Dog Allergies

Name: Veterinary Services
Brand: Urban Veterinary Associates

What are some of the most common things we see with dogs that have allergies?

We'll see things like chronic ear infections, repeated ear infections, not that they just last a long time but that they have them over and over again, red itchy spots on their body that they might be chewing or licking and so sometimes we'll see some hair loss. The skin gets kind of red and occasionally we'll get areas that get scabbed over as the skin starts to weep a little bit. The scab will actually encapsulate the hair and so when you take it off they can have large bald spots or areas like that. Occasionally with some dogs, we will see vomiting, diarrhea, and GI signs, which is also kind of unusual when you think about allergies, like why is my pet having allergy-related issues in the GI tract if it's something that's in the air.

Dr. Jessica Torok
Urban Veterinary Associates

Can we diagnose allergies at home?

Not really. Diagnosis for allergies is sort of like one of exclusion. You have to rule out other reasons first. Things that can cause allergies can be food, environmental factors, or using a specific type of shampoo or scented product in your home. So it often takes some collaboration between the veterinarian and the client to understand better why the patient might be experiencing the current clinical signs.

Are dog allergies treated using immunotherapy?

Yes, there are two different kinds. One is called Cytopoint, which is an injectable immunotherapy that's kind of a generic treatment for canine atopic dermatitis. It's an injection given once a month and oftentimes it controls the signs of itching very well. The other type of immunotherapy is patient-specific, where we draw some blood to do an allergy test and then gradually introduce the items that the pet is allergic to in a subcutaneous injection. This gives the body an opportunity to respond and create antibodies in small amounts instead of a great big overreaction, histamine release, and discomfort. Old school treatments often used steroids, which still have a place in treating severe inflammations, but we try to avoid long-term steroid therapies due to potential issues with liver health, fat deposition within the abdominal cavity, and decreased clotting factors. Cytopoint is generally the most economical option for most families depending on the size of the dog.

Additional Advice from Dr. Jessica Torok

Certainly, give us a call here at Urban Vet. We're happy to chat with you more about your pet's allergy concerns. We know that fall is a really bad time, and spring as well, but fall tends to be a real hard hitter. So don't forget to continue using your flea and tick prevention throughout the season and the winter as well. We know ticks that spread Lyme disease are active every day that it's more than 32 degrees. So if you happen to get a warm day in December or January, those ticks can wake up and be extra hungry because they haven't eaten for a while. Don't let your pet be the snack. Thanks so much.

If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (630) 541-8088, or you can email us at [email protected]. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram

Dog Allergies - FAQs 1

Dr. Jessica Torok
Urban Veterinary Associates

How do we test our dogs for allergies?

So a blood test is usually done to rule out environmental allergies and determine which things could be formulated into a specific immunotherapy just for your pet.

How long does it take to get those results back?

Usually about 7 to 14 days. So we do have to send it overnight to the lab, and then once they receive that product, the blood product from your pet specifically, they'll create a menu for us so that we can choose the most common allergens that it's facing or your pet has prevalence for.

Can we give Benadryl for allergies?

You can. So Benadryl works sometimes, right? So it's not made to work in dogs, it's made to work in humans. And so sometimes we like to say that we get a benefit from Benadryl about 50% of the time. But it is a very safe medication, and it can help, especially if your patient has hives. We're certainly going to be administering some Benadryl when they come in to see us in that case.

What about medicine that's safe for dogs with allergies?

I mean, lots of medicine is safe for dogs with allergies. Sometimes we use things like Zyrtec or Claritin, we just have to be very cautious that none of those contain any decongestants or any sort of vasoconstricting medications. So things that we might think of in terms of Sudafed or Pseudoephedrine, so those sorts of medications. We use Phenylephrine, so anything like that, that would be kind of something that decongestant we want to avoid in our pets.

Are there holistic options for dogs with allergies?

Yeah, we can do acupuncture for dogs with allergies. Sometimes we do vitamin B12 injections in conjunction with acupuncture, and we happen to have a great acupuncturist just down the street from us, so we can collaborate with Dr. Annie Ubatuba over at Companion Animal Rehab and Athletics to support the patients who might want a more holistic option in terms of acupuncture or laser therapies.

When we're talking about treating allergies from a holistic standpoint, shampoos are really nice, right? We can use shampoos that have just a little bit of antiseptic in there to help decrease the surface bacteria on the skin and remove yeast or things that might be causing your pet to be itchy.

Laser therapy—we use a lot of laser therapy to treat our allergies because that cold laser therapy allows us to scan over the patient's area of inflammation and discomfort, decreasing that inflammation, improving blood flow, and helping them to heal more quickly. Different types of lesions can require multiple sessions or sequential sessions with the laser therapy, so certainly that's something you can talk to your veterinarian about.

The other thing we like to use are a lot of topical sort of applications. If we can get by with avoiding oral antibiotics, that's always the goal, but sometimes those infections are pretty deep into the skin and require something oral in addition to those topical therapies.

I think the biggest takeaway when we're talking about allergies is to know that immunotherapies like cytopoint and specific immunotherapy that can be tailored to your pet are available. We also have oral medications that can help relieve the clinical signs, including steroids or Oclicitinib, which is Apoquel, so some people like that one.

The biggest take-home, I think, is that it's not easy to identify allergies, it's not easy to treat them necessarily, and oftentimes, unfortunately, these are chronic conditions that require some maintenance multiple times and oftentimes year-round. Please, if you have any questions about treating or managing your pet's allergies, give us a call. We'd love to hear from you.