Allergies

Just as some people get hayfever or are allergic to bee stings, some dogs will get allergies. Dogs can be allergic to fleas, grass, pollen, dust mites, food and many other things. Usually a dog will show it has an allergy by scratching a lot, licking its feet, rubbing its face or belly and sometimes just by having sore ears.

 

Unfortunately allergies cannot be cured. Allergies are a lifelong problem so we need to work out the best way to manage them so your dog can be as comfortable as possible.

There are also other causes of itchy skin which may involve very different treatments to allergies so you should always get your dog checked if it is excessively itchy.

What kind of allergy does my dog have?

Sometimes by looking at your dog and asking you about the problem, we can tell what sort of allergy your dog has. For example, a dog that is always biting around it's tail and has one or two fleas might have a flea allergy whereas a dog that licks its feet, rubs its face and is worse in spring may have an allergy to pollens or grass.

In other cases, we may have to do some trials or tests to work out what the problem is. This may involve a flea control trial, a food trial and sometimes even skin testing.

How do I treat my dog's allergy?

There are three main ways of treating an allergy – either avoiding the thing that causes the allergy, treating the signs of the allergy (itchy, red skin) or desensitising the dog to the allergy.

Avoiding the allergy

Completely avoiding the thing which causes your dog's allergy is often not easy but trying to avoid it as much as possible will definitely help your dog's condition. If he has a flea allergy, a very strict flea control program which involves your dog and any other pets in the house as well as the environment will be very beneficial. If he has a food allergy and the responsible food is known, you should never feed that food. If he has a grass or pollen allergy, keeping him indoors more in spring, not taking him for walks near mown grass and washing him if he has been out on grass can all help.

Treating the signs

There are several medications which can be used to treat itchy skin. Because these medications only treat the signs of the allergy and not the cause, they often have to be used repeatedly. Some are relatively safe but others have side effects and are usually reserved for really itchy skin.

Some of the things you can do which are safe, include adding fatty acids to the diet and using a hypo-allergenic shampoo on a regular basis. Ask us about the most appropriate treatments for your dog.

Desensitising the dog

This is quite a complicated (and expensive) process which requires referral to a veterinary dermatologist. Dogs which have an allergy to things like pollens and grass can have a skin test done which shows exactly what they are allergic to. A hypo-sensitising vaccine can then be made which has really tiny doses of the things which are causing the allergy. The dog is then injected with this vaccine many times over a period of months to try to desensitise them so when they are around grass and pollens etc they will no longer react to these allergens.