My dog is itchy. How to tell if it's food or environmental allergies?

The most common sign of a food allergy in dogs is persistent, intense itching. Similarly, food allergies can lead to ear infections and recurrent skin infections. Unless a dog’s diet is changed seasonally, food allergies tend to result in year-round itching, whereas environmental allergies wax and wane throughout the year.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. This could be either environmental or food related. Unfortunately, it is not specific to any of those possibilities. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Poor guy. It sounds like Bruce has skin allergies. Allergic dermatitis can be caused by something in his food or the environment, or both. THe top food allergens are chicken, beef, turkey and lamb, so these protein sources should be avoided. Its best to go with novel proteins such as rabbit, duck, kangaroo, etc. Here is a website link that talks about skin allergies more in detail. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951973 I would then consider starting a food trial with him with prescription foods from your vet. However, since a food trial can take 2-3 months to show improvement its best to take him to your vet to start allergy medication (i.e. Apoquel, Cytopoint) to help calm his skin down immediately while we try to implement long term management treatments. My top hypoallergenic foods are Royal Canin Rabbit and Potato, Royal Canin ultamino and Hll's Z/D ultra. Best of luck with Bruce and his itchy skin and eyes! Take care.

For food allergies, the best test is a food trial in which your dog doesn't eat any of a particular food for 3 months, and then if the allergy symptoms go away, you feed the old food again, and if the symptoms come back with the old food, it means she was indeed allergic to the food you were testing. As far as environmental allergies, there isn't a clear conscience on what the best test is. It can either be a blood test or a skin test. I think most dermatologist still recommend the skin test as best, but it does require going to a dermatologist and having her off steroids for some number of days (the amount depends on the particular dermatologist). I would also recommend checking with a dermatologist to make sure it's ok for her to be on steroids when you do the blood testing if you go that way. The results of either type of test for environmental allergies are used to make shots to help the body learn to react less to the allergens. This takes several months to a year. Wishing you the best of luck!!

Skin allergies can be due to environmental allergens such as pollen, or flea allergy, as well as food allergies. However, food allergies are the most rare of the causes. It is also possible that Mitu has a secondary bacterial or yeast infection as well- they are very common sequelae to skin allergies. A soothing oatmeal based shampoo may bring some comfort while you are trying to get in to see the veterinarian.

I would not try a vegan diet with Toughy. It is not nutritionally appropriate for dogs. I would recommend talking to your veterinarian to see if you can get something called Apoquel or Cytopoint where you are. These are great allergy medications that helps tremendously. It most likely is environmental allergies. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there! Thanks for letting us help you today! Yes, I absolutely recommend that you have Halo tested for environmental allergies. You have done a great job so far in ruling out the other two. This will help identify the type of allergens she may be allergic too and get the right therapy for her. I can tell you from experience that even though the journey of finding out the type of allergy is frustrating, it is so worth it at the when they start feeling better. Good luck!