Allergies in Dogs
Just like people, dogs can also suffer from allergies. An allergy is a disease in which the pet’s immune system overreacts to everyday, harmless substances. Your pet can be exposed to these substances, known as allergens, through inhalation or ingestion, but most commonly through direct contact between the skin and an allergen.
This overreaction (or sensitivity) is caused by a hereditary disorder of the immune system, but it can also develop over time through repeated exposure to a particular allergen. Substances that cause allergies include pollen, house dust mites, moulds, skin flakes, insects, and food ingredients.
How do I know if my pet has an allergy?
Allergies are common in animals. One in five pets suffers from some form of allergy.
Unfortunately, many of them are not diagnosed or treated because the symptoms may be mistaken for behavioural problems. The most common symptoms are itching and scratching. Licking and chewing the paws and rubbing the face against the floor or furniture are also common. It is important to know how to determine whether your pet has an allergy.
Common Types of Allergy in Dogs
The most common allergies in dogs are atopy (an environmental allergy), food allergy, and flea allergy. Atopy is the most common form, affecting approximately 15% of all dogs. The first symptoms usually appear before the age of three, although the condition can also occur in older dogs.
Any dog can develop atopy, but certain breeds are at greater risk. These include the Lhasa Apso, Schnauzer, Boxer, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Poodle, West Highland White Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier, Fox Terrier, Cocker Spaniel, Dalmatian, Bulldog, English Setter, Irish Setter, and Chihuahua.
What steps should I take to find out if my pet has an allergy?
- Step 1: Not all itching and scratching are caused by allergies. Other diseases can cause similar symptoms. Therefore, we first try to rule out all other possible causes, such as fleas, mange, and infections.
- Step 2: If the allergy symptoms persist after these causes have been ruled out or treated, the next step is to rule out a food allergy by feeding a special diet for a period of 8–10 weeks.
- Step 3: If food is not the problem, environmental allergens can be investigated using the PAX blood test.
This is important because without knowing which allergens are causing the problem, it is impossible to avoid them or treat your pet effectively.
Food Allergy
The most common allergens responsible for food allergies in dogs are proteins found in beef, chicken, wheat, and milk products. The food may have been part of your dog’s diet for a long time before symptoms develop.
The only way to determine whether your pet has a food allergy is through a food elimination trial. For this purpose, your pet is fed a special diet exclusively for a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks. In this diet, the proteins have been specially processed (hydrolysed) so that your pet’s immune system no longer recognises them as substances that require an immune response.
If the symptoms are indeed caused by a food allergy, you should notice that symptoms such as itching and skin irritation gradually decrease or disappear during this period.
After the elimination phase, the original food can be reintroduced to determine whether the symptoms return. This helps confirm the diagnosis of a food allergy.
Environmental Allergy
If the elimination trial shows that your dog does not have a food allergy, the next step is to investigate possible allergens in the environment. Many dogs with allergies react to substances they inhale or come into contact with on a daily basis. Common environmental allergens include grasses, pollens from trees, shrubs and weeds, house dust mites, storage mites, insects, moulds, and yeasts.
In theory, the best way to treat an allergy is to avoid contact with the allergens that cause the symptoms. In practice, however, this is often not feasible, especially when dealing with allergens that naturally occur in the environment, such as pollen or mites.
With the PAX blood test, we can determine which environmental allergens your dog reacts to. This test identifies the substances to which your dog’s immune system is hypersensitive and therefore forms an important step in creating a targeted treatment plan. If the blood test clearly shows which allergens your dog reacts to, the next step is to start immunotherapy. This involves creating a customised treatment containing small amounts of the allergens to which your dog is allergic. By administering these allergens in a controlled manner, the immune system gradually learns to react less strongly to them.
The goal of immunotherapy is to reduce the allergic response and therefore address the underlying cause of the symptoms. Unlike many medications, which mainly suppress symptoms such as itching, immunotherapy aims to make the immune system less sensitive to the allergens responsible for your dog’s allergy.
As a result, symptoms may decrease significantly over the long term and, in some cases, may even disappear almost completely, leading to greater comfort and a better quality of life for your dog.
