Itchy Dog? We Can Help!

Think of how miserable it is to have a persistent itch, whether from dry skin, a bug bite, or a rash. It's hard to focus on anything other than the itch, and while scratching might provide momentary relief, it can ultimately make the itch even worse. Your dog feels just as miserable when an itch just won't quit.

Common Allergies In Dogs

There are various causes of allergies that can cause skin symptoms or digestive or respiratory issues.

Environmental Allergies

Did you know environmental allergies are more common than food allergies? Environmental dog allergies can be airborne particles in places like your home, car, backyard, neighborhood, or park. These can be inhaled allergens like dust, mold, pollen, or grasses, plants, insects or animal particles. If your dog reacts when they touch his skin it’s called atopic dermatitis. In Central Oregon we are surrounded by dust, pollen, grasses, and plants.

Seasonal Allergies

This is when your dog is only itchy at certain times of the year, usually during a change of seasons and plant growth. During Spring is when we get the most guests coming in looking for help for their itchy dog.

Food Allergies

Food allergies in dogs are common and can be a reaction to certain proteins, but dogs can become allergic to any food ingredient. Dogs can develop allergies or sensitivities to food they’ve eaten many times before (rotation, rotation, rotation! We're all about rotating proteins and brands). Allergies are when the immune system creates antibodies to trigger allergic reactions. Signs would be wheezing, skin eruptions, itching or swelling within minutes of eating. Similar to a human having a food allergy.

True food allergies are rare. But food sensitivities and intolerances are 15 times more common than allergies and can have a delayed reaction, from 7-28 days or so. Both reactions stem from a malfunctioning immune system. It’s a lengthy process to isolate the food causing the allergy or sensitivity while building the immune system. How food is cooked can also have an effect on an allergic reaction. We see this many times with dogs that have a "chicken allergy" be able to process raw chicken without a reaction.

What To Do

It takes time, but you can remove or avoid the allergens that affect your dog. But what do you do if your dog has a seasonal allergy or is allergic to something in his environment that can’t be changed?

Medications

There’s an epidemic of allergies in dogs causing them to itch, scratch and lick in response to many things, usually food related, seasonal or environmental. Many dog owners turn to allergy shots or medications for dogs as a solution, but are they?

Conventional allergy treatments include oral or injectable allergy medicines that suppress your dog’s immune reaction. And often they can cause long-term damage and additional illness from years of use that weakens the immune system. These drugs might control the symptoms but they don’t change the root cause of your dog’s allergies.

Most allergy drugs like prednisone (a steroid often given for allergies), Atopica (cyclosporine) and Apoquel or Cytopoint weaken and destroy the immune system and have even resulted in death. Cytopoint is an injectable allergy drug that’s a temporary fix with harmful side effects.

True allergy shots for dogs retrain the immune system to stop it overreacting to allergens. This kind of treatment is known as immunotherapy. It’s a series of allergy shots for dogs made specifically for each dog and given over a period of a year or more. Unlike suppressive drugs that address symptoms, immunotherapy works with your dog’s individual immune system, with the goal of eliminating the allergy over time.

Immunotherapy for dogs can be a last resort, mainly due to the cost and time commitment. But for anyone wanting to avoid dangerous medications, immunotherapy can be a viable option. If you are unable to do immunotherapy, there are other options, and that's where our expertise comes in!

Topicals

So you may try topical treatments like shampoos, rinses and salves. They may make your dog feel better… temporarily. But it goes deeper than that. Our favorite phrase for allergies is "treat internally while treating externally." What does that mean? While we treat topically to help soothe the irritation, we also need to be treating internally to try to fix what is happening inside. Skin problems in dogs aren’t just on the outside. Your dog’s skin issues are an external symptom that reflects an internal problem, so sorry to say topical solutions just aren’t enough.

Allergy Tests

Identifying what is causing the reaction is the first step to helping your pup. We get many customers that come in with a book of things their allergy test said their pet is allergic to. Unfortunately these are not as accurate as one might hope. In two separate studies (1st study, 2nd study), scientists tested both blood and saliva tests on healthy and allergic dogs and the tests could not reliably distinguish between the healthy and allergic dogs. Both studies concluded that the use of these blood and saliva tests could result in the false identification of a lot of common foods as allergens. While diet elimination is difficult to do correctly, both studies concluded it remains the best option that we have for diagnosis of food allergies in pets.

