Perhaps they engage in abnormal repetitive behaviors and cannot stop. It can be hard to determine if your pet is suffering because the behavior has not improved.

In human medicine, these types of disorders are referred to as psychological or mental health disorders. There has been a history of discounting psychological disorders, but medical professionals now know that these are diseases, like cancer or diabetes. Sometimes the pet has a true emotional disorder that is not man-made through mistreatment or lack of training. These concerns cannot be solved “with love”, through “putting the animal in its place”, or by taking obedience lessons.

Psychological or behavioral diseases are diseases of the brain, just as cancer is a disease of the cell. Some cancers respond to treatment, some will not. Some will appear to respond initially, then relapse. Cancer which resolves quickly in one individual may be terminal in another. Some cancers generally considered treatable are fatal for others. Some patients may not be able to tolerate the treatment that is designed to save their life. Although veterinary behavioral medicine has progressed so many behavior disorders can be managed and treated, there will be variable responses among animals. 

If you are considering euthanasia for behavioral reasons, there may be alternative options to consider first.

Have You Taken Your Pet to the Veterinarian?

Many behavioral problems have underlying medical conditions that contribute to behavior. Conditions such as ear infections, dental disease, arthritis, and even skin allergies can cause pain and irritability, increasing your pet’s anxiety levels, or resulting in a bite when stressed. Scheduling a check-up with your veterinarian should be first on your list with any noted behavioral change, especially if this change is recent or your pet is older.

Have You Sought Out Professional Help? 

A board-certified veterinary behaviorist is a licensed veterinarian with advanced training in animal behavior for all types of behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviorists also have advanced academic training although these professionals do not need to be licensed veterinarians. Medications may be helpful in treating your pet’s aggression or anxiety problems, but only a licensed veterinarian can prescribe medications for your pet.

A qualified dog trainer can help you implement a management, training, and behavior modification plan often prescribed by your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist. Unfortunately, experience levels, education, and training methods are not standardized among dog training professionals; therefore, it is important for you to do your homework before hiring a trainer. Understanding that some training methods can do more harm than good is important.

Have You Considered Rehoming? 

This may not be the solution for all pets, but some behavior problems can be managed well in a different environment. Fighting dogs and cats may do better when separated and away from the common stressors in their life. The same for dogs with a bite history towards kids. Sometimes a home without kids is just what your pet needs to feel safe. Not all pets benefit from, nor should be, rehomed.  In general, finding a new and safe home for your pet can be difficult. Animals with behavior problems are often at greater risk for abuse and neglect in new environments because, in these situations, they may not have as close of a relationship with the new owners as they did with you.

What Are Some Criteria To Consider When Making the Decision To Euthanize Your Pet?

Cats that eliminate outside the litterbox can also be harder to place. Transparency in shelter adoptions is important from both a legal and ethical standpoint.

Emotional well-being and mental suffering may not be as visible to us as physical pain and disease but can significantly affect your pet’s quality of life and, therefore, yours. When making euthanasia decisions, it is important to consider your pet’s overall emotional state and well-being.  

Remember, behavioral euthanasia is a hard decision, so have all the information before making that phone call. There is never a wrong answer but if you make this decision, it is important to know you are not alone and will always be supported.

Working with your veterinarian to explore medical options, you may decide that euthanasia is the best choice for your pet, your family, or the public. Regardless of the psychological cause, euthanasia may be a valid treatment plan and may be the only option. Behavioral euthanasia is hard for both the family and the veterinary team. Mutual respect and open communication without preconceived opinions or biases are important for everyone involved.

Pathophysiology

Infection with Blastomyces occurs when a cat or dog inhales the fungal spores into the lungs. The incubation period is from 5 to 12 weeks. Some animals don’t show clinical signs for a long time after being infected, but those animals are not contagious to other animals and people. Blastomycosis organisms have a predilection for the respiratory tract, and pulmonary disease is the most common sign (88-94% of canine cases). Once the lung disease develops, yeast forms of the organism spread throughout the body. Organs typically affected include eyes, bones, skin, lymph nodes, subcutaneous tissues, brain, and testes. It can also be found in the nose, prostate, liver, mammary glands, and heart, but those locations are less common.

