Ragweed season is here already. Ragweed is a problem for many fall allergy sufferers but this year it started really early (in mid-August after the rains), and will generally go until the first frost (average November 15). The mold counts have been high too. Dogs and even cats can be allergic to pollen and mold.
Allergies are nothing to sneeze at, really. Actually, for most dogs the primary symptom is itchiness, especially feet, ears, armpits and rear end. They usually don’t have runny eyes and nose, but a few might. And most “allergies” are to the proteins in pollen, rarely food allergies. For these pets, the immune system has an elevated, inappropriate response to these proteins that are inhaled and absorbed right through the skin. The prime skin cell that reacts is a mast cell, which is loaded with histamine granules, and releases the histamine when the specific proteins are detected by the immune system. Then the histamine triggers the itch. Licking & scratching is a symptom of itchiness.
Symptoms Include licking feet, rubbing face, shaking ears, scratching at armpits or sides, and licking/scooting on their rear. The pattern of allergy itchiness is different than flea bites, which is mostly lower back and backs of thighs. And an allergy dog with even one flea is extra miserable.
Uncontrolled allergies can lead to secondary skin and ear infections, either bacteria like Staph or yeast. If it goes on for weeks, the skin will make extra sebum and smell bad, or get flaky and crusty. Many people mistake this for “dry skin”, and stop bathing their dogs. If the itching and infections go on for longer, the skin may get thickened, turn gray, and wrinkled looking.
As pet parents, we can help these patients. First, I recommend starting with anti-itch medicine, often OTC antihistamines like Benadryl or Zyrtec. If that isn’t working well, I step up to prescription medicines like Apoquel. My last resort is steroids, which have many side effects.
Secondly, I stress cleansing the skin and ears with weekly bathing or wiping, often with gentle shampoos like aloe and oatmeal dog shampoos. If we leave the abnormal sebum on the skin, microorganisms will try to grow in it, so bathing is critical to break the allergy cycle. And washing the bedding and collars is important too. Daily washing of the affected areas ( like feet, face, ears) can help remove topically absorbed pollens and help soothe the itch.
The third component is to try to avoid whatever the allergy is toward. Pollen is hard to avoid, so keeping the pets inside more helps, but pollen gets in homes too. Keeping filters clean helps. Stepping up antihistamines and bathing helps. Many “derm” diets or supplements have higher fatty acids that can help decrease the immune symptoms.
Forth component is to avoid fleas and ticks. The flea population often spikes in mild moist weather like spring and fall. They don’t all die after the summer or winter extremes. And they never die in the house from bad weather outside. So keep allergy dogs on year round flea prevention like Credelio or Trifexis.
Allergies are nothing to sneeze at, but we can manage it so are pets are more comfortable.
For more information: https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/allergies-dogs#1-2
For more information about Apoquel,and the itch cycle.