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Is your pet feeling itchy? Have you noticed them scratching more than usual? The warmer months of spring and summer are prime time for seasonal allergies for people AND pets. It's common to see dogs scratching more than usual this time of year. While this is often attributed to an allergy, your veterinarian can determine the specific cause and recommend a treatment plan to help relieve your itchy pet.

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What is canine atopic dermatitis? Also referred to as an "environmental allergy," it develops because of a genetic defect in the immune system. This defect causes an abnormal response in the body to various environmental triggers like pollen and plants. The skin can also be affected, making it more permeable to these environmental allergens.

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While seasonal allergies can affect both people and dogs, our immune systems react quite differently. People typically inhale allergens and in turn, develop symptoms like runny noses, but dogs tend to absorb allergens through their skin, which results in a cascade of events that cause itching and inflamed skin.

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Clinical signs of allergies in dogs can include itchy paws, ears (or recurrent ear infections), armpits and abdomen. Depending on the specific allergen, the itching may be seasonal or non-seasonal, and usually begins around 1-3 years of age. If you notice any of these signs in your dog, contact the clinic at [INSERT CLINIC PHONE NUMBER] to schedule an appointment for an exam to pinpoint the cause and get your best friend feeling better.

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In addition to excessive scratching, if your dog is licking or chewing their paws that could also be a sign of allergies or other conditions like bacterial or yeast infections, parasites, food allergies, contact reactions, claw disease, or even neurologic sensations from orthopedic problems. A visit to your veterinarian can help determine the underlying cause and appropriate treatment plan. Give us a call at [INSERT CLINIC PHONE NUMBER] to schedule an exam.

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Short term treatment for atopic dermatitis includes controlling the itch as well as preventing or managing any secondary infections that may occur from a defective skin barrier. These therapies can include an array of topical and oral medications.

For a longer-term option, "allergy vaccines" are developed based on allergy testing and can result in hyposensitization through the administration of progressively increasing concentration of allergens. Over time, this can result in clinical remission of allergies. If you'd like to learn more about allergy vaccines and if they might be right for your dog, reach out to our clinic at [INSERT CLINIC PHONE NUMBER] to schedule an appointment.

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Though you can't see them, your dog's skin is home to bacteria that reside on both the surface of the skin and in the hair follicles. These bacteria typically don't cause a problem in dogs with healthy skin and immune responses, which prevent bacterial overgrowth and skin infections. However, certain triggers like allergic skin disease, hormonal diseases, parasitic diseases, and fungal diseases can compromise the skin barrier and lead to secondary bacterial skin infections.

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The most common trigger for secondary bacterial skin infections in dogs is allergic skin disease, caused by hypersensitivity to environmental allergens, food proteins, or parasites. The allergic process damages the protective skin barrier, which allows bacteria to grow and create infection.

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Bacterial skin infections can look different depending on your dog's type of haircoat. Classic bacterial infections in the active inflammatory phase are characterized by reddened bumps, but as the infection progresses, the bumps expand and rupture. This can cause crusting, hair loss and scaly circular lesions to develop and ultimately, more scale and hyperpigmentation may occur as the infection moves across the trunk. Sometimes, bacterial infections can be very non-inflammatory and can have just scale along with waxy or greasy discharge on the surface of the skin.

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In cases of allergies, simply managing secondary bacterial infections with oral and topical antimicrobial therapies can reduce the overall levels of itching and allow for therapy for allergic skin disease to be more effective in managing the primary disorder. If you've noticed your pet scratching more than usual or seems "itchier" than usual, contact the clinic to make an appointment for an evaluation.

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Has your dog been frequently shaking his head or scratching his ears? These could be signs of a condition known as otitis externa, an infection of the outer ear canal caused by many different primary and secondary disorders. Recurrent infections can cause changes in the ears-- including thickening of the walls of the canal, proliferation of the wax-producing glands, and narrowing of the canal. If you've noticed your dog repeatedly shaking his head, scratching his ears, or showing other signs of discomfort, contact our clinic at [INSERT CLINIC PHONE NUMBER] to schedule an examination.

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Just like people, dogs get ear infections too! Infections occur when there is an overgrowth of bacteria or yeast from the buildup of wax and dead skin cells. Normal ear wax is thin, watery, and odorless, and healthy ears have a self-cleaning mechanism that keeps ears clean and prevents wax from building up. However, various conditions, like allergic skin disease, can cause dogs to lose this self-cleaning mechanism and allow for the buildup of wax and an overgrowth of bacteria and yeast to occur.

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Even though your dog's ears are naturally supposed to clean themselves, sometimes the self-cleaning mechanism doesn't function properly, and you may need to use ear cleaners to maintain the normality of the ear canal. Not all ear cleaners are created equally. Every ear is different, and cleaners should be chosen based on the type of discharge and wax in the canal along with the predominant organisms found in the ear. An exam by your veterinarian is needed to recommend the appropriate ear cleaner and topical therapy that will be most effective.