How do I tell if my dog has dermatitis

Types of Dog Allergies and How to Treat Them

Have you heard someone tell you that their dog has allergies? Has your veterinarian suggested that allergies could be a problem for your dog? Do you suspect that your dog has allergies? If so, then youve probably realized that allergies in dogs are not quite as simple as we might wish. For starters, there are several different types of allergies that could be causing your dogs symptoms.

Allergies are a misguided reaction to foreign substances by the bodys immune system, which, of course, people and pets can suffer from. There are quite a few different types of allergies in dogs. Skin allergies, food allergies, and environmental allergens all pose challenges for dogs and their owners, and to make things more complicated, the symptoms of all these different types of allergies can overlap.

Symptoms of Allergies in Dogs

The symptoms of allergies in dogs may vary depending on the cause. A dog that goes into anaphylactic shock, for instance, will have a drop in blood pressure followed by shock, which is very different from a skin condition.

In general, however, the following symptoms could be a sign of an allergic reaction.

• Itchiness
• Hives
• Swelling of the face, ears, lips, eyelids, or earflaps
• Red, inflamed skin
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Sneezing
• Itchy ears
• Chronic ear infections
• Itchy, runny eyes
• Constant licking

Some of these symptoms could also be a sign of another condition. Make an appointment with your veterinarian if you notice changes in their behavior to get an accurate diagnosis.

Types of Allergic Reactions in Dogs

Allergic Dermatitis in Dogs

Skin allergies in dogs, known as allergic dermatitis, is the most common type of allergic reaction in dogs. Skin allergies in dogs are mainly caused by one of three things: fleas, food allergies, and atopicor environmentalallergies.Flea allergy dermatitis is an allergic reaction to fleabites, and some dogs are allergic to flea saliva, which can cause their skin to become red, inflamed, or scabbed because their skin will feel extremely itchy. Its the easiest type of allergic dermatitis to treat, since you can apply flea medication for dogs to help heal their skin.

Another cause of skin allergy in dogs is from food allergies and sensitivities. Just like humans can be allergic to certain foods or ingredients, dogs can be allergic, which can cause itchy skin. Dogs with food allergies usually have itchy ears or paws, sometimes along with gastrointestinal symptoms. Dr. Klein, Chief Veterinary Officer for the AKC, says that food allergies are not as common as you might think. True food allergies result in an immune response, which can range in symptoms from hives, facial swelling, and itchiness to gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and diarrhea or a combination of both.

Environmental allergens can also affect the skin and be the cause of allergic dermatitis. Things like dust, pollen, fungus, and mold can cause these reactions, but in most cases, these allergies are seasonal. As with food allergies that affect the skin, the most commonly affected areas are the paws and ears (but also include the wrists, ankles, muzzle, underarms, groin, around the eyes, and in between the toes).

All skin allergies pose the risk of secondary infection. As your dog scratches, bites, and licks at his skin, he risks opening up his skin to yeast and bacterial infections that may require treatment.

Urticaria, or Hives, in Dogs

Also known as urticaria, hives on dogs are very itchy but are not life-threatening. Hives appear as a reaction anywhere from 6 to 24 hours after exposure to allergens. This consists of itchy, swelled skin, that usually looks like a red rash. Its easiest to spot hives on dogs that are hairless or have short coats. Dogs with longer hair can get them too, but its more likely that youd be able to fee the hives rather than see them. Your vet will prescribe an antihistamine in order to treat urticaria in dogs.

Edema of Face or Throat

Swelling of the throat or face looks severe, but its actually almost never fatal. This area of swelling, which can also include swelling of the eyelids or ear flaps, is known as angioneurotic edema. Its actually pretty easily treated, and despite how it looks, its a good sign in terms of allergic reactions.

If your dog has edema of any of these areas, the time for a fatal allergic reaction has most likely passed, and they arent in as much danger. Angioneurotic edema occurs anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours after exposure to an allergen, and can also come with hives.A veterinarian will often give dogs with this reaction an antihistamine injection. Untreated, it may take a day or two for the swelling to subside.