Dogs appear to be much more susceptible to infection than other species. Although the disease does occur in both people and cats, the incidence is much lower than in dogs. Dogs are ten times more likely to contract the disease than are people, and 100 times more likely than are cats. The incubation period in dogs is also shorter than in people. The reason dogs are more susceptible is unknown, but immune-deficiency may play a role. Annual prevalence in dogs in endemic areas is estimated at 1-2%. Many infected animals live within 0.25 mile of water. An increased number of cases can occur after periods of unusually heavy rainfall. Historically, young (i.e. 1-5 years), male, large-breed (e.g. hounds, pointers) dogs have had the highest risk of infection. (This is probably because these animals would tend to have more contact, due to hunting activities, with the organism’s geographical area.) However, any age, breed, or sex of dog can be infected.

Clinical Signs

The signs of illness will depend on what organs are infected. Some dogs will have eye problems, and some will have neurological signs (seizures, head tilt, etc.). Lameness may occur, if the infection is in the bones. Owners of dogs in the specific geographic areas should watch for coughing, difficulty breathing, eye inflammation, enlarged testicles, fever, swollen lymph nodes, ulcerated/draining skin lesions, bloody urine, difficulty urinating, nasal cavity signs (including bloody nasal discharge), and lack of appetite. (Weight loss occurs because of the decreased appetite.) Infections in the nasal passages may result in skull damage, and lead to infection of the brain. Large skin abscesses and neurologic signs are more common in cats than in dogs, while bone lesions are more common in dogs than in cats. Hypercalcemia can occur in dogs, although it’s rare in cats and non-domestic feline species.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis involves physical exam, blood tests, imaging (radiography, ultrasonography, CT, etc.), urinalysis to look for Blastomyces yeast, cultures, serology, and biopsies of affected organs. Fungal serology, to look for antibodies, is not always accurate and has been known to produce false negatives. The enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for B. dermatitidis galactomannan antigen appears to have a high sensitivity in urine (93.5%) and serum (87%). The EIA assay is commercially available; cross reactions with Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides immitis, and Penicillium marneffei can occur with this assay. The definitive diagnosis is finding the fungus in the tissues.

Treatment

Treatment involves various antifungal medications, including itraconazole, ketoconazole, fluconazole, amphotericin B, and some combination therapies. These medications usually need to be taken for a long period of time; how long depends on the specific case. Treatment usually can be done at home, unless the disease is severe. Pets with respiratory involvement should be on restricted activity. In severely ill dogs, intravenous fluids, oxygen, antibiotics for secondary infections, and pain medication may be necessary. Skin lesions may require wound cleaning and debridement.

Eyes that are severely affected may not respond well to the treatment because the medication does not penetrate eyes very well. Ocular blastomycosis cases may need systemic and topical corticosteroid therapy, topical anti-glaucoma medications, etc. Significantly affected eyes may require enucleation (removal of the eyeball).

Pets with severe lung disease may get worse at the beginning of treatment because the fungal organisms are dying; the mass death of organisms can cause severe respiratory problems.

Patients may not appear to improve for one to two weeks after the start of treatment. Close monitoring should be done for the first two weeks, and then rechecks are usually scheduled on a monthly basis. Rechecks may involve blood tests, biochemistry profiles, and imaging, if appropriate.

Prognosis

The prognosis for many pets is good, especially if owners can afford to treat the pet for long enough. Approximately 50% to 75% of affected dogs recover when treated with itraconazole, fluconazole, or an amphotericin-ketoconazole combination. Prognosis is poor for dogs with severely affected lungs, but if the dog survives the first 7 to 10 days of therapy, the prognosis improves. However, mortality rates in dogs with Blastomyces dermatitidis can be as high as 41%.

The prognosis for the retention of vision, in animals that have eye disease, is variable.

Dogs with brain involvement often die. Seizures are common upon death of the organism and may be uncontrollable.

Prognosis is also poor when at least 3 body systems are involved.

Relapses are most likely to occur in dogs that had a severe case at onset, or dogs that were not treated long enough. Relapses are most common within the first 6 months after treatment. Dogs that recover from the disease are probably not immune to getting it again.

After discontinuing therapy, animals may be rechecked at 1, 3, and 6 months for evidence of relapse. In one study, relapse rates for itraconazole and fluconazole were 18% and 22%, respectively. Relapses are treated like a new infection.

There is no way to prevent your pets’ exposure to Blastomyces other than by keeping them away from affected geographic areas.

