There are more choices for you Havanese care needs now than ever, so you are not just stuck with one vet. You need to know where and how to get there before your Havanese gets something like allergies. You can ask vets their experience in Havanese care before you decide on a vet. Keep in mind that some practices will have more diagnostic tools than others. It might take a long time to diagnose your dog’s allergy, but it can be done with your and your vet working as a team to give your dog the Havanese care he or she deserves.
Fortunately for your Havanese care needs, you have more choices in veterinarians and clinics than ever before. While there are those still in the traditional private practices, there are also clinics popping up in large chain super pet stores. Even if your Havanese is not sick now, you need to have a regular and emergency vet picked out. You also need to know how to get to their offices.
Hopefully, your dog won’t get any of the allergies effecting Havanese, but it can happen. It is far less stressful for your dog and you to have a vet chosen in advance, since the both of you will being a lot of him or her. Although Havanese are a relatively healthy breed of dog, they still are prone to getting allergies like all dogs can. These allergies are mostly allergies to foods, chemicals or even pollen.
When your Havanese has allergies, they will be affected in their skin and in their digestive system. Sometimes dogs get allergies to pollen and ragweed like we do, but this is rare. Skin scratching and “hot spots” (bald, red, sore patches) may or may not mean a food allergy or contact with an irritating chemical like a laundry detergent, doggy cologne or saliva from a fleabite. Make a note of when the scratching started and tell your vet.
If your vet does not have all of the diagnostic tools they need at their practice, they will have to send out to a lab. Your dog will need blood work and a skin scrape done, at least. Yu dog would pay for these tests for you, so you should do no less to provide the most ethical Havanese care possible. If the dog doesn’t stop scratching, they can rip themselves open and then require expensive surgery and treatments for infection.
Diagnosing specific Havanese allergies might take a while – as in months, but not always. This will be on a trial and error basis, especially if a food ingredient is suspect. In that case, you have to put the dog on a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for two to four weeks, and then gradually add one new ingredient every ten days until symptoms return. That new ingredient will then be the culprit. You need to be sure everyone in the family knows about the diagnostic process and not feed tidbits to your dog.
Your vet will most likely ask you a lot of questions about anything that touches your dog. This would include cleaners, plants, gardening supplies and toys. You two will have to work like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to hunt down and point the finger at your dog’s allergen. This might seem like a lot of work, but it’s merely a change of habits. It will be worth it to give your Havanese the care he or she deserves.
