Why are all of the dogs in America suddenly itching?
It is springtime in North America, and the pets are getting itchy! Over the last weeks, my inbox has been inundated with questions such as this one:
I have a 12-year-old Chihuahua that is constantly
scratching. I have tried giving her a bath about
every 2 - 3 weeks, but that hasn’t helped. What
else can I do to help her stop scratching? She
doesn’t have fleas and I haven’t seen anything
else on her. Sometimes she scratches till she is
almost bleeding. Could this simply be dry skin?
Please help. She is miserable.
Thanks,
DJ
Texas
When pets get itchy, allergies are the culprit nine times out of ten. And so, to those of you who have been writing in wondering why your pet is suddenly scratching or licking incessantly, my answer is that he or she probably suffers from allergies.
In a recent post, I touched upon some of the treatments for allergies. But, since so many pets are suffering from itching these days, let’s talk about allergies a little more.
There are three basic things that cause allergies in cats and dogs. Fleas are the number one culprit. Environmental allergens, such as pollen, mold spores, detergents, and dander are also common causes of itching in pets. Finally, proteins in foods can cause allergic reactions.
It is possible to run blood tests or skin tests that help to determine what, precisely, your pet is allergic to. They are pricey, but often worthwhile.
However, consider this. When I run blood allergy tests on my patients, I receive results reported in units that indicate the strength of the pet’s allergy to each offending item. The higher the number, the worse the allergy. A typical panel of results might look like this:
Ragweed pollen 373
Dust mites 254
Beef protein 339
Flea saliva 29,456
Every pet I have ever met who has allergies is allergic to fleas. And they are usually more allergic to fleas than to everything else combined. And, fleas are more active in the springtime.
So, what should you do if your pet is itching and you don’t want to run a bunch of tests? Go with the odds, and accept that fleas are probably the cuplrit. Apply a high quality flea preventative.
It does not matter if your pet does not “have fleas”. If your pet is allergic to fleas, then a single bite is all it takes to trigger itching and scratching. Consider this. I currently have three very itchy mosquito bites on my left arm. I do not “have” mosquitoes. But I know perfectly well that they are causing me to itch.
Unless you live in an area where there absolutely are no fleas, then the first thing to consider for an itchy pet is a flea preventative.
For the record, I am aware of only two places on Earth that are completely flea free: Denver, Colorado, and Mt. Everest base camp, Nepal. And, with global climate change occurring, there’s a good chance that fleas now exist in these places, too.
After applying a high-quality flea preventative, it may take several weeks or even months for the itching to go away. If it does not, or if your pet is really miserable, then go to the vet to look into some of the allergy tests and treatments that I mentioned in my previous entry.
You have questions. 
Great article Dr. Barchas. You will save me a lot of money on allergy testing. Keep up the great work. I look forward to reading your blogs when I check email. By the way, cute picture!
At our vet clinic we see a lot of food allergy issues too. Some of the vets also believe other ingredients in the processed foods may be the trigger.
How fascinating to learn that pets too are allergic to ragweed and dust mites. Funny, you mention skipping the allergy tests. That was the same advice my GP gave me when I started developing allergies. She said most allergies are either ragweed, dust mites, pollen, or pet dander. Let’s just treat the symptoms. I work in a vet clinic–pet dander–I have a cat. OK, let’s just treat the symptoms.
Funny you should mention Denver and Global Warming.
My vet (along with the rest of Denver’s animal workers) are keeping a watch on the fleas here. Seems they are literally hopping their way up from Texas, and since our winters are no longer that cold (though we are still quite dry), they little buggers are managing to survive better.
Flea Watch Colorado will be our next “terrorist watch”.
My friends vet has her give her dogs one adult benydry(or store brand equivalent) for their allergies.
My backyard is covered by the pollen from a gigantic oak tree this time of year. My dog always reacts by lots and lots of itching!! If you think that it is happening to your dog I would recommend Dream Coat by VitaGlo to sooth dry and flaky skin. Also, get Skina dn Itch Relief by Natural Homeopathic Remedy…I guess this is a Claritan type thing for dogs… It works like a charm!!
