Allergy testing and desensitization are a developing science and show some promise for managing allergies without depending on steroids. Flea Allergy Fleas are a common source of skin allergies in the dog. Before a female flea can reproduce, she needs take a blood meal from a host. Most commonly this is a dog or cat, but any mammal will do. When she bites the animal, she injects saliva into the skin so she can drink the blood.
Some animals are extremely sensitive to flea saliva.
Once they are bitten and start itching they are at increased risk for a secondary bacterial skin infection. The key to treating Flea Allergy is to get rid of the fleas. There are very effective medications that have been recently developed. Your veterinarian can recommend which one would be most effective for your pet. Sometimes it is also necessary to use steroids to give the pet relief from the flea allergy.