A Vet's Guide to Managing Your Dog's Skin Allergies
Have you ever noticed constant itching, scratching, and skin that flakes on your dog? Does it look like elephant skin? Is the under-belly skin red? Does it smell terrible? No wonder you’re worried about your dog! I recently had a patient like this in my veterinary practice. I strongly suspect that your dog has a type of skin allergy that is complicated by severe secondary skin infections. I would like to explain the different types of skin allergies as well as their complications to you and make some recommendations on how to diagnose the type of allergy and treat and manage the allergy and complications. You will need the help of your vet to do this.
Types of Dog's Skin Allergies
There are three important types of skin allergies in dogs, namely:-
1. flea bite allergy
2. environmental allergies
3. food allergies
Flea Bite Allergies
In the case of a flea bite allergy, the dog is allergic to allergens (substances that can trigger an allergic reaction) in the flea saliva. This is injected into a dog’s skin when the flea bites the dog. This type of allergy is more common in summer and typically affects the lower back and tail area but can also cause itchiness, skin flakes, and thickened skin all over. In dogs that are allergic to flea bites, there are usually not many fleas on the dog, and they are not easy to find; therefore, one should also look for flea dirt, which are small black spots that turn red when put on damp white paper. There are several products that can help eliminate fleas. The products that are in pill form, such as Simparica, are much more effective than topical products. The products in pill form are not only very effective against ticks and fleas but are also effective against mites, which can complicate chronic skin allergies. Please ask your vet to help you look for any signs of fleas, mites, or flea dirt. This is the easiest allergy to treat and should not be missed. We need to consider everything that might be the reason why your dog is itching so severely, so please do not skip this step.
Environmental Allergies
The second most common allergy is an environmental allergy where allergens such as grass and tree pollens and dust mites are the most common cause. In these cases, the paws, face, ears, and skin of the tummy and under the arms are usually affected. Secondary skin infections are very common because the red and inflamed skin creates an environment which is perfect for the bacteria and yeasts to overgrow and cause infections. The scratching damages the skin so that the bacteria and yeasts can penetrate the skin more easily. The thickened skin may look like elephant skin – this is typical of a chronic skin allergy where the skin is thickened, red, and warm and ideal for infections. The skin flakes and a greasy smell are a definite sign of bacterial and yeast skin infections. The secondary infections can make the itchiness even worse.
Food Allergies
The least common cause is a food allergy where the dog is allergic to a dietary ingredient, usually the protein in a diet, especially chicken, beef, and dairy in dogs. Dogs with food allergies have lesions in exactly the same areas as dogs with environmental allergies and often have secondary ear and skin infections too; therefore, it is not so easy to differentiate between these 2 allergies. Both are possible causes of your dog’s itchiness. Some dogs can have all three types of skin allergies and the secondary infections can be present in all three types of skin allergies.
Treatment Recommendations
This is what I recommend if your dog is exhibiting these symptoms:
Please take your dog to your vet for further diagnostic tests so that a specific diagnosis can be made.
- Step One: rule out fleas, mites, and flea bite allergy as the cause of your dog’s itchiness.
- Step Two: determine whether there are secondary bacterial and/or yeast skin infections such as the thickened skin, the skin flakes, the unpleasant smell, and the red skin. These are definite signs of secondary infections. Your vet will collect samples for cytology from all the itchy areas, skin flakes, and the thickened skin and examine them under the microscope for which types of cells are present and whether there are bacteria and / or yeasts. It is crucial that they are identified and treated for successful management of any allergic dog. The good news is that the skin infections can be treated effectively and because they contribute significantly to the clinical signs and skin lesions, it usually makes a huge difference when they are treated. The secret is that once they have been treated one needs to prevent them from recurring and this is to treat the reason for them in the first place, namely the allergy. In almost all allergic dogs, the skin infections can be prevented from recurring when the allergy is controlled effectively and that is why it is so important to try to find out which type of allergy your dog has. Your vet will prescribe antibiotics for bacterial infections, antifungal medications if there are yeast infections. There are also appropriate shampoos for this.
- At the same time, a strict diet trial must be performed to rule out a food allergy. The only reliable test for a food allergy is a strict diet trial. As mentioned before, chicken, beef, and dairy are the most common causes of food allergies; therefore, when doing the diet trial, you will have to use a very specific diet for this. Your vet will recommend the best diet for this and explain exactly how to do the trial. Your vet may recommend a hypoallergenic diet. Once again, this is a crucial step, because if a food allergy is the cause of the allergy in your dog, their skin will no longer be itchy, as long as he eats the correct diet. It is very important that one treats all the secondary infections at the same time as doing the diet trial, as the itchiness will not resolve with the correct diet if he is suffering from secondary bacterial infections. Please, do not skip this step.
- If it turns out not to be a food allergy, your dog most likely has an environmental allergy. This is the most common allergy that we see in dogs. Unfortunately, environmental allergies cannot be cured, and therefore, if not managed appropriately, the condition will return, and the dog will become itchy again and the secondary skin infections will relapse again and again. It is very important for you to realise that flea bite and food allergies can be treated, but environmental allergies cannot be cured, only managed appropriately, usually for the rest of an allergic dog’s life.
Managing Environmental Allergies
The management of an environmental allergy entails an initial treatment plan that treats the infections and allergy symptoms, and thereafter a long-term plan which is essential to keep the allergy under control and prevent the infections from recurring. The initial treatment plan usually includes treatment of all the secondary infections with special shampoos, sometimes also creams and ointments, antibiotics if there are bacterial infections and antifungal medications if there are yeast infections. Very effective medications can then be used for successful initial as well