause of your dog's or cat's itching or allergies. Please work with a holistic vet to find a good long-term solution. 

​​Probiotics can be quite effective for dogs, providing various health benefits. Probiotics are measured in CFUs (colony forming units and we consider anything over 5 billion cfus as effective for allergies). 

Here are some key points about their effectiveness:

1. Digestive Health: Probiotics help maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria, which can improve digestion and reduce issues like diarrhea, constipation, and gas.
2. Immune System Support: A significant portion of the immune system is located in the gut. By promoting a healthy gut microbiome, probiotics can enhance the overall immune response.
3. Allergy Relief: Probiotics can help alleviate symptoms of allergies in some dogs by modulating the immune system and reducing inflammatory responses.
4. Skin and Coat Health: A healthy gut often translates to healthier skin and a shinier coat. Probiotics can help manage conditions like dermatitis and other skin issues.
5. Stress and Anxiety Reduction: There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a connection between gut health and mental health. Probiotics may help reduce stress and anxiety in dogs.

It is important to remember that it is key to get a therapeutic dose for dogs and the effectiveness can vary depending on the type of probiotic. In addition, not all dogs respond the same way to probiotics. Some may experience significant benefits, while others might have minimal changes.

Remember that probiotics that come with prebiotics are important. Basically, prebiotics are the food that probiotics feed on. They also feed bad bacteria. The theory is to overwhelm bad bacteria with good. 

Side Effects: While generally safe, some dogs might experience mild side effects like gas or bloating when first introduced to probiotics. These usually subside as the dog adjusts.

​​There are numerous approaches to sorting out cat or dog itchy skin. We understand how difficult and time consuming it is to go the natural route. However, for those interested in solving dog skin allergy or itchy skin long-term, see A Vet’s Perspective: Why does my Dog have skin disease and what can I do about it?

Using Food energetics from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), holistic practitioners/ vets consider that there are certain proteins that have warming or cooling properties. Food is considered to be nutrition as well as medicine. Therefore food can provide certain energies that affect your dog or cat's body and keep it in check or throw it out of balance. For dogs and cats, the focus is on proteins but it can also be extended to fruits/vegetables. 

Dog with allergies/ food sensitivities are encouraged to eat cooling proteins such as duck, fish (certain whitefish), alligator, clams & mussels, and rabbit. In addition, vegetables and fruits that fall under the cooling type for dogs/cats include apples, asparagus, banana, blueberry, cucumber, pears, broccoli, watermelon, orange, strawberry. However, this needs to be balanced with whether your dog is yeasty and removing any fruits that convert easily into sugars feeding the yeast. 

Warming foods to typically avoid for dogs and cats with allergies include chicken, chicken egg yolk, lamb, goat, venison and in some cases we've seen mention of kangaroo.  That is interesting as normally, exotic proteins like venison and kangaroo are suggested as novelty proteins for allergic dogs/cats.  In addition, vegetables and fruits that fall under the warming type for dogs include squash, sweet potato, some mushrooms, garlic and turmeric.  This means that using garlic to prevent fleas for allergic dogs is not a good ideaor using turmeric as an anti-inflammatory for dog/ cat joints. 

Neutral foods include beef, goose, tuna, sardines, tripe, quail, pork. Vegetables and fruits that fall under neutral include pineapple, shitake mushrooms, cabbage. These can be used regularly. 

There are a lot of considerations you need to make in using food energetics. For example, the way a food is prepared also affects whether it is cooling or hot. Frying/ hot processes might make canned food or kibble hot while the same proteins in raw form are not as 'hot.' The important thing is to work with a knowledgeable vet with TCM skills. A good TCM knows how to look at your tongue, pulse, skin, hair and behaviour to tell if you are out of balance. A vet with TCM skills should be doing the same thing for your pet or else they are just guessing. 

To help with skin issues, heart disease and joint issues, we carry a range of pet omega oils such as krill oil, sardine oil, green lipped mussel oil, anchovy oil and even flaxseed oil for dogs specifically. Green lipped Mussel is rich in omega 3s and as an added benefit has astanxanthin, a powerful antioxidant for pet immune health. As such, we tend to prefer green lipped mussel. It is also ocean-friendly and a sustainable resource.

Is your dog struggling with hot spots? We have some soothing sprays and foams that can help bring relief while you work on addressing the core issues. Typically, there is a core issue driving the skin to overeact. It could food related, it could medication related or something else. It can take time to see improvements in your pet’s health, so contact us if you have any questions about which product is best for your dog. Note that naturally solving itchy skin can take months. For more information on dog skin allergy or itchy skin, see our blog post called - A Vet’s Perspective: Why does my Dog have skin disease and what can I do about it?