Allergies aren't just for humans. In fact, a recent study from the United States Association of Vets showed that dogs are 15 times more likely to suffer from some type of food or skin allergy than humans.
(prHWY.com) June 26, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- Allergies aren't just for humans. In fact, a recent study from the United States Association of Vets showed that dogs are 15 times more likely to suffer from some type of food or skin allergy than humans. While a study like this may be helpful to pet owners, a study that looks at what type of
dogs might suffer from skin allergies would be even better.
A small group of college veterinarian students conducted a study of 4,000 dogs with skin allergies to see which ones were more likely to suffer from such an allergy. The results were astounding.
"We took a detailed profile of every dog that had come into our clinic with skin allergies", said Jimmy Jones, the lead veterinarian student on this study. "We took accounts of hair color, type of dog, eye color, environment they lived in, and food they liked to eat. We were just looking for a common link that connected them and we found one."
The veterinarian students noticed that there tended to be a trend that showed that dogs with certain eye colors came into the clinic with skin allergies. Dogs that had a lighter shade of blue eyes were often more susceptible to skin allergies. Dogs that had darker eye colors either didn't come into the clinic or didn't suffer from allergies.
"It is hard to tell if the issue was a matter of the owner not noticing the skin allergy and not taking the dog into the clinic or if dogs with darker eye colors just don't suffer from skin allergies" said Jamie Foster, a veterinarian student that worked on the study. "It is definitely something that could be looked into."
When asked why this type of occurrence might happen a leading veterinarian said
"I think this could be an issue of immune systems." In a recent article published by the veterinarian that wished to remain anonymous, the article suggested that hair and eye color could be an indication that a dog has a lower immune system.
"Dogs with lighter skin and eye colors tend to have a higher number of trips to the vet than those with darker fur or eye colors", said the article. "Further study would need to be done as it was only on 5,000 dogs, but it is definitely something that needs to be looked into. It could help the future of the pet world."
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