Zoonotic Potential

Blastomycosis is not considered to be a zoonotic disease. It is acquired by humans via inhalation or direct contact with infective conidia/spores. Risk of infection is higher for excavation workers, and for people working or playing in wooded areas with waterways. Blastomycosis cannot be spread between dogs and other animals, or between dogs and people. However, immunocompromised people should limit their contact with infected pets and should wear gloves when cleaning and treating draining lesions.

Print an 8.5″x11″ pdf of this poster. 

I think people are fairly keyed in to the fact that humans can get breast cancer, or mammary cancer, as it is called in companion animals; its gnarled and potentially deadly hand has touched the lives of many of you, I presume. My own mother had surgery to have a tumor removed that was, luckily, low grade.

Some numbers may help to illustrate the risks to dogs and cats. For humans, breast cancer happens more frequently in more developed countries, and accounts for about 10 percent of all deaths in women between 20 and 59 (source: World Health Organization).

Data for dogs and cats and other domestic species are harder to come by as there is no World Doggy Health Organization database to be accessed as easily as WHO data, but estimates are that 1 in 4 dogs who are not spayed and experience more than one heat cycle will develop mammary tumors. Those stakes are high enough that Vegas would avoid this bet like the plague.

Happily, for dogs or cats who are spayed before they are sexually mature (the usual timeframe for a spay is before 6 months of age) mammary cancer is virtually unheard of. Learn more about the specifics of the disease and treatment in dogs and cats.

The terminology surrounding lumps, tumors and cancer can be a little daunting sometimes, and is often a source of confusion. One thing to keep in mind is that the word tumor does not always mean cancer. Cancer implies malignancy, or a predilection to grow rapidly and spread to other parts of the body: it’s a process known as metastasis, in which a tumor says, in essence, I’m outta here and decides to infiltrate new and exciting regions for growth. A tumor can be benign or malignant, but cancer is always malignant.

A biopsy is a piece of tissue that can be preserved and looked at under a microscope by a pathologist to determine what the lump is (mammary tissue vs. some other tissue that just decided on a whim to form a lump) and whether the lump is cancerous, or as doctors call it, malignant. You can’t tell if tissue is cancerous just by the way it looks, how it feels or where it is.

There is one intermediate step that can offer information to your veterinarian on how extensive or radical surgery to remove the lump should be. This is known as a fine needle aspirate, or FNA. With an FNA, you don’t get a piece of the mass, you just suck some cells up into the needle and place them onto a slide. It is much less invasive and doesn’t usually require any sedation or anesthesia, but the trade-off is that it is a less accurate test and less likely than a surgical biopsy to tell you the badness level of the tumor. An FNA is actually notoriously unreliable for mammary masses as far as predicting malignancy but can help make sure the lump is from mammary tissue and not something else that set up shop in the same area.

Medicine is often like that – the invasive stuff is the most accurate, and the easiest stuff gives you the least useable information. It’s like food where the good stuff tastes bad and the stuff that tastes great kills you.  The universe can seem like a vast, cruel joke some days.

I know this sounds complex, intimidating and potentially invasive – not to mention expensive. The good news is that the take-home on this is pretty simple: spay your pet before she goes into heat, unless you have a rock-solid breeding plan for your purebred pet, and have your veterinarian check out any suspicious lumps. That’s about it. Luckily, your trusted family veterinarian has the skills and knowledge to guide you and your pet through this maze to ensure the highest degree of success.

Brachial Plexus avulsion or brachial plexus injury can occur when an animal suffers an injury involving the front limbs or shoulders.

X-rays, ultrasound, and advanced imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT) and MRI may be recommended.

Treatment

Your veterinarian will treat any life-threatening injuries resulting from the accident or trauma first. If one or more nerves have been stretched rather than torn away from the spinal cord, recovery may occur given time. Treatment involves mainly supportive care. This care should be started early. Your veterinarian may prescribe analgesic drugs for pain as needed. Range-of-motion exercises to do when your pet is ready may be discussed and demonstrated for you. 

Monitoring

Watch your pet closely after this type of injury. An abrasion to the front of the paw may occur if the pet drags the limb. You may find a wound that was not visible at first. Your pet may fuss at or lick a wound or the affected leg. E-collars or other protective measures can be used if your pet starts to self-mutilate.

Your veterinarian will continue to check your pet’s progress and evaluate pain perception and the use of the injured leg.

