Humans aren’t the only ones vulnerable to pollen, grasses, and dust; dogs and cats can suffer from allergies too. While seasonal scratching suggests environmental allergies, there are other causes of skin irritation that may affect your pet year-round. 

Constant scratching, itching, or paw-chewing could be a sign of an allergy. There are different types of allergies that can affect dogs and cats, these include: 

If you notice your pet getting itchier around the spring and summertime, they could be reacting to a seasonal allergen such as pollen or mold. During the warmer months, these allergens are much more prevalent in the environment and increased time outside means even greater exposure for your allergic pet. 

There are also allergens your pet can breathe in year-round such as dust and human dander; symptoms will not be seasonal with allergies to these types of elements. 

Contact allergies (or contact dermatitis) can also cause itching in pets. With these types of allergies, skin irritation usually happens at “contact points,” which are the places where the animal directly touches the allergen. Common offenders include a new shampoo, room freshener, and carpet or floor cleaner. 

If your pet continuously itches throughout the year or is experiencing recurrent ear or skin infections, it is worth investigating a potential food allergy with your veterinarian. A food allergy is not always the result of eating something new. In fact, your pet can develop an allergy to something it has been eating for years. 

Unfortunately, blood tests for food allergies are not reliable; the only way to truly determine a food allergy is by performing a food trial. These take time and commitment but the long-term benefits to your pet’s health and wellbeing are worth exploring with your veterinarian. 

Some animals are particularly sensitive to flea saliva, getting very itchy and uncomfortable from just a few bites of a flea. This is called flea allergy dermatitis. With a flea allergy, you may not even see any fleas on your pet at all and instead just witness the extreme scratching reaction of your pet! 

If your dog or cat has any areas of hair loss, redness on the skin, or you see something crawling around the fur your pet could be itching due to an infestation of fleas, lice, mites, or ringworm (a fungus that can also infect people). Treating the parasites and maintaining your pet on a year-round preventative is a quick and easy way to stop your pet itching. 

It is vital to consult your veterinarian so that they can investigate the itching, and the condition can be treated accordingly. The doctor may take a blood sample to look for underlying metabolic issues, scrape the skin, or take hair samples to rule in or out potential causes of skin irritation. 

After meeting with your local vet, it is important to follow their recommendations as closely as possible and contact them if your pet’s condition fails to improve or worsens. What helps relieve itch for your friend’s pet may be useless (or even harmful) for your pet due to the multitude of different underlying causes of itch. 

Your pet’s treatment plan will be specifically tailored towards their unique diagnosis and medical history, so as tempting as it may be to reach to a quick-fix, long-term relief can only be achieved by working together with your veterinary team.