My Jack Russell suffers much from all kinds of allergies. Like Dr. Barchas said, the number one culprit are fleas. Often she has flea bites (that my vet has pointed out to me) when I swear she doesn’t have fleas. They can bite while the dog is outside and then jump off. With the consistent (even in winter months) use of Frontline 80% of her allergies are relieved. The other 20%, without the use of allergy tests, but just recognizing triggers over time, have been shown to be pollen, dust, chicken and rice. She now eats only duck or turkey and only mixed with vegetables and potatoes. (There are several brands that provide this kind of nutrition, but sometimes I make my own dog food too.) When pollens are bad, antihistimines and topical soothers help. Unfortunately, allergies are an ongoing nuisance for both owner and dog. Good luck!
I have two dogs with allergies. I don’t know which one is worse. The first one has typical flea allergies; she will develop a huge hot spot from just one bite. I feel kind of at fault for it because although she, our other pets, and our house are flea-free, the little buggers cling onto me when I come home from my job (I work at an animal shelter) and always seem to seek her out. It’s like they know she is allergic to them.
The second dog is unusual in that he is NOT allergic to fleas though I thought he was when I first got him a year ago. Flea prevention and flea control didn’t provide relief the way they helped my other dog. I was constantly looking for fleas on him or evidence of fleas, but I could never find anything. My vet recommended antihistanimes since those provide relief from most allergies. They only worked somewhat. Next she suggested a food trial. That cleared up nearly all his symptoms! So we think he has some sort of food allergy (prob. beef since his symptoms get worse when he eats something with beef in it). We did the food trial in winter. With spring returning, we’ve found he’s scratching more often again. We think he also suffers from seasonal allergies. Once again flea prevention is not helping (we keep our dogs on Frontline Plus year-round anyways). I guess I need to get some Bendryl for him again.
Sometimes I wish I knew exactly what my second dog was allergic to (besides his food allergies). However it’s more likely that he’s allergic to something like pollen or dust, stuff that he can’t avoid. Allergy testing would be pointless in that case. We would still just be treating the symptoms.
I have the same exact problem with my 12 yr chichuahua- The
Dr chalked it up to flea allergies. Has been on prednisone for a long time. We even tried Hollistic foods to see if that was the problem -
We havent fed him dog food since 6 months ago, he gets cooked prepared, beef or ground turkey now. (hes spoiled)
did have the allegies test for tyson and it came back with 24 allergies and 4 borderline beef oats corn and cotton were some of the higher num yet the bottom of his paws are still red and raw we have tryed everything from bendryl, tea tree oil powder from vets and the list goes on nothing seems to be working all he does is lick at them hes only 21/2 and all he wants to due is lay around and lick he used to be so play ful his new name is sir lick alot any ideas
Try prednisone. My dog Zoë was at the Vet today to get a refill on her prescription. Zoë always feels better after a short course of steroids. She is allergic to fleas and grass.
Good Luck!
OMG…people please stop giving your animals steroids and other
drugs! i have just been reading some of the comments on excessive scratching and licking and the subsequent remedies to these so called allergies. I mean yes, pets will be aggrivated by fleas and pollen, ragweed and the like but i am telling you it’s the food. It’s all about the food . Guaranteed it’s all of the grain and filler that is in pet food that should not be there. This is what they are allergic to and it will only get worse with time unless you change their diet, nothing else. I have experienced the problem and so have many of my friends. Dogs are carnivores and cats are heavy carnivores. Look to nature and to the wild to see how they would properly eat. They would kill an animal and get protein from the flesh but they would also get vegetation from their prey’s digestion. What they wouldn’t be getting are all of these whole grains like oats, wheat, barley and corn or growth hormones which are fed to most factory farmed animals today or pesticide residuals for that matter which is found in chicken feed, all of which is found in commercial pet food today. Sounds like a lot of work i know to prepare meat and vegetables for your dog but fortunately there are a lot of great new dry holostic and frozen raw foods available. Read the ingredients and remember to stay away from most of the pet food treats as well. Grocery store pet food for the most part is crap. Improve their diet and you’ll see a world of change. You’ll save your pet a lot of grief and you’ll save a lot of money on vet bills down the road.