Prognosis

How well your pet does will depend on the type and location of the injury and how severe it was. A mild injury may show signs of improvement within 1-2 weeks after the trauma happened. In severe cases, the affected leg may not improve even after several months. If there has been avulsion of multiple nerve roots, loss of sensation to the limb, or no progress is seen after several months, and lack of normal limb function is resulting in poor quality of life for the pet, amputation may be recommended.

Prevention is best: do not let your pets have free access to traffic or other hazards, and don’t let your dog ride in open truck beds.

Deciding to add a new animal to your family is an exciting time! It can be very rewarding to choose to adopt a dog or puppy from an animal shelter or rescue program. Not only will you be adding a wonderful companion to your family, but you will also be saving a life. There are still millions of shelter animals being euthanized annually in the United States that would have made wonderful family pets. Here are a few things to consider before, during, and after the adoption that can help ensure success.

Before Adopting Make sure you’re ready

Research what type of dog is right for you and your family
Many factors may play into the type of dog you seek to adopt. Breed, energy level, sociability, haircoat, age, your personality, and lifestyle are just a few. Many shelters are experienced at helping to make lasting matches and may even have standardized, research-backed questionnaires for you to fill out to help with this process.

Learn about your local shelters and rescues

Most areas have more than one animal welfare organization and each may have different missions and philosophies. You may wish to give your adoption support to the agency your philosophies align with the best. Consider asking your regular veterinarian about the local shelters. Chances are, they’ve examined animals from most of the nearby facilities. They will have opinions about the health and well-being of newly adopted animals and about shelter operations. It can also be useful to ask friends what their experiences have been. Ultimately, you should not only feel great about the dog or puppy you are bringing home, but also about the organization you choose to support through your adoption. There are many things to learn about and consider!

During the Adoption

What to expect

Rescues and shelters take variable approaches to the adoption process. Some require you to fill out involved questionnaires and will call landlords and perform reference checks. Others take a more open, trusting, and conversational approach. Some shelters will send animals home the first day you visit and others take a slower approach. It can be helpful to familiarize yourself right away with how the shelter you visit works so you won’t be disappointed after you’ve matched with a dog.

Almost all shelters will require their animals to be spayed/neutered before adoption. Many shelters will have already performed the surgery before animals are made available for adoption, while others wait until adoption papers have been signed. This is also something you may want to find out about early on. Less commonly, shelters will send animals home with a voucher or other system and require spay/neuter at some point after adoption. It can be helpful to try to keep an open and compassionate mind during the adoption process. Remember that shelters are busy and chaotic places not only for the animals they house but also for the humans that work there.

What to ask

Once you have found a dog that you are interested in, ask the shelter for as much information as can be provided! Get a complete history, but recognize that sometimes there is not much information known. Find out when and where the shelter obtained the dog; was it brought in as a stray, surrendered by an owner, transferred from another shelter, or in some other situation? Ask what is known about the previous living situation and how the dog has behaved since being at the shelter. You should also be shown the medical records the shelter has kept since intake (and any previous records that might exist). You will want to ask about any ongoing medical issues, whether the dog is on any medication, and if there are known medical issues what anticipated care will be required. Inquire about what sort of follow-up services the shelter offers such as health insurance, microchipping, obedience training, or consulting for behavioral issues or medical issues. Finally, be sure to ask about return policies as it is important to know what options exist if the adoption does not work out.

After the Adoption Veterinary visit

Vaccination boosters, parasite examinations, microchip implantation, and other important preventive care may also be needed during the early time after arriving home.

Be patient

It can take weeks for a new dog to adjust to a new home, yard, family, and environment. Keeping things quiet for a week or so, learning about and employing crate training, and establishing a solid routine can help. Especially for an older dog, patience during the initial adjustment period, and offering enrichment (opportunities to play, learn and explore new things) often pays off in spades once the dog settles in!

Use your Community Resources

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help if things aren’t perfect initially or if you have questions. The shelter you adopted from will ideally be your first source of information and happy to hear from you and to provide support!

Dogs and cats can get more than just drunk when they drink ethanol, isopropanol, or methanol — they can get a trip to the emergency room. Pets can die from ingesting alcohol. 

What are ethanol, isopropanol, and methanol?

Isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) is in rubbing alcohol (70%), some anti-freezes, some detergents, glass/window cleaners, perfumes/colognes, and alcohol-based topical sprays, including some pet flea-control and grooming products. Isopropyl alcohol is more than twice as potent as ethanol or methanol.

Methanol (methyl alcohol, wood alcohol) is most commonly found in automotive windshield washer fluids (20-80%) but is also in some gasoline additives, “canned heat” fuels (e.g., Sterno®), and some household solvents (e.g., paint removers).

Although the strength of these three alcohols varies, the clinical signs associated with their ingestion by dogs and cats are quite similar.

All poisoning problems boil down to the amount of alcohol ingested compared to weight, just like a dosage of medicine. Thus, when pets drink an alcoholic beverage that was left within reach or that was given to them intentionally by someone, it can cause a significant toxicity problem. In addition, significant absorption can occur through the skin or by inhalation.

Dogs are highly susceptible to the effects of alcohol. Signs of mild inebriation may occur with even minor exposure. Within 15 to 30 minutes after the pet has drunk the alcohol on an empty stomach (or within 1 to 2 hours on a full stomach), central nervous system (CNS) signs, such as staggering, excitement, or decreased reflexes, can begin. Behavioral changes can be seen, as can an increased need to urinate. As the problem gets worse, the pet may become depressed, have a slow respiratory rate, or go into cardiac arrest. Puppies and kittens are at particular risk because of their small size and immature organ systems. 

Alcohols are depressants, so many of the clinical signs associated with them are due to their effect on the CNS. Alcohols irritate the gastrointestinal tract. They also act as diuretics, and the alcohol and its metabolites are eliminated by the kidneys. Liver damage may occur after exposure, although it is much more common in animals that have repeated or chronic exposure. 

Clinical Signs

Clinical signs of intoxication can occur within 15-30 minutes of ingestion of alcohol. Signs include nausea, vomiting, thirst, urination, dehydration, lethargy, incoordination, disorientation, becoming cold (hypothermia), low blood pressure, and alcoholic bad breath. In severe cases, blindness, tremors, tetraplegia, respiratory depression, coma, or seizures may develop. Death is uncommon but may occur, especially if the pet has severe respiratory and cardiovascular depression, low blood pressure, and/or hypoglycemia. 

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is based on a history of exposure, combined with appropriate clinical signs and laboratory tests.  

Treatment/Management/Prevention

The treatments your veterinarian may use can include assisted ventilation, intravenous fluids (to improve elimination of the alcohol/metabolites, to provide cardiovascular support, and to correct electrolyte abnormalities), seizure control, and other supportive therapies. In addition, if the alcohol toxicosis is due to the ingestion of bread dough, your veterinarian may need to wash out your pet’s stomach with cold water to inhibit further alcohol production and to break up the dough mass for removal. In addition, your pet will be confined to prevent accidental self-injury.

Prognosis

Most dogs with alcohol intoxication can recover with adequate symptomatic and supportive care. Recovery may take 8-12 hours and tends to take longer if it was a severe intoxication or if isopropanol was involved.

Preventing Alcohol Toxicosis

All alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing fluids should be kept out of reach of your dogs and cats. Consult your veterinarian before giving any ethanol-containing liquid medications.

Do not feed raw bread dough to your pets or leave bread dough out to rise in areas that can be reached by them. Always dispose of discarded bread dough carefully. 

The ASPCA National Animal Poison Control is available 24 hours a day at 888-426-4435. Expect an initial consultation fee of around $100.00 and additional follow-up is at no charge. You will be assigned a case number your veterinarian can use to communicate with a toxicology specialist before beginning treatment.

This invasion of circulating white blood cells creates inflammation throughout the body. Signs can include poor appetite and fever. Joints are commonly affected, making the pet seem stiff or painful or appear to have trouble walking. Sometimes pets may have signs associated with bleeding as well. A bloody nose, dark bloody stool, or bruising may be seen.

Not all pets will have symptoms. Some pets will only appear sick for a short time, then start to improve. We don’t fully understand why this happens, but it may be associated with a pet’s ability to fight off the infection. 

Diagnosing Anaplasmosis 

A veterinarian’s physical examination is often not useful as a sole means of diagnosis; however, in pets showing signs, it will point the veterinarian in the right direction for testing. A complete blood count, also known as a CBC, may indicate a decrease in red blood cells (anemia), or a decrease in platelets (thrombocytopenia). Sometimes anaplasmosis can be diagnosed by finding the organisms in a blood sample by using a microscope.

