Inhalant or Flea allergy

[Pelican]

Just visiting as a guest so far...but have a question.

Can flea allergy be confused with atopy or inhalant? We were late with Frontline and did see one flea -- house was treated to be safe as well as dog. But, around the same time: itchy feet, itchy ears and still going on after 3 weeks. Pretty sure we are flea free now. (Dog definitely has flea allergy -- known from skin testing.)

Thanks for your ideas.
Brownie

[Mary Plummer]

...depending on the age of your dog, he/she could be developing allergies to other things (inhalant, food, etc). I remember our vets telling us when Mr. Blue was first diagnosed with some kind of pollen allergy at about 1 1/2 years of age, that he could develop more as he grew older. It seems to me like he has; he tends to be itchy straight through spring to the first frost now, which makes it seem like maybe more pollens bother him now than used to.

[k9Karen]

Absolutely, they can be confused.

Atopy is simply a local manifestation of any allergy. Inhalant allergies can manifest with local or systemic reactions, as can flea allergies. My Mickey (and my Leah before him) would go crazy itching from one flea bite, so it's definitely possible. I found giving a bath in a mild shampoo helped relieve their symptoms since the more they scratched, dug, and chewed, the worse it got. Saliva from licking and chewing only adds to the mess - it's an irratant too, plus it keeps the area moist, encouraging the growth of bacteria and other nasty "bugs".