What are the common types of dog allergies?
Dog allergies are some of the most common things that we see on a daily basis here. There are two main types of allergies that we see on a daily basis: food allergies and environmental allergies. They might present a little differently.
How do food allergies present in dogs?
Food allergies tend to be year-round because the dog that has them is getting that food year-round, so there's constantly a response to that food that they're ingesting.
How do environmental allergies present in dogs?
Environmental allergies tend to come and go with the seasons. They involve allergens that the dog is inhaling, and their body has a response.
How can allergies manifest in dogs?
Both of these allergies can manifest by excessive chewing of the paws, chronic ear infections, scooting on the ground, and anal gland issues. Food allergies also tend to cause some digestive issues, not always, but often times.
What treatments are available for dog allergies?
If your dog is excessively chewing on the paws or scratching, there are great medications that we have now to treat dog allergies. In the past, years ago, we used to give them antihistamines, but what we're finding out is that dogs' allergies aren't mediated by histamine, so they need different medications to treat them. The newer generation of allergy medications for dogs includes pills called Apoquel or a shot called Cytopoint. They both work similarly to decrease the chemical mediators of itchiness that cause your dogs to itch and scratch and chew.
How do you diagnose allergies in dogs?
Oftentimes, we diagnose allergies by their response to these treatments. In other words, if we give an Apoquel pill and the dog stops scratching and chewing, then we know they're dealing with environmental allergies or atopy, and we can manage it going forward.
Can dog allergies be cured?
We don't cure allergies; we're treating the symptoms of itchiness. We're not curing the underlying allergy. Over the years, allergies might get worse, they might get more prolonged, and there might be more of a need to medicate to prevent the itching and self-trauma that a dog can do when they're dealing with allergies. The only cure for allergies is to go and get allergy testing done, usually at a dermatologist. They can provide the dog with an immunotherapy that, over the course of 6 to 12 months, can desensitize them to the actual allergens that cause the itchiness.
How do you manage environmental and food allergies?
For environmental allergies, we'll either give a Cytopoint shot or an Apoquel pill and see how the dog does. If they get a lot better, then we know they're responding to the treatment for environmental allergies. For food allergies, if we have a dog that tends to have allergies all year round or doesn't respond to the Cytopoint or Apoquel that would treat environmental allergies, we might consider a food allergy trial. In that case, we have to switch them to a strict hypoallergenic food for up to two months to evaluate for a response to treatment.
If you have questions, we would love to answer them for you. Please give us a call at the office at (703) 273-2110, or you can email us at [email protected]. Our staff would love to talk with you!
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