When Sweet Baby L was only a few months old, I started to notice how often she’d need to stop what she was doing, sit down, and scratch her flank. Something was clearly itching her.  It seemed to happen most when we were out on a walk, so I attributed it to where her harness might be rubbing on her skin. As the months went on, the scratching seemed to get worse, but her vet wasn’t overly concerned. She assured me that lots of pups have skin issues.

I knew there was something more going on.  

“What about allergies?” I asked. “Could she be allergic to something?” 

I had heard from several neighborhood pup parents that allergies in dogs were a thing, but the vet didn’t seem that worried. Maybe, she said, cautioning me that allergies are difficult to identify and treat without a battery of expensive tests that might not tell us much anyway.   Even if she ended up being allergic to everything, successful treatment would be challenging.  She suggested we take some smaller steps first, and prescribed Sweet Baby L an injection of anti-itch medication called Cytopoint. 

I would say it worked…a bit?  Her itching never fully went away and it bothered me that we seemed to only be treating the symptoms without getting to the root of the problem.  Several more months passed like this, with Sweet Baby L returning to the vet for another round of Cytopoint whenever she seemed to be extra itchy. 

Signs Of Allergies in Dogs 

After watching Sweet Baby L gnawing at her paws with more urgency, I decided we needed to see a specialist. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that canine dermatologists exist!  We booked an appointment and hauled Sweet Baby L all the way to Manhattan to see if we could find out what was making her so itchy.  

Immediately, the dermatologist suspected what I had always known in my gut: she was most likely allergic to something, but what?  

For Sweet Baby L,  allergy symptoms were there from the beginning:

Lots of scratching 
Gnawing on feet 
Fur stained red around her feet from all the chewing 

Types of Allergies in Dogs

There are two major types of allergies that the vet was concerned about : food or environmental.

We started Sweet Baby L on an elimination diet to see if we could identify an issue in her food. Over the next week, we phased her current kibble out and a new, hydrolyzed vegetarian option in. This meant no more treats, no more bully sticks, no more of any of her favorite things. I was worried she was going to have a tough time, but she took the changes in her four-legged stride. Unfortunately, the itching didn’t stop. Some days, it seemed to be getting worse than ever. The dog dermatologist assured us that sometimes it takes time to see results, but by the time the 12 weeks were through, we hadn’t seen any improvement at all.

During her follow up visit, we discussed what to do next.  Food allergies didn’t seem to be causing the problem, so the options included going back on the Cytopoint to help manage her symptoms or have her take a skin allergy test to determine what was giving her so much grief.

Skin Testing for Allergies

The skin test was expensive, but we reasoned that she was still a young enough dog that what we learned from it could have a real impact on her quality of life. We decided to go for it. 

Testing for Atopic Dermatitis in Dogs

The test would take several hours, and Sweet Baby L would need to be sedated. They’d shave a part of her flank, administer the test on her skin, and see what her response was.  When her test was over, the dermatologist called.  Finally, we had some answers. Her official diagnosis was atopic dermatitis. Sweet Baby L was allergic to everything. No, really. Almost everything. The list included: 

Grass (especially Johnson and Perennial Rye)

Weeds (especially Burweed and Mugwort) 

Trees (especially Maple, Sycamore and Black Walnut)

Mold (especially Fusarium and Mucor)

Insects (especially blank ants, mosquitos, house flies and fleas) 

Dust mites (especially house dust) 

Epidermals (especially feathers and human dander)

Other : Tobacco 

What Happens When My Dog is Allergic to the Outdoors?

Upon learning that my dog is allergic to almost everything in the environment, of course I panicked. Sweet Baby L loves going to the park in the morning and playing with her dog friends. Not only does Sweet Baby L love the park, but she especially loves rolling around in the grass. Did the fact that the grass, trees and bugs cause her allergic reactions mean that we’d have to keep her inside all the time? My heart sank thinking about how sad she would be if that was the case.

Luckily, the vet dermatologist assured me that Sweet Baby L could still go play in the dog park. “We need to make sure she’s still a happy dog,” she said. Dogs with environmental allergies still need to get outside and exercise. She did suggest wiping Sweet Baby L down after she came home from the park to remove at least some of the excess allergens on her skin.

It’s hard to tell how much of a difference this makes with the itching but it certainly can’t hurt, and I feel a bit better knowing that we’re trying.

And What Happens When My Dog is Allergic to House Dust?

The vet said that many dog owners, upon learning that their dog is allergic to dust, might be tempted to redecorate entirely. Get rid of heavy curtains and rugs, remove down pillows and comforters, and so on. She advised that we don’t go down that route for a few reasons. The biggest one is that it would be an expensive and time-consuming effort and it might not even make that much of a difference in the end. She did suggest vacuuming more often and washing bedding more frequently.

This seemed like an easy enough place to start, so we invested in a robot vacuum to run every morning when Sweet Baby L is at the dog park. It’s pretty unbelievable how much dirt, dust and fur the thing sucks up every single day. I can’t believe we ever lived without one.

Treatment Options for Dog Atopic Dermatitis

It was recommended that Sweet Baby L get started on immunotherapy shots to help manage her reactions to the allergens. There are pros and cons to this course of treatment. The pros are that they are reportedly more effective than the oral medication alternatives. The cons are that it requires us jabbing our dog in the scruff with a needle a few times a week. It can also take up to a year before we see any real results. It’s also expensive (around $1500).

In the meantime, she started taking something called Apoquel, a non-steroid anti-itch oral medication. She has this every day with her breakfast. The vet said this can help more than Cytopoint in some cases. We shall see. 

Other Options for Treating Dog Allergies

Putting her on an antihistamine like Allegra or Claritin. We have heard  of several neighborhood pups who have gone this route and seen some success. Sweet Baby L hasn’t tried this yet. We are still waiting to see how the Apoquel works.  Probiotics to help with the staining on her fur. We haven’t gone down this route yet either.

Foods for Dogs with Skin Allergies 

There are also several prescription dogs foods on the market that supposedly help dogs with skin allergies. They are: 

Hill’s Derm Complete
Purina DRM
Royal Canin Skin Support

Next Steps

It’s been a little over three months since we started our treatment for dog allergies. Sweet Baby L seems to be doing OK. It’s hard to say if the immunotherapy has kicked in yet. She takes her Apoquel every morning but she’s still chewing on her feet, which makes me think she is still itching. Whatever effect the Apoquel and shots have, they’re certainly not making things worse. We have considered making the switch to one of those foods that is supposed to help, so we will report back on how that goes.