Health
Claws on the belly at midnight, paws licked red, an ear infection every summer. Behind the word "allergy" sit at least three diseases, each with its own plan.
Caution. A red, wet patch spreading from one hour to the next, a muzzle or eyelids swollen suddenly, lumps on the body after a sting or a medicine, scratching to the point of bleeding that will not stop, or someone in the house with spots on their skin: ring your own vet today. If he is struggling to breathe, leave now.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
It is eleven at night and the dog is scratching next to the bed. Again. That rhythm of claws on belly has kept you awake for a week, and in the morning his front paws are wet and red from licking. Your picture may be different: a two-year-old who chews his paws and gets an ear infection every year from April to October and is perfectly well in winter. Or a dog who scratches his ears and his rear end whatever the month, and has loose stools on top. People file all three under one word, "allergy". To your vet they are three different diseases with signs that look alike and plans that do not: fleas, an allergy to something in the environment and a reaction to food. This page tells you what you can observe at home, when the itching cannot wait until tomorrow, what the road to a diagnosis looks like and what not to try on your own. The road is long. That is exactly why it is worth starting properly, once.
Ordinary itching is a problem measured in weeks and you deal with it with an appointment. The situations below are different: with any of them, you ring your own vet the same day.
For skin there is no blood test that says "allergic to X", job done, off you go. The diagnosis is made by ruling things out: parasites first, then infections, then food, and what is left at the end is environmental allergy. Each step takes weeks. A skipped step costs months, and it usually gets skipped because nobody wrote anything down. Your diary is what stops the vet skipping any of them.
How much he scratches. Every evening, a number from 0 (not at all) to 10 (almost constantly, waking from sleep to scratch). It is subjective and that does not matter: what matters is the same person, evening after evening, with the same scale in their head. After two weeks you have a trend, and the vet can see whether a treatment is changing anything or only seems to be.
Where. Paws (licking, chewing, digging between the toes), face (rubbing his muzzle on the carpet), ears, armpits, belly, groin, base of the tail and back, around the anus. Draw a dog on a sheet of paper and put an X wherever he scratches. That map says a lot. Base of the tail and lower back point to fleas. Paws, face, ears, armpits, belly point to environmental allergy. Ears plus the area under the tail, all year, with soft stools, point to food. Ear edges and elbows, to mange.
When. Does it start in spring and end in autumn, or run all year? Is it worse after a walk through grass, after a bath, in the evening in bed, after a particular meal? How old was he when it started: around one, or past seven? Is it worse in the carpeted flat and better in the countryside?
Fleas. Stand the dog on a white towel and run a fine-toothed comb through the coat, especially along the back towards the tail. Whatever falls out black goes onto wet paper. If it turns reddish-brown, it is digested blood, in other words flea dirt, and the dog has fleas even though you have never seen one. A dog allergic to flea saliva itches horribly from one bite a week, and he licks the flea itself off before you get a look at it. Note which parasite protection he is on, since when, and whether every animal in the house has had it.
Food. Everything that goes in his mouth, no exceptions: the food, the training treats, the leftovers, the toothpaste, the flavoured medicines, what the children and the grandparents slip him under the table. Without this list the elimination diet later on cannot be done properly. With it, it can.
The skin. Photos once a week, in the same light, of the same areas. Redness, crusts, spots, hairless patches, skin thickened and darkened where the itch is old, smell, rust-coloured staining from saliva on white paws.
The house and the others. New detergent, new carpet, building work, a room fragrance, a new plant, another animal, a house move. And whether anyone else is scratching: the other dog, the cat, the people.
At our summer training sessions we see the same picture again and again. The dog licks his paws in the car after a trail through tall grass, and the person at the other end of the line is convinced he cut himself on something. Only at the third session in a row, with the same licked paws, does the penny drop that it is something else. Most of the time it is a pollen allergy.
| Cause | Where he usually scratches | When | Other clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleas (allergy to their saliva) | Base of the tail, back towards the tail, thighs | Worse in summer and autumn; in a heated home, all year | Flea dirt on wet paper; other animals in the house scratching too |
| Mange (mites burrowing into the skin) | Ear edges, elbows, hocks, belly | Any time; sudden start | Violent itch; people in the house with red spots |
| Environmental allergy (atopy) | Paws, face, ears, armpits, belly, groin | Seasonal at first, then all year; starts between 6 months and 3 years | Ear infections that keep returning; worse after grass |
| Adverse food reaction | Ears, area around the anus, paws; sometimes everywhere | All year, whatever the season | Soft stools, wind, several stools a day; can start at any age |
| Infection on top (bacteria, yeast) | Folds, between the toes, belly, neck | On top of any allergy | Smell, greasy skin, crusts, intense redness |
| Contact dermatitis | Belly, paws, muzzle: thinly haired areas that touch something | After a carpet, a detergent, a plant | Rare; disappears with the contact |
| Hairless patches with no itch, in a puppy | Face, paws | Any time | A normal skin mite that has multiplied; not an allergy |
Before you leave, ask two things: what the next step is if the plan does not work, and when the two of you will decide that.
The diary and the photos. The fine comb, once a week, on the white towel. Parasite protection up to date, for every animal in the house. Paws rinsed with clean water and dried after a walk through grass, especially in pollen season. Bedding washed hot. And nothing else without the vet.
A well-managed allergic dog has good seasons and a few flare-ups a year, and that is all. One treated from the kitchen cupboard has, by five, thick black skin on his belly and a file with ten ear infections in it. You travel the long road once; if you do not yet have a regular vet to travel it with you, our related services page explains how to choose a practice.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
Dermatitis means inflamed skin: red, warm, itchy, sometimes with crusts, spots or hairless patches. The word describes what you see, not why you see it. Behind it may sit fleas, mites, an allergy to something in the environment, a reaction to food or an infection that appeared on top of the scratching. The vet works it out from where the lesions are, the season and a few simple tests taken from the skin on the spot.
Three. Allergy to flea saliva; allergy to something in the environment, meaning pollen, house dust mites or moulds, which vets call atopic dermatitis; and adverse food reaction, as a rule to an animal protein the dog has eaten for years. Grains are rarely to blame. The signs look so alike that you cannot guess from the skin; they are ruled out one at a time, with your own vet.
Because on a flea-allergic dog you do not see them: one bite a week is enough, and he licks the flea off before you spot it. A fine comb and wet paper see better than the eye. If that test is negative too and his protection is up to date, next come mites, infections, food and environmental allergy, in that order, step by step, with your own vet.
Itching from a sting or a chance contact clears in a few days. Itching that lasts more than two weeks, comes back every year or gets worse does not clear by itself. Every week of scratching thickens the skin, darkens it and adds an infection that needs treatment of its own. A two-week diary, with one number per evening, tells you which category you are in.
It depends on the cause. Flea allergy is kept fully under control with strict protection, all year, for every animal in the house. A food reaction disappears for as long as the guilty protein stays out of the bowl. Environmental allergy is not cured, but it is kept under control for years, with a plan made together with the vet; the dog has good seasons and a few flare-ups a year.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
The wet slurping every evening, rusty paws, a bald patch on the wrist. Licking is a symptom, and "he's bored" is the diagnosis that comes last, not first.
A hard bead with legs on his neck after the woods, or black specks on the sofa that turn red when wet. Both can be sorted out, and neither with oil or garlic.
Head shaking, scratching until he yelps, a yeasty smell. The ear is where it shows, the cause is usually elsewhere, and last time's drops will not find it.
Tufts on the sofa are one thing. Round patches, bald flanks or a dog scratching himself raw are something else. Here is how to tell them apart.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.