Why are my allergies to dogs so bad
Why Is My Dog So Itchy? Possible Causes & Treatment
Are you thinking about your dogs frequent scratching, licking, and rolling around on the rug? You may be feeling itchy yourself, just from watching all this activity!
There are many reasons your dog may be itchy. Many veterinarians believe its best to find the cause of the itch sooner rather than later. While occasional scratching can be normal for dogs, frequent scratching could indicate a medical condition that may get worse over time.
According to a 2023 Nationwide Survey on pet insurance data, for the eleventh year in a row allergic dermatitis (skin allergies) was the top reason dogs were brought into the vet. This condition can make your dog itchy and cause them to show signs like frequent scratching, recurrent ear infections, and skin changes. Continue on to learn more about allergic dermatitis and why August is such a special month.
Possible Cause of Your Dogs Itchy Skin
So, whats behind your dogs itchy skin? It may be caused by a medical condition called skin allergies. This means your dogs body overreacts to an allergen in the environment or to food, which makes them feel itchy. There are several potential culprits:
- Flea allergy: Flea bites can create extremely itchy areas on your dog. They can be found anywhere on the body, but are most common at the hind legs, tail base, and rear end. Just because you dont see any fleas on your dog does not mean they arent there keep in mind that a bite from a single flea can make your dog very itchy.
- Food allergy: Your dogs itching might be caused by a food allergy. Some dogs are allergic to common dog food ingredients such as beef, chicken, and dairy products.1 Food allergies in dogs can lead to changes to the skin around their paws, face, armpits, and belly.
- Environmental allergy: Your dog may be allergic to environmental triggers like pollen, mold spores, or dust mites. Environmental allergens can cause allergic itch during certain seasons, or even year-round. Dogs with environmental allergies will often have changes to the skin around their face, belly, and paws.
- Contact allergy: Your dog may be allergic to substances it encounters daily. These can include things like household cleaners, shampoos, insecticides, and plants. Dogs with contact allergies will often be itchy in the area that touched the contact allergen.
Skin allergies can make your dog uncomfortable. They can also lead to secondary health problems if there is a delay in treatment. When a dog licks or scratches an area excessively, it can damage the skin and lead to skin infections and wounds. These can cause changes like hair loss, body odor, and inflammation. Severe skin infections and wounds may even be painful for your dog.
How to Relieve Your Dogs Itchy Skin
When your dog experiences these skin changes because of skin allergies, it can be tempting to try an over-the-counter treatment or home remedy. However, using an OTC or at-home solution may not relieve your dogs itch. The following treatment options are commonly available and may offer some itch relief but may not be the best option for your dog.
- Over-the-counter shampoos and oils. Treatments like coconut oil and itch-relief shampoos only provide temporary relief. Your dogs itch may come back because the root cause has not been addressed.
- Antihistamines. While studies have shown that antihistamines may relieve allergies in humans well, antihistamines are less helpful in relieving itch in dogs with environmental allergies. In fact, it has been shown that antihistamines likely offer little to no benefit in treating environmental allergies in many dogs.
- Prescription steroids. Steroids prescribed by a vet can be effective in reducing itchiness in your dog, but they may cause side effects5 in your furry friend. Dogs on prescription steroids often experience increased urination, thirst, and weight gain. They can also experience behavior shifts such as increased aggression.
August is Itchy Pet Awareness Month. If your dog is scratching frequently in August or any time of year, schedule an appointment with your vet to discuss the most effective ways to relieve your dogs itch. If your dog has skin allergies, then a prescription treatment from your vet may be needed to get your favorite sidekick feeling better. So, call your vet today!
American poet Ogden Nash said, Happiness is having a scratch for every itch. For your dog, happiness is relieving the source of every itch.
Allergies in Dogs and Puppies: Signs, Causes, and Treatment
Does your dog or puppy itch, scratch, chew, or lick themselves excessively? These are all signs that your dog may have allergies.
Allergies are common in dogsin fact, they are one of the top reasons for veterinary appointments. Dog allergy symptoms most commonly affect the skin and ears.
While humans often outgrow allergies, allergies in dogs tend to worsen as they get older. So how do you know if your dog has allergies, and whats causing them? Whats the best allergy treatment for dogs?
Heres what you need to know about dog allergies signs and what you can do to relieve your dogs allergies.
Key Takeaways
- Dogs can be allergic to many different triggers, including fleas, food, and items in their environment.
- Common signs of dog allergies include itching, licking, hair loss, and rashes.
- Treatment for dog allergies depends on what your dog is allergic to.
Types of Allergies in Dogs
Here are a few of the different types of allergies a dog can have.
Flea Allergies
An allergy to fleasis the most common skin disease seen in dogs. The bite of just one or two fleas per week is enough to make affected dogs itch. Flea saliva is believed to be the allergen that causes the itchiness.
Seasonal/Environmental Allergies
Also known as atopy,seasonal or environmental allergiesare caused by substances that exist in your home, backyard, and anywhere else your dog spends time.
These allergens can be inhaled, as with pollen, or absorbed through the skin when your dog touches them. Common triggers (allergens) for these allergic reactions include pollens, plant or animal fibers, dust mites, and mold spores.
Food Allergies
These are also known as adverse food reactions. Dogs can develop an allergy to a particular food at any point during their life, regardless of whether they have eaten these brands or types of foods in the past.
The most common food allergy for dogs is to a protein source in the diet, but sometimes the allergy is to grains and/or other ingredients.
