Corgis are one of those breeds that don’t need an introduction.
They’re smart, loyal, and so cute; every time you look at them, they’ll melt your heart out.
But what about their health? After all, they were used as herders for centuries; they should be reasonably resilient, right?
This is what we aim to find out in today’s article called – “What are corgis allergic to?”
Do Corgis Have Allergies?
Like all dogs, corgis are prone to developing an allergy.
What is less known, though, is that allergies can also be inherited. If your dog’s parents were allergic to a substance, there are good chances that he/she also has that allergy.
This is one of the downsides of having a purebred dog.
Mixed breed dogs are generally healthier than purebreds because of a much larger gene pool that prevents them from receiving a high dose of any particular gene.
That being said, are corgis more prone to developing and inheriting allergies than other breeds? No, not really.
As long as you buy your corgi from a certified breeder with a good history, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about on the heritage side of things.
Before we start listing the most common corgi allergies, let’s define what an allergy is and if it can be avoided.
What Exactly Is A Dog Allergy?
Like with humans, a dog allergy involves a harmful immune response to a substance called an allergen.
The immune system usually prevents infections and diseases from occurring. However, when it comes to allergies, the immune system unnecessarily responds to a substance that should otherwise be ignored.
Allergies usually occur when a dog is exposed to an allergen for a certain amount of time. For example, a pollen allergy usually won’t develop the first year of the dog’s life, but the next time he’s exposed to it again.
What Are Corgis Allergic To?
We’ll list some of the most common allergies that occur with corgis. This doesn’t mean they’re immune to things we haven’t mentioned, just that they don’t happen as much.
Pollens
Yup, corgis can indeed be allergic to pollen, whether it’s tree pollens, weed pollens, grass pollens, mildew, molds, even house dust mites. Corgis are known to develop all of them.
Allergies such as tree, weed, and grass pollens are seasonal. However, mildew, house dust mites, and molds can be present year-round.
We humans usually have sneezing, runny nose, or runny eyes as the most common manifestation of these allergies.
Our furry friends, though, usually develop some sort of skin infection. The skin infection is often localized, meaning it’s only in one area of the body.
The problem is, when this skin infection occurs, dogs make it their mission to destroy the part of the skin that is infected.
This could lead to even more significant problems if the infection isn’t treated in time.
This doesn’t mean pollen allergies don’t produce respiratory problems in corgis as well.
They can have breathing problems and can also have a runny nose or eyes; it’s just a lot less common compared to a skin infection.
See Also: Why Does My Corgi Eat Grass? Make This Habit Go Away
How To Treat Pollen Allergies
The bad news is, you can’t cure these allergies, at least not the majority of the time. The best you can hope for is finding the right medication that will make most of the symptoms go away.
The first and most basic thing to do is put your corgi on a healthy diet. High-quality food that doesn’t cause inflammation is always a good move, allergy or not.
Diets rich in fatty acids are great, especially for dogs taking any kind of supplements.
At first, the allergies shouldn’t be too severe.
Several owners had reported giving their corgis oatmeal baths during the summer months did the trick. This is when the allergies are at their peak.
Also, bathing them with an appropriate hypoallergenic shampoo should help with the itchiness.
Corgis have a rich coat, and allergens can quickly get stuck, which causes the skin to absorb them slowly. A proper bath with a good shampoo will destroy all those allergens that a comb can’t.
However, for some corgis, baths lost their effectiveness after a while.
The next step would be going to a vet. The standard therapy for allergies is Vetalog injections, which are basically antihistamine injections for dogs and cats.
These have proved to be highly effective against pollen allergies. A suitable replacement for these injections would be the Cetirizine HCL tablets.
Keep in mind; none of these shouldn’t be administered without a veterinarian’s permission. Your corgi’s medical history might prevent him from taking any drugs, and you shouldn’t play with fire.
Finally, desensitization therapy worked miracles with some corgis. Allergy testing can be a hit or miss. Most allergies are not so easily identified.
However, if the test is right, you could see a massive improvement with desensitization therapy.
It’s relatively simple, a small dosage of antigens gets injected into your corgi’s bloodstream every week. The antigens should slowly desensitize the immune system and stop or at least reduce the severity of responses to specific allergens.
Simply put, a small amount of poison weekly (don’t worry, it’s not poison) should, in the end, prevent a large amount of poison from doing any harm.
Insect Bite Allergy
One huge part of that famous corgi cuteness is their beautiful coat. It’s magnificent; one would even call it royally magnificent.
But what the queen of England, her royal highness, probably won’t mention when it comes to her corgis is that they can develop a flea allergy. Sometimes even a very nasty flea allergy.
Insect bite allergy isn’t exclusive to fleas, though; everything ranging from spiders and ticks to mosquitoes, bees, ants, horseflies, black flies, wasps, and hornets.
All of these can have your corgi’s immune system start wreaking havoc on their body, depending on the allergy severity.
That being said, the most common insect bite allergen comes from flea saliva.
