Affected dogs react to a variety of inhalants including house dust, feathers, grass, tree and weed pollen. Moulds often cause allergies and occur all year long. They produce a vast number of small spores that outnumber even the pollen in the air. This is especially hard on owners of hunting dogs as the allergy causes immediate reaction of wheezing, coughing, chewing at the feet and discharge in the eyes. More often though, inhalant allergies will show up as they affect the skin.
Dogs develop itchiness, hair loss and hives in the groin, flanks and armpits.
Many dogs rub their faces on the furniture to relieve the itching and inflammation on the face and ears. Antibiotics are needed to combat the infections and testing can be done to determine which allergies affect your dog. Veterinary dermatologists usually rely on skin tests to confirm the diagnosis and to identify specific allergens to which the dog is allergic. Skin testing involves shaving the hair off the dog's side, then injecting minute amounts of allergy extracts of various compounds known to cause allergy. The skin is examined at 15 minutes and again at 30 minutes.