Is there anything I need to do in my home environment for my dog’s allergies?

Depending on what your dog is sensitive to, regularly laundering their bed is wonderful. Many owners forget to wash their pets' beds, and sometimes that can be the source of the allergens that cause the allergic reaction. They say that skin cell turnover in dogs is about every 21 days, so veterinarian dermatologists recommend bathing your dog at least once a month, if not every three weeks. That can help a lot, too.

Sometimes if you notice them licking their feet, it can be just as simple as wiping off their feet with a wet washcloth right after they come in from outside. But there's a whole slew of things. Keeping the house clean, vacuumed, all of that good stuff, and keeping them on prevention, too, would be helpful. Once fleas get in your home, they're tough to get rid of.

Things within the environment that will cause allergies can be smoke. So if you're a smoker, you might want to consider going outside to smoke because the smoke will pollute and cause allergies and upper respiratory issues in pets. We see increases in dust pollen or dust mites from not vacuuming or having a lot of fabrics that need to be washed, so more frequent vacuuming can help. Don't forget to vacuum your furniture and your fabrics. Change your bedding over more frequently, especially if your pet sleeps with you. Perfumes and aerosolization candles can cause allergies. Those also release things within the air that can affect pets with allergies and make them worse. When you think about your environment and ways that you can help, whole house HEPA filters are also wonderful and even the standalone room ones. Change those litter boxes over and over, especially for cats with allergies. Again, talking with your veterinarian about your environment can show you things you can do to help reduce allergens at home.

The key thing with allergies is keeping it as dust-free as possible because we see many people with household issues with house dust, dust mites, molds, and mildews, so cleanliness can make a huge difference. If you're a smoker, it's a tougher issue because we see dogs with cigarette smoke issues. If you're a smoker, start smoking outside, but you have to clean up your house. Wash your furniture best. You can wash the curtains and try to eliminate that smokiness in your house to minimize that problem. As far as the environment goes, there are other things that you can do. One other thing I'm going to suggest is that you can also get what's called ionizers. They will help better filter the air to get these particulates of house dust out of the air. That could really help a lot of people who might suffer from all household allergens from dust mites, molds, and mildews. They can also work well for your pets, but lots of vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning will help.

Maintaining a clean home environment can help with your dog's allergies. Frequent vacuuming and removing allergens from your home can significantly reduce the impact of allergies on your dog. Dust mites and other environmental factors can contribute to allergies, so keeping a clean home can help alleviate symptoms.

One of the most important things to consider is eliminating dyes and perfumes from your home environment. This includes laundry detergents and fabric softeners. Carpets can also be a problem if they contain rayon or polyester, as some dogs may be allergic to these materials. If your dog is allergic to these materials, you may need to remove the carpet from your home. To help with this, you can purchase hypoallergenic laundry detergents and fabric softeners that do not contain dyes or perfumes at most stores.

Try to keep your home as clean as possible to decrease the amount of dust and pollens that are present.