Some corgis can suffer from flea allergy dermatitis. Most dogs usually don’t have a significant immune system reaction to a flea bite other than some minor itching.
However, dogs that suffer from flea allergy dermatitis can have serious issues just from one flea bite. Similar to pollen, a corgi with flea saliva allergy can develop itching and skin infection.
Dogs’ usual response to this skin infection is to bite and scratch that part of the skin; often, the tail region is the one that gets infected the most. More problems can ensure if a bacterial infection develops in the areas of the infected skin.
How To Treat Insect Bite Allergies
Prevention is the name of the game here. If you have more than one corgi, or more than one animal, in your home, checking for fleas on a regular basis is crucial.
Regular means at least once a week, depending on where and how your dog spends its time.
Flea control can prove challenging; one small larva can do a lot of damage if it gets overlooked and hatches.
Flea allergies aren’t that common in corgis, but they do happen. If they do, the biggest challenge to deal with has to do with corgis’ personality. They’re outgoing and full of energy.
They need to socialize with other dogs. They definitely need a daily walk to release some of the energy and sniff around a bit.
Those are the periods that carry the biggest risk. As soon as your dog comes home from a playdate or an exploratory walk, give them a quick once over, just to make sure they haven’t caught anything.
Also, try to flea-proof your home as much as possible. Insect sprays and similar products are highly recommended as long as they’re safe for your dog and don’t contain any harmful substances.
In the case your corgi has a flea saliva allergy and gets bitten, a veterinarian will prescribe the necessary medication to alleviate the symptoms.
If you failed to recognize the signs and your corgi “chewed off” a part of its skin and caused a bacterial infection, taking him immediately to his vet is non-negotiable. The last thing you want is the infection to spread.
Food Allergy
Food allergies are tricky, especially if they’re paired up with any of the previously mentioned allergies. Then it can be almost impossible to figure out the exact cause.
Food allergy can also occur if your corgi is always eating the same things. Some variety in their diet is always welcome, as long as you keep it healthy.
Another potential issue is figuring out if your corgi is suffering from a food allergy or food sensitivity.
They can have somewhat similar effects. The difference is, an allergy will cause a response from the dog’s immune system.
On the other hand, if your dog has a food sensitivity problem, the response is caused by the digestive system.
Both food allergy and food sensitivity can cause itching, inflammation, and digestive problems. That’s why it’s essential to figure out what exactly is that your corgi is suffering from.
Most common food allergies include dairy, beef, chicken, gluten, lamb, eggs, and soy. Corgis can develop any of these, and there aren’t any rules as to which allergies occur more often than others. Moreover, food allergies can also be inherited.
Also, if you’re buying a corgi, having a complete medical history of his parents will prove useful for any potential health problems down the road.
Food allergies can arise at any age. Your dog might have been fine with an ingredient a few years ago, but that might have changed.
Treating Food Allergies
The biggest reason why food allergies are such a hard problem to deal with is the fact that they don’t react well to any type of medication or treatment.
The way to deal with a food allergy is to feed your corgi just one type of diet for ten weeks in order to eliminate the ingredient that’s causing it harm; this is also known as a food elimination trial.
This can prove to be the biggest challenge you and your dog will ever face. It will test your love for each other because feeding, often just one thing, to your dog for ten weeks straight will be painful for both of you.
No treats, vitamins, or any kind of supplements not approved by the vet; if your corgi eats something he’s not supposed to during those ten weeks, the diet has to start all over again. We sincerely hope that doesn’t happen.
The food elimination trial requires you to be constantly monitoring what your dog eats, making sure he doesn’t break the diet because he won’t refrain from eating literally anything that’s different from the current regimen he is on.
Please don’t start the food elimination trial before seeing a vet. Many owners think they know what they’re doing, and they want to save money, but they risk hurting their dog even more, causing more problems in the long run.
Veterinary Dermatologist
One thing that we haven’t mentioned is the veterinary dermatologist. We think your veterinarian should be the one to tell you whether to visit a dermatologist or not since they can be quite expensive.
Also, symptoms of an allergy can be similar to other diseases, and seeing a vet first is always the best move.
An excellent way to save money on a veterinary dermatologist is to have your corgi’s vet rule out any other allergies or causes. That way, the dermatologist knows what to focus on.
On the other hand, if money is not a problem, there’s not much to lose by seeing a skin specialist if all other options have been ruled out.
Conclusion
We’ve listed quite a bit of allergies in this article. Don’t let that deter you from getting a corgi, though.
Corgis aren’t perfect, no dog breed is perfect, but they are too loveable and loyal.
The problems we mentioned today are not exclusive to corgis; they can happen to almost any dog breed.
As a matter of fact, corgis are less prone to developing allergies and more prone to having issues with their joints and bones due to an inactive lifestyle.
If your corgi is suffering from an allergy, the best thing to do is go to a vet as soon as possible. These things can cause a lot of problems in the long run. Treating it early is your best bet to make sure your corgi continues being his cute self.
Learn More: Skin Conditions In Corgis: Do Corgis Have Sensitive Skin?
