A beagle is sitting on a fluffy beige rug, turning its head to scratch behind its ear with its hind leg. A green tennis ball lies nearby on the hardwood floor. Sunlight streams in, highlighting the dog's healthy brown and white fur, as if just back from a check-up at the vet.

Excessive itching and scratching is one of the most common reasons a dog may go to the vet. Whether they are scratching their sides, licking their paws or constantly shaking their ears, all of this itching can have a negative impact on your dog’s quality of life and your own.

So why does your dog itch? The most common cause of itching and scratching in dogs is an allergy. When we break this down further, the three major types of allergies in dogs are flea/tick, food and environmental allergies.

  • Fleas – By far the most frequent allergy source world-wide is exposure to fleas; because of this, your veterinarian will always recommend a prescription grade flea prevention to rule this out first. For some dogs, only a few flea bites can cause a severe allergic response and you may never even see this small number of fleas. If your dog is already on one of these prescription products, your vet can move on to ruling out and treating the other possible sources.
  • Fleas – By far the most frequent allergy source world-wide is exposure to fleas; because of this, your veterinarian will always recommend a prescription grade flea prevention to rule this out first. For some dogs, only a few flea bites can cause a severe allergic response and you may never even see this small number of fleas. If your dog is already on one of these prescription products, your vet can move on to ruling out and treating the other possible sources.
  • Food – While in people we often think of vomiting, diarrhea or a more severe response, dogs with food allergies can often have itching/scratching, ear infections and other skin issues without having diarrhea or other GI symptoms. In order to diagnose a food allergy, your veterinarian will prescribe a specific diet to feed your pup for up to 8 weeks. During that time, your dog can eat that diet and that diet alone and if the itching/scratching resolves – woohoo you have diagnosed a food allergy! In some instances owners are unable to exclusively feed a single food and a diet trial may not be possible, these dogs can often be managed with an allergy medication but may still have flare-ups from time to time.

So what are the most effective allergy medications?
The two most commonly used and most effective allergy medications in dogs are Cytopoint and Apoquel:

  • Cytopoint – is an injectable medication that lasts on average 4-8 weeks (this means that your dog would get one poke at the vet’s office and would not require medication at home). Cytopoint is a very safe medication and has no long term impact on your dog’s health but may take 2-3 days to absorb and begin taking effect.
  • Apoquel – is a once to twice daily oral tablet that works rapidly. This medication is typically very effective but can sometimes allow skin infections to happen more easily.

Some dogs may respond better to one medication over the other and your veterinarian is the best person to help you decide what medication is most safe and effective for you and your dog. While you can try over-the-counter benadryl for itching, this is rarely effective for the majority of dogs. It works much better for sudden allergic reactions like a bee sting.

While the aforementioned allergens are the most common sources of itching, there are still many health conditions and diseases that can affect the skin, making your veterinarian the best resource on how to provide your pup some much needed relief.