Owning a Golden Retriever is always a matter of pride, and whenever you look at its rich golden hair, you may fall in love all over again. But what about the time when you find it shedding excessive hair in an unusual pattern along with a persistent experience of itching? If this happens to your dog chances are that your dog is experiencing allergies. Apart from Golden Retriever allergies, these symptoms may occur as a result of parasitical intervention or any form of infection. Golden Retriever allergies may be of four types - flea allergies, atopy, food allergies and contact allergies.

Flea allergies, also referred to as skin inflammation, occurs due to an allergic reaction to flea saliva. If this happens to your dog, the first thing you will notice on his body is a small red papule, which is gradually changed into a crust. The commonly affected areas are lower back, back legs, hind legs, upper thighs and belly areas. Flea allergies is one of the most common forms of skin allergies and when you find your dog is excessively scratching and itching, you can consider this as the primary symptom of Golden Retriever allergies.

When flea allergies occur, the affected areas become hairless. In addition, the areas change color and the skin becomes thickened. As few a couple of bites or less can make a dog react if the skin is sensitive to flea biting. If you can control the flea population, then you can possibly offer effective treatment measures to your dog. Additionally, you have to control flea population in the external environment. There are few advanced methodologies and products that are beneficial in controlling flea infection.

When a dog becomes sensitive to any particular substance in the environment, atopy occurs. The harmful substances are either inhaled or soaked up by the skin of the dog. This is one of the major forms of Golden Retriever allergies, which may affect different body parts including groin, feet, underarm and face. Atopy also affects areas close to ear. Cat dander, fungal spores, weeds, pollen and grasses are the most common factors of atopy. Common interventions may involve antihistamines, antibiotics, cortisone administered either by shampooing or spraying.

Likewise any other dogs, the Golden Retriever is not free from food allergies. Symptoms of food allergies roughly resemble the symptoms of atopy, although there are a lot of differences in the root of the problem. Dairy, soy beef, wheat and some poultry products may contribute to food allergy for some dogs including the Golden Retriever.

Only by changing the entire diet pattern can you identify whether your dog is suffering from a food allergy or not. You need to feed the dog continuously for eight weeks. This is the observation period when you need to observe any possible allergic reactions in the dog.

Contact allergy is the least common of all Golden Retriever allergies. This is mainly because the dog has protective layer of hair all over the body. But when the dog is suffering from any other form of allergy, like a flea allergy, it loses hair from the affected region.

Paw, underarms and belly are the most affected regions. Chemicals used in carpet cleaning, polishes, grasses, waxes, and pollens may contribute to contact allergies in Golden Retrievers.