Dog Allergies Signs
Dog allergies signs can include:
The type and severity of these signs depend partly on the type of allergy your dog has.
Signs of Flea Allergy Dermatitis in Dogs
The most common symptom of flea allergy dermatitis is itchy skin and irritation at the base of the tail, although other areas of the body may also be affected.
Seasonal/Environmental Allergy Signs in Dogs
Common symptoms include scratching/itchy skin, licking (especially the paws), and face rubbing. Affected dogs may also experience red skin, loss of fur, and recurrent skin and/or ear infections. You may see red skin or fur loss on your dogs paws and lower legs, face, ears, armpits, and belly.
Signs of Food Allergies in Dogs
The symptoms of food allergies are often the same as for seasonal/environmental allergies. There may also be GI signs, such as diarrhea, vomiting, or an increased number of bowel movements per day.
Is There an Allergy Test for Dogs?
Yes, but allergy testing in dogs is done for seasonal/environmental allergies only. Studies have shown thatblood testing and skin testing for food allergiesare not accurate in dogs. Studies have also shown that hair and saliva testing for seasonal or environmental allergies in dogs are not accurate.
Prior to performing allergy testing, your veterinarian should rule out other causes for your dogs allergy symptoms. Allergy testing should not be used to confirm that your pet has seasonal/environmental allergies, but to determine the specific things to which your dog is allergic.
Seasonal/environmental allergy testing can be performed in dogs by either skin testing or blood testing. Skin testing is the most accurate type of allergy test, and its generally performed by board-certified veterinary dermatologists.
Allergy testing should not be used to confirm that your pet has seasonal/environmental allergies, but to determine the specific things to which your dog is allergic.
For skin testing, mild sedation is required. The fur is clipped in a small area, and a series of very small amounts of allergens are injected into your dogs skin. The degree of the allergic reaction to each allergen determines whether your dog is allergic to it. The cost of these tests can range from $300$700.
Dog Allergy Treatment by Type
Treatment will depend on what the vet determines your dog is allergic to. Here are a few examples of how your vet might approach treating allergies.
Treatment for Flea Allergies
Treatment for flea allergy dermatitis is aimed at reducing the symptoms of itchy skin and irritation until the fleas are eliminated. To eliminate allergy symptoms in a flea-allergic dog, strict flea control is required.
There are many highly effective flea control products and medications available. Some are topical and come in the form of a liquid that you squeeze onto your dogs skin, such as Advantage, Revolution, or Vectra. Others are given orally in the form of chews, such as Simparica, NexGard, or Comfortis. Consult with your veterinarian to determine your best option.Oral preventions tend to be more effective than topical, but use cautionsome of the oral preventions have flavorings your dog might be allergic to.
In severe cases, a dogs environment must be treated for fleas as well. Vacuum thoroughly to remove eggs, larvae, and pupae, and discard the vacuum bag. You can use insecticides inside and outside your home to treat allflea life stages.
It is important to use an insecticide containing an insect growth regulator, such as methoprene or pyriproxyfen, to halt the development of flea eggs and larvae. You can hire a professional exterminator, but you should specify that the treatment is for fleas.
Treatment for Food Allergies
The treatment for food allergies in dogs is to feed a hypoallergenic diet for at least 12 weeks. This is the only way to determine if your dog has a food allergy.
Hypoallergenic diets either have limited ingredients with an uncommon protein source or are processed in a special way (hydrolyzed) to be less likely to cause allergic reactions. The concept is that a dog cannot be allergic to a food that they have not been exposed to before.
Consult your veterinarian to choose the proper diet. Over-the-counter foods are not recommended for a proper food trial. Treats, flavored medications, and human foods will also have to be eliminated during this trial period.
Other allergy treatment for dogs are aimed at reducing the symptoms while waiting to see if the diet change is helpful. Cytopoint, Apoquel, or steroids may be used to help control itching while waiting to see if a hypoallergenic food trial results in improvement of your dogs allergy symptoms.
Treatment for Seasonal/Environmental Allergies
If allergy testing has not been performed, then the treatment is symptomatic, meaning that it aims to reduce or eliminate your dogs symptoms. Treatments can include:
Oral medications, such as Apoquel, Atopica, or antihistamines
Injectable medications, such as Cytopoint
Fatty acids
Steroids
Frequent bathing and other topical therapies, such as sprays, wipes, or a mousse
Steroids should not be used long-term in the management of allergies due to the risk of significant side effects.
If an allergy test has been performed, then the ideal allergy treatment for dogs is avoidance of the allergen. This is possible in a few, select circumstances, but most dogs are allergic to a variety of substances that can be difficult to avoid completely.
Most dogs are allergic to a variety of substances that can be difficult to avoid completely.
Other treatment can include an allergy vaccine, also known as immunotherapy, which is given either by injection under the skin (allergy shots) or by mouth. The goal of immunotherapy is to make the immune system less reactive to the allergy-causing substances.
The success rate of immunotherapy is 6070%. This is the best long-term approach to allergy control, especially in younger pets that experience symptoms most of the year. Symptomatic treatment can and should be given while starting immunotherapy. It may be many months before any improvement in symptoms is seen from immunotherapy alone.
Featured Image: iStock.com/bruev
WRITTEN BY
Leigh Burkett, DVMVeterinarian
Dr. Leigh Burkett was born and raised in Northeast Tennessee. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Wake Forest University...
