Dogs get lots of the same health problems their people do, and dog skin allergies is a common one. Allergy refers to an overly sensitive reaction to something which is an allergen. Antigen is another word describing a material that your dog is allergic to. Dogs can have a particular allergy from birth or have it emerge at a later age and can almost appear overnight. The most common antigen for canines is the saliva coming tiny fleas.
The largest difference between dogs versus people allergies is that people usually show symptoms with runny, itchy noses and eyes, while your average four legged friend will have dog skin allergies. Although flea saliva is very rampant as an antigen, there are other major causes. They can be divided between five main classes.
Dermatitis caused by a non-nutritional diet can make your poor dogs skin really itchy. If a canine is kept on a lose-weight diet for longer than 3 weeks without supplements, or if it’s fed poor-quality dog food, its skin may develop dry, flaky and itchy patches. You might never know under that fur coat, if not for the dog scratching incessantly or acting a little ‘crazy’.
Luckily, dermatitis caused by poor nutritional intake is easily remedied by buying a better standard of food. If using diet food, take a 1 day break per week and treat your dog to a high grade food. Dog vitamins may also be called for.
Carefully read the instructions or speak to a veterinarian.
Next is Atopic Dermatitis, competing for 1st place with the allergy to flea saliva problem. But Atopic dermatitis most likely will start from birth. It is dog skin allergies stemming from air-borne allergens like dust/pollen in the air, mold, or other aggravating substances floating around in the air.
Also called atopy, it usually will cause an affected dog to lick or chew at their paws and try to scratch their faces, sometimes by running their head along the ground. They may scratch at their eyes and/or ears. This can appear and disappear, letting them look fine one minute but the next acting semi-crazy from the itchy feel.
Now comes the least favorite for dog lovers to deal with, the parasitic dermatitis. Besides fleas, there may be chiggers/deer-flies/mites in your area. Sometimes ticks can cause dog skin allergies to flare, but not as often.
Two kinds of mites, Sarcoptic and Cheyletiella, are extra bad for those dogs affected. Very inflamed skin with intense itch and tiny scabs would indicate these mites, and is well-known as scabies or mange. Noticeably this skin problem mainly affects the dogs face and two front legs/paws.
Another occasional cause of dog skin allergies is called Neurogenic dermatitis. It’s really more mentally caused perhaps by separation anxiety from its mother, frustration from boredom or too long of confinement, or a tiny sore that the dog becomes hyper-aware of. Neurogenic (or nervous disorder) is diagnosed for persistent scratching/biting/rubbing of a certain area for no apparent reason. The dog may even cause its own minor injury that never heals.
Seemingly these are dog skin allergies but in reality are not. Sometimes a veterinarian will call this condition Lick Granuloma or Acral Lick Dermatitis.