Environmental Allergies for Dogs Are Getting Worse

A State of Pet Health Report from Banfield Pet Hospital reported a 30.7 percent increase in environmental allergies in dogs over a decade. That study was released six years ago. Today, most veterinarians agree that canine allergies have gotten even worse. Climate change (in addition to genetics and other environmental factors) is believed to shoulder much of the blame. This uptick in allergens may impact your pet’s health, your day-to-day routines, not to mention your finances. 

“Current data is still almost nine or 10 years old. Without being a climate scientist, I think that’s a very realistic concern…allergens are becoming more prevalent with these changes in weather,” says Dr. Trenton Ewing, DVM DACVD, of the Animal Dermatology Clinic in Pasadena, California. “I used to have a couple of months where my appointment book was lighter, but now our allergic season is earlier and going longer. More severe weather events can have pretty significant impacts, especially when we’re talking about wildfires, which have significantly caused a lot of our patients’ allergies to flare up.” 

Translation: It is more important than ever for new pet parents to be aware of canine allergies, which can escalate more quickly than you’d think. With that in mind, any cuddle session is a terrific excuse to inspect your pup for itching and inflammation. As for a financial safety net? It’s imperative to snag insurance well before any allergies occur — and while looking for insurance, to be aware of companies that exclude coverage of allergies or skin diseases, have blackout periods, and/or come with high deductibles.

Canines are frequently allergic to the same stuff as humans (grasses, trees, weeds, dust mites, and other typical offenders), but their symptoms tend to be more skin-related than respiratory. “The most common symptoms of an environmental allergy in the dog are going to be skin itching, irritation, infection — you know, self-traumatic behavior, scratching, itching, licking, chewing, ear infections are quite common,” Dr. Ewing says. “They can develop allergic asthma, as an example, but we don’t tend to see as much of that.” With climate change, these environmental allergens are thought to hang out, and move around, in the air for much longer. So he encourages pet parents to keep an eye on the skin around a dog’s paws, muzzles, and groin area (and other spots with sparser hair), all of which have greater contact with the ground beneath them. You can also ask your vet to conduct a skin test, blood allergy test, or geology test to single out any environmental allergies. 

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If a reaction is extreme or persistent, get your dog to a vet posthaste. But if it’s not, there is a wealth of affordable options you can try first. Dr. Ewing is a fan of the national allergy map created by Stallergens Greer, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in allergy immunotherapy for humans and their pets, that lists allergens near you. You, in turn, can use that information to avoid possible triggers or implement barriers between your dog and the ground they’re walking on (think: booties, body suits, and such). If your dog has environmental allergies, he suggests also cleaning paws or body areas with wipes after walks, alongside some at-home solutions, such as vacuuming and running air filters. 

We know you are madly in love with your new bestie and want to protect them, but remember: Everything in moderation. “Excessive hygiene at home…can predispose dogs to the development of allergies in the future,” he says. “It’s similar to human medicine’s hygiene hypothesis, where you need some exposure to your environmental contaminants and some activation of that immune system to ensure that it ultimately operates normally.” (If you’re not clear on what he means, watch the movie The Aviator, which chronicles Howard Hughes’ tragic decline in health due to germaphobia.) This means you shouldn’t attempt to protect your dog by keeping them indoors more than normal. Let your dog be a dog — it’s physically and mentally good for them.

It may also be worth looking into DIY topical therapies to hydrate your dog’s skin. You can try weekly oatmeal baths (just avoid blow-drying, which dries the skin) or other “spa” treatments that involve dog-dermis-safe oils. If that isn’t working, consult your vet about using other skin-calming products at home such as Dermoscent or Atopivet (both of which Dr. Ewing recommends) or over-the-counter Benadryl (just know that proper dosing is key for antihistamines).

With all of that said, you should also mind your dog’s diet. Make sure it is nourishing and rich in antioxidants. But this doesn’t mean you have to go broke to keep your pup healthy. “You see a lot of advertisements for very specific diets that cost hundreds of dollars a month. You aren't going to get as much mileage out of that, necessarily,” Dr. Ewing says. “If you want to even do some of those things at home without going to the trouble getting, like, a prescription diet, just supplementing with fish oils and essential fatty acids does have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin. There is some evidence that also suggests — although the link is not as clear in dogs — that probiotics can be helpful.” He also points out that other supplements, such as Redonyl’s Ultra, may help a bit in reducing inflammation, but nixes CBD for skin issues because it could impact a dog’s liver.

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Now, let’s say you’ve exhausted these options, and your pup’s environmental allergy is persisting or accelerating at an unsettling rate — resulting in redness, wounds, or infections. Don’t beat yourself up over this, just get professional help immediately. “I've certainly had owners where, you know, the dog was fine one night and then two or three days later, they’re covered in an infection, very severely affected,” Dr. Ewing says, “and was not because those pet owners were negligent in any way.” However, if you don’t visit the vet, that lack of treatment may result in long-term, irreversible medical issues, or even skin cancer. And no one wants that.

The vet will do some screenings and lab work to triangulate the issue — just to rule out things like hormonal imbalances, parasites, as well as food allergies. At this point, you’re dog may need some drug therapy. Don’t fear the pharma. Except in extenuating circumstances, these treatments are quite safe. As a quick, temporary fix, your dog may get steroids to stop itching.  After that, the doctor may prescribe an immunosuppressive drug such as a cyclosporine capsule (works slower, but offers better inflammation control), an Apoquell tablet (works much quicker, with lesser inflammation control), or a newer drug such as the Cytopoint (or CADI) injectible which is a more targeted anti-inflammation monoclonal antibody. After (or before) any serious symptoms have been treated, there are more long-term at-home or in-clinic immunotherapy options (aka allergy injections or drops) to look into as well. 

If there’s one parting thought Dr. Ewing would like to impart, it’s that treating your dog’s allergies is important, but their quality of life should be what you’re actually addressing. “When dogs are undergoing therapy, we don’t necessarily strive for absolute perfection. If your goal is absolute elimination of every symptom, you’ll often end up over-medicating or undergoing unnecessary procedures.” This is not healthy for your dog, so take a moment to step into their paws, if you will. “You have to have a sense of, ‘Well, what's a tolerable level of itch and irritation?’ If we do our job as best we can as, realistically, we want them to still have normal dog experiences.”