Headline : Why So Many Dogs Have Allergies Now

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Every day, itchy dogs shuffle into Elizabeth Falk’s veterinary office. Some can’t stop chewing their feet or scratching their bellies. Others have red, smelly ears, or rashes on their skin. All are intensely uncomfortable because of environmental allergies. “They’re sitting in the waiting room, and everyone else is backing away out of fear that it’s contagious,” she says. “It’s super busy helping as many as we can.” Until recently, Falk was a veterinary dermatologist at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists, where she saw about 15 allergic pets a day and was booked up to six months out. Demand is so high that in April, she’ll open her own pet dermatology practice.

More and more dogs are suffering from atopic dermatitis, otherwise known as environmental allergies: According to a 2018 report from Banner Pet Hospital—the latest U.S. numbers on the subject—there’s been a 30% increase in cases over the past 10 years. In 2021, a teaching hospital in Brazil reported that 25% of dogs they examined suffered from allergies. Though dog allergies aren’t consistently tracked, anecdotally, they’re soaring. “Allergic skin disease is probably the top thing we see,” says Erin Tate, vice president of clinical development at CityVet in Dallas. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years and have definitely seen a dramatic increase in recent years.” Dogs with environmental allergies tend to be “miserable,” she adds, sometimes scratching so aggressively that their hair falls out. Spring is a particularly trying time. “I tell people that if your allergies are flaring up, your dog’s allergies are flaring up, too,” Tate says.

But what’s driving the increase in itchiness? And what helps relieve allergic dogs’ agony?

There’s a strong genetic component to atopic dermatitis, Falk says. Certain breeds are prone to them, including German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, English Bulldogs, West Highland Terriers, Shih Tzus, pitbulls, pugs, and Boxers. Allergies look different in different breeds. German Shepherds, for example, tend to get crusts around their lips, Falk points out, while labs develop bumps between their toes.

Read more from the original article on here at time.com.

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