Seasonal Allergies

            Seasonal allergies tend to present in dogs as a skin problem, not so much as sneezing and runny eyes like in people. We see them in some dogs from Spring to Fall, but for the most part August and September are the worst.

            The most common presentation is a dog with itchy paws or with ear infections. Some dogs will get inflammation to the belly or the inside of the legs. Sometimes the skin gets infected because the inflammation holds the normal skin immune system back, allowing yeast or bacteria to grow. Some skin will have oozing, gooey crusts form. We call these hot spots.

            Some dogs are unlucky enough to have a food allergy add on to this, but usually it is only seasonal or environmental allergies. I usually just make sure the dog is on a good quality food to start with. If the allergies persist into the winter, then we look at the food again.

            There are some prescription diets which can help the skin be healthier and better able to withstand allergy challenges too such as Hill’s Derm Complete or Purina DRM. We carry these at Doon Animal Hospital.

            We have a lot of treatment options for allergies. It used to be that we only had Prednisone, which carries serious side effects. Now we have other medications like Apoquel tablets, or Cytopoint injections which are much safer and make everyone happier. We use a lot of medicated shampoo as well. If pet owners are able to bathe the dog weekly, I can often use far less medication.