Is your dog itching and scratching incessantly or licking and chewing his or her paws? Does your dog have itchy ears, orange-stained legs/paws, a blotchy tummy or other mysterious skin issues?

If any of those dog allergy symptoms sound familiar, you're not alone. Most dogs and dog parents deal with allergic reactions like these at some point, or worse, repeatedly.

Questions about itchy dogs are among the most frequent I get as a clinical canine nutritionist. Let's talk about allergens that can cause a whole range of itchy skin conditions and what you can do about them to relieve itching, address the root causes, and get your dog back to being well and happy.

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"Itchy" allergic reactions in dogs

True pet allergies most often show up with an allergic reaction through a dog's skin, everywhere from paws to around eyes and ears. Allergic dermatitis is frustrating and painful for us as dog parents because we know with every itch, our dogs are miserable.

5 environmental allergens to be aware of to start (there are more, but a good base of usual suspects):

(1) The ubiquitous dust mites

Unfortunately, everyone has them. Everywhere. We and our pets can both be allergic to this unseen pest and common pet allergy trigger. They feed on human dead skin cells/pet dander and are most prevalent in bedding, carpets, upholstered furnishings. Reducing their presence helps, so dusting, vacuuming, washing bedding (including dog beds) as often as possible (with natural cleaning products to avoid additional skin allergies) is important for everyone's health.

(2) Seasonal allergies - pollens

Flowers, usually strongest in spring; trees, usually spring/summer; grass, most often fall. Make a note if you see your dog have a flare-up with a specific exposure to be watchful for the future - AND wiping your dog's paws and face/nose area after being outside can help immensely.

(3) Other seasonal airborne allergens

If your neighbors are using toxins/allergens on their lawns, spraying in their trees, etc, it becomes part of everyone's air. At least you can avoid walking on any grass and other public grounds that might have pesticides or herbicides to keep them off your dog's paws. (Courteous advocacy with any public/corporate spaces for better practices can be much more likely to be successful now with generally raised awareness. Neighbors can be trickier but well worth a try in a positive way!)

(4) Storage mites

They are likely in any bag of kibble you buy, period. They're often present in any kind of stored grain or legume, increasing with shelf storage time, and known to be a frequent contributor to dog allergies. If you are feeding dry food, watch for any holes/tears in the bag and keep it stored in airtight containers, better yet in daily or weekly portions in your freezer.

(5) FLEAS!

Fleas are the big allergen to rule out first. They multiply quickly and are notoriously hard to get rid of, so you want to catch them at the very first sign. Your dog's itchy skin and sometimes painfully irritated skin due to fleas happens when your dog's immune system responds to their bites and flea saliva with an allergic reaction called flea allergy dermatitis, even leading to secondary bacterial infections in some cases.

Try this

My PSA to dog parents - Flea comb your pets regularly, once a week or at least once a month. It's the only way you know if fleas are present or not. You won't always find an adult flea, but the telltale sign is finding flea dirt (actually flea poop, ugh). Spread out whatever you get on your comb on a white paper towel and any dark specs that look reddish when pressed with the towel are flea dirt. Fleas are horrible for affected dogs (and their humans) but at least you'll know your problem so you can kick into strict flea control!

If you do find fleas on your dog (or cat), hop over to the Fleas & Ticks Channel here on Dogly to learn how to get rid of them.

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5 common food allergies in dogs include:

(1) Chicken

Chicken is so frequently and repeatedly used as meat protein for dogs that after so much exposure, a dog's immune response is eventually to see it as an attacker and create inflammation to try to address it.

Also, much of the chicken available now, especially in pet food, has antibiotics and steroids in their systems and is bred to be massive quickly so that creates inflammation in their bodies. Chicken byproduct found in many commercial pet foods can include all sorts of things that cause inflammation/disease. Even when it doesn't say "chicken byproduct," commercial pet food doesn't usually include the best parts of the chicken.

(2) Wheat and corn

Many dogs have a food allergy or food sensitivity to wheat and corn. Gluten intolerance can also be an issue with various grains.

(3) Other grains

While wheat and corn are the most common, a range of grains - rice, barley, oats - can also trigger allergies in dogs.

(4) Legumes

Chickpeas, peas, lentils, and soy are becoming more commonly used in dog food because they replace the protein in wheat gluten or corn gluten in grain-free foods and also act as a binder in making the food. While an objective of grain-free ingredients is to avoid food allergies and intolerances, legumes are not without potential for causing an allergic reaction as well.

(5) Beef

We tend to think of chicken so often as linked to dog allergies that beef has become more prevalent as an easily available replacement protein. With that and after so much exposure, more dogs are developing allergic reactions to beef.

What that actually means

If your dog is showing an allergic reaction to chicken and/or beef, likely from too much repeated exposure, that doesn't mean that you need to take your dog off of chicken or beef forever.

Once you've cleared your dog's system by feeding other proteins for a period of time (turkey, fish, duck, etc), you can rotate chicken and/or beef back in. Going forward, I recommend a rotation of different meat/fish proteins to keep your dog's system in balance to avoid developing this type of over-exposure protein allergy.

Try this

How you can rotate your dog's main proteins in sync with your dog's body: Using the Traditional Chinese Medicine philosophy of food energetics, you can match the cooling/neutral/warming quality of each protein with your dog's body type while following the seasons for rotations.

For example, in summer, feed cooler proteins - turkey, duck, rabbit, most fish (whitefish is a good example). Cooling foods can be a great option for allergic dogs who tend to run hot (itchy, yeasty dogs want to avoid hot proteins possibly all year long including winter). Pork is neutral. For winter - you might want to rotate in warmer/hot proteins: chicken, venison, lamb (lamb is warming to hot).

