If you’ve ever dealt with allergies in dogs before, you know that it’s just not a simple process to diagnose and treat. There are so many different types of allergies that your pooch may be suffering from and the process of both figuring out the specific allergy and then treating it can be a long and stressful one.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through the exact process I had to go through with my own dog Coco to discover what she was allergic to and, let me tell you, it took some time! I’ll also fill you in on the top ten symptoms of allergies in dogs for you to watch out for!
What is an Allergy?
Before we dive into the symptoms and diagnosis, it’s important to understand what an allergy in a dog even is in the first place. Just like humans, an allergy is a state of over-reactivity or hypersensitivity of the immune system to a specific substance. Over time, your immune system can become very sensitize to that particular substance and the immune response can be quite harmful to your body.
Unfortunately, allergies in dogs are quite common in all breeds and backgrounds. Most allergies begin appearing after 6 months of age. Some allergies in dogs can be inherited so it’s always helpful to know what allergies your pup’s parents have as a way of helping you to diagnose your own pooch’s allergies.
Types of Allergies in Dogs
There are a number of types of allergies in dogs, all of which pose different challenges for the dog and owner. To make things even more challenging, many of the symptoms can overlap. Let’s take a look at the 3 most common types of allergies in dogs.
Skin Allergies in Dogs
Skin allergies, also known as allergic dermatitis, are the most common form of allergies in dogs. There are three main sources of skin allergies in dogs
Flea allergy dermatitis – some dogs are allergic to flea saliva and when they are bitten by a flea, their skill becomes very itchy.
Food allergies – the most common places dogs with food allergies itch are their ears and their paws
Environmental allergies – these are often seasonal so you may see your pup itching the paws and ears at specific times of the year.
Food Allergies in Dogs
True food allergies in dogs are not as common as you would necessarily think. A true food allergy creates an immune response which can range in symptoms from skin itchiness (as we talked about above), gastrointestinal discomfort or a combination.
If a dog responds well to a hypoallergenic food diet, he or she may not have a true food allergy but may have a food sensitivity. It’s similar to the difference between a human being deathly allergic to peanut butter (that’s a true food allergy) and a human being sensitive to dairy (that’s a sensitivity).
Acute Allergic Reactions
Probably the scariest type of allergies in dogs is the acute allergic reaction. Just like humans, dogs can go into anaphylactic shock if they have a severe reaction. But, don’t panic just yet because these reactions tend to be quite rare. Anytime your dog is getting a new drug, vaccine or food, it’s important to keep an eye on them closely!
About 3 days after I adopted my dog Coco, I took her to the vet to get a full check up. She was a brand new dog (to me) and I didn’t know anything about her background or overall health (she was already 6 years old). The vet gave her a vaccine and within 10 minutes of us being home, she had thrown up everywhere and was clearly not feeling well. By the next morning, her eye was swollen shut and she had hives all over her body.
To this day, we aren’t entirely positive that her reaction came from the vaccine but she has never had a similar reaction since (and she’s never had that vaccine again!). The vet did a great job of dealing with her acute reaction and Coco was perfectly fine by the end of the day. But it was definitely a scary moment not knowing what caused it and seeing her in such discomfort.
Top 10 Symptoms of Allergies in Dogs
So, now that you know what types of allergies in dogs are out there, how do you know what to look for? Take a look at this list for the top 10 symptoms of allergies in dogs:
- Itchiness
- Hives
- Swelling of the face, ears, lips, eyelids or earflaps
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Sneezing (excessive)
- Itchy ears/chronic ear infections
- Itchy, runny eyes
- Constant licking
- Red/inflamed skin
If your dog is suffering from any of these symptoms (or a combination), talk to your vet to see what options you have for diagnosing the potential allergy.
Diagnosing Allergies in Dogs
If you’ve ever had your own experience in diagnosing allergies, you know that it can be a lengthy and complicated process. Depending on the type of allergy, it can take quite a bit of time to safely diagnose your pooch.
Some allergies in dogs can be diagnosed using an allergy test but that’s not always possible. If your dog is suffering from flea allergy dermatitis, the vet can generally diagnose this by identifying fleas on your dog’s body and applying a product that kills the fleas.
Food allergies are much more challenging and time consuming. Generally, the only way to definitively diagnose a food allergy is through the use of an elimination diet. An elimination diet consists of a food trial where you take your pup off all foods he or she currently eats and place them on one source of protein and carbohydrate for 12 weeks. If the symptoms go away, you slowly begin to reintroduce one new food at a time to see which one reaggravates the allergy symptoms. And, because the symptoms don’t necessarily appear immediately, you may be spending weeks doing this as you introduce one new food at a time.
Elimination diets are particularly challenging because you cannot feed your pup ANY other food during that time. No treats, no extra little goodies, nothing! Which means you have to resist those puppy dog eyes every single day for the good of your dog’s overall health.
I speak from my own experience – when Coco was 8, we had to put her on an elimination diet and it was the HARDEST thing I’ve ever had to do. Not only did I have to resist her sad face every time she didn’t get peanut butter in a Kong, but I had to get my partner on board (he’s definitely the weak link in this house and Coco knows it) as well as our friends and neighbours who also loved to give Coco some treats now and then.
But, in the end, it was well worth it because she’s finally more comfortable, doesn’t get ear infections every 2 months and has stopped licking and chewing on her paws. All because we took the time to do the elimination diet and discovered she was allergic to chicken!
Final Thoughts
Diagnosing and treating allergies in dogs is hard. Trust me, I get it. But keep in mind that your dog is going to be significantly more comfortable if you are able to take the time to properly discover what particular substance is aggravating their immune system. And we all want our dogs to be happy and healthy, right?!