Elimination Diet

The most effective way to determine if your dog is suffering from a food allergy or sensitivity is by using an elimination diet. By feeding a specific protein rather than a mixture of them, it becomes easier to rule out the ones that disagree with your pet. The easiest way to start an elimination diet is with a low-glycemic, single-protein diet, or a raw food diet. This also means cutting the treats, the human food, and looking at supplements, shampoos, and things they come in contact with like laundry detergents, cleaners, etc. At Local Paws we make an elimination diet easy, offering a wide variety of foods and treats with single proteins, low-glycemic, and limited ingredients. We have helped many of our customers (and our own pets) find what works with our recommendations from years of extensive nutrition training.

Once we land on a food that works for your pet is when we start to add one thing at a time back into their diet. If we throw too much at it all at once, figuring out what worked and didn't work becomes impossible to tell. While it may seem to some too lengthy of a process, the elimination diet can actually be much safer, healthier, more accurate, and less expensive than going other routes.

Supplements

Omega-3 oils can help reinforce the skin’s barrier, reduce inflammation, and can be helpful for all types of allergies in addition to chronic issues including skin, joint and cardiac problems. If we are dealing with a possible protein allergy we don't necessarily want to go right to a fish oil supplement.

Remedies like natural antihistamines for dogs can help your dog’s body maintain a healthy immune response to allergens in his food and environment. Then you can get to the root of the problem and resolve skin health from the inside. By bringing your dog’s organs and immune function into balance, you’ll promote his overall health, and not just manage his allergies superficially.

Allergies are an improper immune response to a substance in your dog’s environment or food. It could be pollen, mold, dust or chemical pollutants, or something in your dog’s food like wheat, corn, soy, or a protein he’s sensitive to. And when your dog absorbs that substance through his nose, mouth, lungs, or digestive system, something that’s normally harmless can trigger the release of histamine, causing allergic responses like inflammation and itching. 

Histamine is part of the immune system that causes allergy symptoms, like itching, skin irritation, sneezing or even digestive problems like diarrhea. Antihistamines block the histamine response and can stop the allergic reaction.

That’s why vets often prescribe drugs like Benadryl – an over the counter antihistamine. Antihistamine drugs may suppress symptoms temporarily, but they don’t get to the root of the problem to stop your dog’s body from reacting. And Benadryl isn’t safe for your dog, especially long term usage.

But there are natural remedies that can support your dog’s body and help stop the histamine response. Our three we like to recommend and have had the most positive results:

Quercetin - Quercetin is known as “Nature’s Benadryl” because of its proven ability to turn off histamine production and control inflammation. Research shows quercetin helps manage cellular responses associated with inflammation, and that helps reduce itching.

Quercetin also helps block mast cells, which are immune cells that trigger allergic reactions, as well as inflammatory diseases, including dermatitis.

While respiratory allergic reactions are less of a problem with dogs, people who get asthma attacks find they breathe easier with quercetin, because it dilates the bronchial tubes.

Our favorite supplement with quercetin, InClover's BioResiliant. This also contains Turkey Tail Mushroom (anti-inflammatory), Bromelain (respiratory and immune support), and Mangosteen (antihistamine and respiratory).

Nettles - Nettles are also known as “stinging nettles” because of the itchy rash they cause when they touch your skin. The reason for that rash is that nettles actually contain histamines. But studies show that when nettles are taken internally, they stimulate the body to protect itself from allergens. Nettles also contain natural quercetin, boosting the anti-allergy effects.

One theory is Nettle’s allergenic activities may mimic or slow the release of histamines in the body. Another theory is that they trigger an immune response that strengthens the body proactively to reduce the allergic reaction.

Our personal favorite nettle supplement, Green Juju's Just Greens Powder and Frozen Blend.

Mushrooms - Mushrooms contain L-theanine which has calming effects to help moderate your dog’s histamine response to help relieve allergy symptoms. Research also shows it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and supports healthy immune function. Any skin problem in your dog is the result of chronic inflammation and an improper immune response, so these are essential properties when it comes to resolving allergies in dogs.

Our favorite mushroom supplements are Real Mushrooms (available in store, coming soon online) and Super Snouts Super Shrooms.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don't worry, we've been there too. Come in and talk with one of our knowledgeable team members to help guide you and find a solution for your pet's itching.