A couple things to remember in decoding allergies in dogs...

Dog allergies can often be genetically-related. Some breeds are more predisposed to allergic disease, and more pure-bred dogs tend to have allergies. The more popular the pure breed is, the more susceptible a dog may be to allergies. Good to know so you can possibly anticipate your dog's allergies or any mysterious allergic reactions that could be breed tendencies.

Allergy testing can be helpful but you should think of the tests as more of a scale of sensitivity. I prefer and recommend hair and saliva tests if getting tested; they're more reasonable and don't require anesthesia (as a skin test does).

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Clinical signs & allergy symptoms in dogs

You're the best observer of anything that's happening with your dog. Unlike humans whose allergies often present with swollen, watery eyes or a runny nose, dogs' allergy symptoms tend to show up through skin, coat, and repetitive behaviors you don't normally see in your dog.

Signs to watch for to get on top of any allergic reaction early:

• Licking legs and/or paws
• Chewing paws
• Licking genitals
• Orangey-brown stains on legs, paws, around eyes (aka tear stains)
• Face rubbing
• Dry coat
• Oily coat
• Red, bumpy belly
• Itchy, "hot" ears
• Scooting

What's happening in your dog's body in response to an allergen

When a dog has a true allergy, essentially the immune system is being confused. It's attacking what it perceives as foreign substances... invaders to be fought and eliminated. The immune system introduces inflammation and histamines to heal itself. That's what's happening on a biochemical level, creating an unhelpful response resulting in itchiness in the process.

The biochemical steps of allergies in dogs:

• Initial contact between the allergen and white blood cells in the immune system that see the allergen as foreign
• Antibodies are released
• Antibodies connect with receptor - binding to mast cells which are then on the lookout for when that allergen appears again
• Subsequent contact with that allergen
• Mast cells are triggered to release histamine and other inflammatory mediators in an attempt to heal

So an allergic reaction is basically your immune system offering an unhelpful response that results in itchiness and other uncomfortable symptoms for your dog.

What to do (or not do) to help your dog's symptoms

Conventional treatments - suppressing symptoms

Conventional medicine approaches allergies by focusing on symptoms, solving your dog's itchy symptoms rather than the root cause. The result is covering up the skin reaction so the disease still exists, masked on the surface, and rerouted, driving deeper into another outlet - the organs, increasing the disease.

No one wants a miserable dog, so sometimes the traditional approach is necessary. Even the best drugs still have adverse effects though, and you want to avoid getting into an ongoing cycle of masking symptoms and leaving the underlying issue. It's a good idea to think of traditional medicine as a way to buy time to address symptoms while you focus on solving the root cause.

*Pro Tip: Another big factor in dog allergies is if a dog is overweight. The more fat a dog has, the longer it takes to get rid of inflammation and disease, all stored in fat. Staying at ideal weight is hugely beneficial for your dog's health and longevity overall, not just for allergies!*

Holistic solutions - natural remedies to heal at the root cause

Holistic medicine focuses on the root cause of your dog's allergies to help your dog not only feel better but actually be better for the long term.

To start, we want to target the immune system - to balance and heal it. BALANCING not stimulating, since the immune system is already working overtime... balance is really the big picture of what we're trying to change within your dog's body to relieve allergies.

70% of the immune system lies in the gut. That's why we always address diet first to heal the gut even if there are no GI symptoms.

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5 ways to reduce inflammation and help create balance

• If you're feeding kibble, or some other highly processed food... anything you can do to add fresh/cooked real foods to your dog's bowl helps exponentially. (You can see specific recommendations on good, helpful food choices here.)

• Add a probiotic and prebiotic to your dog's daily diet to strengthen the presence of beneficial bacteria in the gut.

• Add digestive enzymes to your dog's diet through supportive foods or supplements to better access nutrients in foods and make the immune system's job easier.

• Include fish oil in your dog's diet. Omega 3s are the key nutrient you're going for, and dogs can only convert it from a fish source (not plant). That means adding supplements or real foods such as krill oil, sardines, oysters, green-lipped mussels (also good for hips & joints), or mackerel. (good to note: the smaller the fish the fewer toxins built up in it.)

• Add green tea (decaf) to your dog's bowl. Great for itchy dogs, and studies are showing green tea adding an average 2-3 years to dogs' lives so the benefits are wide-ranging. One of the best sources of naturally occurring quercetin which has anti-inflammatory effects that can help reduce swelling and itchiness. Just brew the tea and let it cool. For example: for a 50 lb dog, mix a half cup in food.

As you can see, there is so much we can do to tackle allergies and find relief and true wellness for your dog holistically.

As a quick recap, five topline things you can start now ...

1. Check to be sure there are no fleas.
2. Clean house.
3. Look at diet & possible switches especially if you're feeding the same protein all the time.
4. If you think it's truly environmental allergens, wipe your dog's paws after coming in from outside. Small thing, big difference.
5. Introduce real whole foods, fish oil, prebiotic/probiotic, digestive enzymes, and green tea into your dog's diet.

Next up in the Allergies Channel on Dogly

Stay tuned for the next segment in this series where we cover deeper problems and answers related to allergies and sensitivities - that aren't conventionally recognized as having allergy correlations.

Hop over to the Allergy Channel if you have any nutrition related questions for the Community discussion or start any of the step-by-step guides in Environmental Allergies, Itchy Allergies, and Seasonal Allergies. And if you ever need more personalized nutrition guidance, please reach out!