Additional lab tests may need to be sent off to confirm the diagnosis. Occasionally, these tests can be positive in a dog or cat who is not showing symptoms. This does not necessarily mean the pet has the disease, but it can mean that they were exposed to it at one point. The veterinarian will then need to take into account the exam, signs, and the rest of the lab work to make a proper diagnosis. 

Treatment and Recovery 

Anaplasmosis is treated with certain types of antibiotics, most commonly doxycycline. Treatment is usually for 2-4 weeks; the longer course tends to be given if the pet also has Lyme disease, but it all depends on the specific case. Pets usually feel better within a few days after taking the antibiotic. If the anemia or thrombocytopenia are severe, a blood transfusion may also be needed. Most dogs and cats make a full recovery.

Prevention

No vaccine is available to prevent anaplasmosis. The best form of prevention is tick control, either through treating the yard or through applying tick preventive medications to the pet. Consult your veterinarian for the best prevention options for each pet.

In conjunctivitis those membranes become red and swollen. Dogs and cats with conjunctivitis normally have cloudy, yellow, or greenish discharge from the eyes; a lot of blinking or squinting; and redness and swelling around the eye. Green or yellow discharge often indicates a bacterial infection; clear or whitish discharge is more likely to be caused by allergies or a bit of debris in the eye. Usually both eyes are affected, but not always. Sometimes other signs are seen, such as itching, hairlessness around the eye, discharge from the nose, sneezing, or coughing.

What we normally call “pink eye” in people is a type of conjunctivitis. The condition can be caused by several reasons, such as bacteria, herpes virus or allergies.

Any breed of dog or cat may develop allergic conjunctivitis. All breeds predisposed to atopic dermatitis, a hypersensitivity or over-reaction to a variety of commonplace and otherwise harmless substances like pollen, are also predisposed to allergic conjunctivitis. Allergic conjunctivitis is most common in young adults but can occur at any age.

In this allergic condition, the following are frequent contributors:

• Allergies
• Atopy (genetic tendency towards allergies)
• Dust
• Food allergy
• House dust, molds

Treatment

Allergic conjunctivitis is most commonly treated with eyedrops or ointments containing corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone or hydrocortisone. Your veterinarian may check first for a scratch on the cornea (called a corneal ulcer) by instilling a yellow dye called fluorescein. If the eye has a scratch, medication without steroids is used, as steroids can delay healing of the scratch. Oral corticosteroids and/or antihistamines may also be helpful, especially in those pets with associated skin disease. Over-the-counter topical antihistamines may be beneficial, particularly in itchy dogs, but ask your veterinarian which one is best for your pet’s situation. However, topical mast cell stabilizers and antihistamines have variable clinical results.

A sterile saline eye wash can be used once or twice a day to clean the eyes and remove the accumulated discharge. Saline may also reduce surface irritation by flushing dirt, dust, debris, and pollens away from the eye.

Preventing damage to the eye is important as pets with allergic conjunctivitis may scratch at their eye with their paws or rub their face on furniture. This rubbing can lead to a corneal ulcer and associated pain and damage to the eye. Using an Elizabethan collar to prevent scratching may be part of the treatment plan from your veterinarian. This is especially important in short-faced breeds like pugs and shih-tzus, who are particularly prone to eye injuries. A recheck examination may be recommended by your veterinarian after treatment. If signs have not improved, your veterinarian may suggest sending your pet to a veterinary dermatologist or ophthalmologist for a work-up or recommending allergen testing to try and determine what your pet is allergic to. This step is usually reserved for dogs or cats with severe allergies.

Prevention

Allergic conjunctivitis is caused by allergies, so the best way to prevent it from happening again is to remove whatever your pet is allergic to from your home, if possible. Even if you can figure out what allergen they are reacting to and remove it or deal with it, you may not be able to eliminate it. If dust is found to be a cause, keep household dust to a minimum, and consider using an air purifier to filter out dust.

Allergic skin testing or food trials may be needed to find out the cause of the inflammation. In those cases, you may be able to determine if your dog or cat is reacting to something like dust or an ingredient in their food.

In many cases, allergic conjunctivitis can’t be cured, but with the help of your veterinarian (and perhaps a few steps taken around the house) it can be managed and you can make your pet more comfortable.