Anaphylactic Shock

Perhaps the most alarming of all the types of allergic reactions in dogs is anaphylactic shock. Like people, dogs can go into anaphylactic shock if they have a severe reaction to an allergen. This happens when antibodies produced by the host react negatively to the allergen, dropping your dogs blood pressure rapidly and sending them into shock. This can be fatal if not treated, but luckily, anaphylactic reactions are rare in dogs.

This can be a response to any allergen, most commonly bee or wasp stings, or vaccine reactions. Because of this, your vet will always recommend keeping a close eye on your dog after theyve been given any new vaccine, drug, or food item, as they might be allergic.

If a dog has had a past incident and survived, the owner may carry an epipen, but sometimes the first occurrence can lead to death. Fortunately these reactions are very rare in dogs.

In some rare cases, a severe food allergy reaction resulting in anaphylaxis can occur, similar to severe peanut allergies in humans. The best way to diagnose and treat a food allergy is to work with your veterinarian to manage your dogs symptoms and discover the ingredient causing the reaction.

Diagnosing Allergies in Dogs

Flea allergy dermatitis is typically the easiest allergy to diagnose. It is usually diagnosed by identifying fleas on your dogs body and applying a product that kills fleas before they can bite to see if that solves the issues.

The first thing your veterinarian will do in allergy testing is rule out any other condition that could be causing your dogs symptoms. If your veterinarian feels that an allergy is a likely cause, they may propose allergy testing to try and determine the cause of the allergen that is causing the reaction. However, keep in mind it may not always be possible to determine the cause of an allergy with testing.

If you have ever undergone allergy testing, then you know that diagnosing allergies is often complicated. Its the same for dogs, but its worth it to understand what to stay away from when it comes to your dog.Food allergies are often diagnosed using an elimination diet. A food trial consists of feeding a dog one source of protein and carbohydrate for 12 weeks.

Treating Allergies in Dogs

The best way to treat an allergy is avoidance of the cause and allergen, which may not always be possible. They type of treatment depends on the type of allergy your dog has. For example, the best way to treat flea allergy dermatitis is to kill the fleas, whereas the best way to treat a food allergy or food intolerance is a change in diet.

Depending on the cause and severity of your dogs allergic reaction, your veterinarian will prescribe different things. For hives, they might suggest antihistamines, cortisones, medicated shampoos, whereas with food allergies they might suggest fish oil or other Omega-3 fatty acid supplements. For skin allergies, they might prescribe dog-safe anti-inflammatory wipes or shampoo on skin to provide irritation relief.

In addition to any lifestyle changes that might be necessary, your veterinarian may also prescribe an allergy relief medication for your dog that will help control the signs associated with the allergic reaction, such as itching and any secondary skin infections that might have developed as a result of the irritant.

If your dog has a severe allergic reaction, your best course of action is to get them to an emergency veterinary hospital as quickly as possible.

Dermatitis in Dogs: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

What is dog dermatitis?

The term canine dermatitis simply means inflammation (redness and often itchiness) of the skin. This is a general term that may be used to describe skin irritation caused by any disease. There are many causes of skin inflammation in dogs. Some of the more common diseases that lead to dermatitis are atopy, flea allergy dermatitis, and food intolerance or allergy.

Causes of Canine Dermatitis

There are many causes for dermatitis in dogs, but the more common ones are as follows:

1. Canine atopic dermatitis(also called canine atopy or allergic dermatitis)

This is a complicated disease process where affected dogs may be genetically predisposed to developing atopy. It is estimated that roughly 10% of dogs have atopic dermatitis. Dogs with atopic dermatitis have a defect with their skins natural protective barrier. Most of the allergens that cause itching in these dogs enter through contact with their skin and its defective barrier.

Animals with atopic dermatitis have a history of pruritus (i.e. licking, chewing, scratching) that may or may not be accompanied by recurrent skin and/or ear infections. Signs can be seasonalor non-seasonal. They may also start seasonally and then progress to non-seasonal (e.g. year-round).

