Dog allergies seem to be on the increase. They itch, they scratch in the middle of the night, keeping you awake. Their skin gets eruptions that may or may not weep. They sneeze. They get diarrhoea. You have to be careful about foods. Veterinary care becomes expensive. All very inconvenient for your dog. But also for you.

Why should there be such an increase in dog allergies?

There really is only one reason.

And that is because their immune system is badly compromised. And this is caused by two things that you can start to address right away.

If you are feeding your dog a commercial pet food, that is one of the main reasons s/he has allergies. Most commercial pet foods, including most of the big names, are nutrient poor and chemically high. What do I mean by that?

Commercial pet food manufacturers are primarily chasing a fat profit. As there are no laws (at least no laws which work) in any country that I know of, anything goes.

The meat is of poor quality - hooves, dead and diseased animals, high fat content, etc. Then it's padded out with a cheap filler such as sugar, melamine, corn, etc with no regard for the suitability of the food to the animal.

Isolated and synthetic 'nutrients' are added to try to redress the low quality. These nutrients are often impossible to digest and can cause harm later on.

Then preservatives and colours are added. Even if the packet claims to have no preservatives, all that means is that the pet food manufacturer didn't add the preservative. But it could have been added at the rendering plant, where the 'meat' was purchased.

These preservatives are highly toxic and would never be permitted in human food. Preservatives such as ethoxyquin.

Is it any wonder that dog allergies abound now?

The other reason for their high incidence is that they are given so many vaccines, now. Vaccines have the opposite effect that many think - it knocks the immune system for six.

So if you can start feeding your dog real food, preferably raw, you'll go a long way to cure his allergies.

And if you take him to an holistic vet who uses homeopathy, they will be able to undo some of the vaccine damage. Enough, perhaps, to improve his immune system to the point where he doesn't have any allergies at all.

Once you know the cause of dog allergies, it's easy to take measure to correct them.