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Dogs can experience one of the most common skin allergies namely  flea allergy dermatitis. A dog that suffers from flea allergy dermatitis is allergic to the saliva that fleas produce. Such an allergy tends to be far more worse when compared to other dog skin allergies mainly because the nasty itching persists long after fleas have been eliminated. Fleas allergy dermatitis comes with symptoms that are worse during summer time, especially during the middle period of this season, a period that stands for the height of flea season. Also, dogs that are living in warmer environments tend to suffer from this allergy for longer periods of the year. The main symptoms of flea allergy dermatitis are red skin and severe itching – also, if your dog is suffering from such a skin allergy, he may also experience red bumps where his fleas are heavily concentrated. Mainly, these conquered areas are all over the rump and the base of the tale but other areas may include belly, groin and legs as well. If your dog is suffering from flea allergy, he will tend to scratch and chew these particular areas very intensively. Even his hair may fall out and his skin will become scaly and very dry. Severe cases of flea allergy may come with secondary bacterial infections as well and in this case the skin will tend to become darkly pigmented and very thick. The main treatment for flea allergy will revolve around trying to eliminate all the fleas from the environment and from his hair. So, you will have to treat your entire house and even your backyard in order to remove all the existing fleas. Also, you will have to treat all the other pets you have in your environment in order to prevent the occurrence of further contacts with fleas. Steroids and antihistamines will be included in the right treatment – these medicines are used in order to control the severe itching. Essential fatty acid supplements will be given as well. Also, it is best for you to try and prevent further flea infestations by using some of the quality flea control products that are already available on the market. Also, you should comb your dog by using a flea comb and you will have to do this very carefully in order to eliminate the fleas from his hair. You can find such flea combs at any local pet store. Remember that fleas are quite sensitive to light and you should lay the dog on his back in order to better search for all the fleas that may be hiding in his stomach fur. If you cannot find any fleas on his stomach hair, you should look right at the base of his tale because they may be hiding in this particular area. Plus, you may look for flea droppings in order to see whether your dog is infected with fleas or not. Flea droppings look like some peppers sprinkled on the skin of your dog and you can figure out what you are dealing with by removing all the dirt with damp paper towels. Leave this dirt for a couple of minutes and once you notice that this dirt starts to pool right into a very tiny puddle, you can be sure that you are dealing with flea droppings. Keeping his hair trimmed short is likely to help you notice and spot fleas rather easily. Just make sure that you are grooming your dog and apply a prevention treatment to him on a regular basis. Photo - Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/70274634@N00/234224052/
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