Dogs with atopic dermatitis often have areas of reddened skin, raised bumps, scratches, crusts, and may have thickened skin from a long history of having dermatitis. The itchy areas in these dogs often include the armpits, lower abdomen, pawsand in-between toes, and the area around the dogs eyes, ears, mouth and lip folds, and bottom.

Most of these dogs start to show signs between 2-6 years of age. As this disease tends to be inherited, multiple breeds are predisposed.

• Commonly affected breeds include:
• Labrador Retriever
• Golden Retriever
• Boxer
• Cocker Spaniel
• Bulldogs
• Terriers (most, including Pitbulls)
• German Shepherds

However, many dogs including mixed breeds can have atopic dermatitis.

Early skin signsinclude reddened circular areas, patches, and small bumps. Self-trauma from licking, chewing and scratching can lead to signs of fur loss, wounds, thickened and darker colored areas of skin.

Treatment / Management of Atopic Dermatitis:

• Identification and avoidance of the allergen and infection with bacteria or yeast (often considered secondary bacterial dermatitis or yeast dermatitis)
• Improvement in skin and coat hygiene and care (e.g. bathing)
• Reduction of itching and skin wounds with medications (e.g. topical and/or systemic)
• Targeted therapy of the allergy with intradermal allergy testing and desensitization

Canine atopic dermatitis is a life-long condition that can severely affect both patient and pet owner quality of life. Preventing or minimizing the frequency of skin flare-ups improves patient quality of life and owner satisfaction, as well as lessens adverse effects from prolonged administration of systemic medications. Flare-ups can be lessened by identifying and desensitizing the animal to offending environmental allergens when your veterinary dermatologist performs an intradermal skin test and then formulates an injectable to desensitize your dog to their allergens over time. This immune modification may take upwards of a year to determine its full benefit.

2. Flea Allergy Dermatitis (flea bite hypersensitivity)

Dogs with flea allergies have an allergy to a protein in flea saliva.

Skin issues in dogs with flea allergy dermatitis often appear as small raised bumps and crusts seen over the lower back, above the tail, and inner thigh area. These dogs may scratch their sides, thighs, belly, lower back, neck, and ears. Often these dogs are quite restless and are almost constantly scratching, chewing, and/or licking at their skin. Dogs with long-term flea exposure can have thickened skin that may become a dark grey color and the fur loss may cover most of their body.

The most common signs of flea allergy dermatitis are fur loss and the presence of fleas along with marked itchiness. This type of dermatitis is diagnosed by the skin changes seen and ruling out other possible causes for the skin issues. Signs of itchiness may develop minutes to days after the flea bites, depending upon if the dog has a more immediate or delayed immune reaction to the flea saliva.

Flea allergy dermatitis does not usually occur before 1 year of age. Any breed of dog can be affected. Dogs with severe flea allergies are often found to be nearly flea-free due to excessive self-grooming as they are so itchy.

To treat and prevent flea allergy dermatitis, appropriate flea treatment and prevention of flea infestations is a must. Also, proper treatment of any secondary skin infection, resulting in bacterial dermatitis or Malassezia dermatitis, must occur to resolve the dogs itching.

3. Food Allergy Dermatitis

Dogs who have food allergies typically develop a hypersensitivity reaction to either a protein or carbohydrate in the food or treats that they eat.

The most common sign in food-allergic dogs is itchiness/scratching which may be focused on one or multiple areas of the dogs body. The more common areas where dogs with food allergies lick, chew or scratch, are their ears, feet, underneath their chest or abdomen, and less often around their hind-end.

Although we wont discuss this further here, food-allergic dogs may also show GI signs such as vomiting, diarrhea, a marked increase in stools/feces produced, soft to loose stools, straining to pass stool, gassiness, and possible weight loss. These signs are usually noticed year-round unless the food or treat causing the issue is not constantly fed.

Although dogs with food allergies typically develop clinical signs of disease in young adulthood (14 years old), the age of onset in dogs has been reported to range from <6 months to 13 years. Thus, a food allergy may be a particularly likely cause for dermatitis in dogs when first seen at either a very young or very advanced age.

