Huskies are healthy and sturdy animals, but they do tend to suffer from allergies – we found out the hard way. Rocco’s allergies demonstrate themselves mainly through his paw pads. He will chew, lick or just put his paws in his mouth, I’m guessing to relive itchiness. The paw sucking is always accompanied by diarrhea, as most of his allergies are food related.

If the allergy reaction is persistent, his ears start to bug him. He shakes his head as if something was stuck in the ear canal and then he keeps scratching at them. At that point I know to give him Benadryl  since excessive scratching can lead to inflammation and eventually an ear infection.

I think this chart is helpful for any breed, as symptoms tend to be very similar. Oftentimes owners don’t connect these symptoms with a possible allergic reaction and they go on untreated causing unnecessary stress and discomfort to the dog. The symptoms can be relived by observing what causes an allergic reaction in your pet and simply avoiding it. If  it’s an environmental allergen impossible to avoid, over the counter histamines can bring relief, make sure to consult your veterinarian first.

In Rocco’s case, he is allergic to a number of things: grains, processed chicken,  certain red meat (it’s actually cow and bison fat), dairy and  bananas. As we found out, he is also deadly allergic to bee stings…