Breeds that more often have food allergy issues are:

• German Shepherds
• Labrador Retrievers
• French Bulldogs
• West Highland White Terriers

This does not mean that other dog breeds cannot have food allergies.

For dogs presenting to a vet for dermatitis or itchiness, food allergies may be determined to be the cause for up to 24-40% of cases.

The only reliable way to diagnose food allergies is by performing an elimination diet trial. There are a couple of tests that may help when selecting which foods to avoid when choosing a diet. However, these tests (western blot blood test and skin/patch testing) cannot diagnose a food allergy. The most common sources of food allergies in dogs are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat, and lamb.

For more information on performing a diet trial please see: How to Perform a Food Trial for Your Pet's Allergies

Other Diseases That May Causes Changes to Your Dogs Skin

Clinical Signs of Dermatitis in Dogs

Dermatitis in dogs can be seen as any combination of the following symptoms:

• Abnormal redness of the skin
• Thickening of the skin
• Itching
• Scaling
• Dark color (grey/black)
• Fur loss (alopecia)
• Unusual odor
• Excessive oil production of the skin

How will the vet test my dog for dermatitis?

Initially, your dogs vet may recommend any combination of the following tests to help determine the cause of your dogs skin issues:

• Medication Trial (antihistamine, Cytopoint, Apoquel or Corticosteroid (steroid))
• Diet Trial (offering a food containing protein and carbohydrate source that your dog has not had before)
• Skin Scrape (checking for mites)
• Skin Biopsy
• Intradermal Skin Testing
• Bloodworkto check for specific allergies, hypothyroidism, or Cushings Disease

Veterinary Treatment Options for Canine Dermatitis

The treatment that your vet recommends will depend upon your dogs diagnosis - either general such as seasonal or environmental allergies, or specific (i.e. flea allergy dermatitis or allergy to soy).

Some of the treatment options that your vet may recommend are as follows:

• Medicated baths with a shampoo made specifically for dogs with dermatitis
• Flea Prevention/Control
• Supplements
• Cytopoint
• Apoquel
• Hypoallergenic diets
• Antihistamines
• Antibiotics and Antifungals (to treat secondary skin infections if found)
• Immunotherapy(when exact allergens causing the issue have been identified)
• Corticosteroids

What about giving my dog over-the-counter medication for their itchy or red skin?

Do not give over-the-counter (OTC) medications to your dog without talking to your vet first. If not given appropriately or in the right case, OTC medications can be dangerous.

Home Treatment for Dermatitis in Dogs

There are several things you can do at home to keep your dog as comfortable as possible while waiting for your vet appointment and allergy consult. A few safe treatments include:

• If your dog is licking or chewing excessively at themselves, an Elizabethan collar (cone) may be helpful to lessen further damage to their skin.
• If your dog is itchy everywhere, you may bathe your dog with a mild shampoo (i.e. oatmeal-based) daily to every other day. Make sure to use lukewarm water and thoroughly rinse the shampoo away.
• Any individual wounds may be cleaned with a mild soap or dilute betadine solution twice daily and then blotted dry.

Can dog dermatitis be prevented?

It all depends upon the underlying cause of your dogs itchy, red skin. As dermatitis is often due to an underlying allergy to something in your pets environment, flea saliva protein, or food allergy, avoiding the triggers can help, but this is not always possible.

By keeping in close contact with your dogs vet and following their recommendations you will likely be able to minimize the frequency and severity of your dogs skin flare-ups. With seasonal or environmental allergies in dogs, much as for people with seasonal allergies, there is no cure. The goal is to keep dogs as comfortable as possible and avoid secondary skin infections as much as we can.

My dogs skin isnt getting better. When should I schedule a vet visit?

If your dog is experiencing any of the following symptoms, its time to schedule a vet visit:

• Scratching more than usual and seems uncomfortable.
• Licking, chewing, or scratching to a point where they are developing sores.
• Fur loss
• Head shaking
• Scratching at ears
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite

Read more:

Hot Spots (Moist Dermatitis) in Dogs

Common Myths About Allergies in Dogs

Common Skin Diseases in Dogs

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