Why Is My Dog Itchy in the Fall? Bailey’s Battle With Seasonal Allergies
Last week, we told you about Jacey and her annual fall tradition: eating the leaves and a 2 a.m. "code brown."
This week, it's Bailey's turn.
Bailey doesn't eat leaves, but she does react to what the fall season brings.
Every year, we see the pattern.
As the seasons change, Bailey's seasonal allergies flare. She gets itchy, her skin becomes more irritated, and suddenly we're paying much closer attention to what she's walking through, rolling in, and bringing back inside on her paws and coat.
Spring gets most of the attention when we talk about seasonal allergies, but fall can be every bit as challenging for an allergy-prone dog.
Ragweed and other pollens are still around. Mold spores can increase as leaves and other vegetation fall, get wet, and begin to decompose. And unlike us, our dogs aren't just breathing in environmental allergens.
They're walking through them. Lying in them. Rolling in them. And carrying them around on their bodies.
Why Do Some Dogs Get Itchy in the Fall?
Dogs can develop allergies to substances in their environment, including pollens, grasses, weeds, molds, dust mites, flea saliva, and other triggers. But environmental allergies in dogs don't always look like the seasonal allergies we're accustomed to seeing in people.
Your dog may not spend October sneezing into a tissue with red, puffy eyes that also get runny..
Instead, you may notice:
- More scratching than usual
- Constant paw licking or chewing
- Red or irritated paws
- Face rubbing
- Redness on the belly or other areas that contact the ground
- Recurring ear irritation
- Skin that becomes increasingly irritated as the season progresses
And sometimes the biggest clue isn't any one symptom.
It's the calendar.
If your dog seems comfortable for much of the year but starts scratching every August, September, or October, that recurring seasonal pattern is useful information.
That's one of the things we've learned from Bailey. Also, it is important to note that Bailey came to us as a rescue and we learned that the first year of her life she was exposed to excessive vaccinations which has caused her immune system to have a very low threshold while running in overdrive much of the time. To this day, she has way more triggers than any other dog we’ve ever had and has required much more consistency across the board with food, treats and ingredients in everything. Autumn is just the current trigger.
What Do Fall Leaves Have to Do With It?
The leaves themselves aren't necessarily the allergen.
It's everything happening around them.
Fallen leaves trap moisture and begin to decompose. Fungi are a normal and necessary part of that process, but decomposition can also mean more mold spores in the fall environment.
Add seasonal pollen, weeds, grasses and dust, and there's a lot for an allergy-prone dog to encounter simply by going outside.
And dogs experience that environment much differently than we do.
We wear shoes and clothing. Dogs walk through the yard barefoot. Their bellies brush against grass and leaves. They lie on the ground and sniff through leaf piles.
Then they come back inside with some of that outdoor environment still on their paws and coat.
For most dogs, that may not matter.
For a dog with environmental allergies, reducing what remains on the skin and coat can become an important part of managing allergy season.
Rinse When You Can. Bathe When You Need To.
Thankfully, you don't have to give your dog a bath every time they go outside; but, we have learned with Bailey to limit her time outdoors when she is reactive.
You can also rinse the paws and lower legs with plain water to remove some of what they've picked up. Dry the paws well afterward, especially between the toes. If your dog has been belly-deep in grass or rolling through leaves, rinse the belly too.
The goal is to simply reduce how much of the outside environment stays on them.
And don't forget where all that outdoor debris goes once your dog is inside. Washing bedding and blankets regularly can help keep pollen, dust, and other material from accumulating where your dog sleeps.
We give Bailey a bath once a week when she is at her peak of reacting to the outdoors. And often give water rinses throughout the week to supplement the bath.
Bathing physically removes pollen, dirt, environmental debris, and other material that has collected on the skin and coat.
For Bailey, that's the goal:
Wash the outside world off and rinse it away.
If You're Bathing More Often, What You Use Matters
During allergy season, some dogs, like Bailey, may need more frequent bathing than usual. That's when we're especially particular about what goes on their skin.
We don't want to remove pollen, mold spores, and other environmental debris only to replace them with synthetic fragrance, harsh cleansing ingredients, or ingredients designed to leave a heavy coating behind on already-sensitive skin.
That's one reason 4-Legger shampoos are formulated to rinse clean and rinse easily.
We want the dirt and environmental debris to go down the drain with the shampoo - not leave another layer behind.
And for dogs with sensitive, dry, itchy, or allergy-prone skin, we do have several shampoos we reach for depending on what that individual dog needs.
For Sensitive or Allergy-Prone Skin
Organic Lemongrass & Aloe Hypoallergenic Dog Shampoo is a great starting point for dogs that need gentle cleansing without a lot of extras. Aloe helps support the skin while the shampoo cleans away the dirt and environmental debris your dog brings in from outside.
CALM Organic Lavender Dog Shampoo with Calendula & St. John's Wort is another option for dogs whose skin already feels uncomfortable or reactive. It's designed with soothing botanicals for dogs that need gentle cleansing during periods of irritation.
MOISTURIZE Organic Lemongrass & Hemp Dog Shampoo may be a better fit when seasonal itching is paired with dry skin. It cleans while helping support moisture, which can be especially important if your dog is being bathed more frequently.
Organic Oatmeal Dog Shampoo with Lavender & Aloe is another good choice for dry, itchy skin when you want the familiar soothing benefits of oat milk along with aloe.
And if your dog is extremely sensitive—or you're trying to eliminate as many potential variables as possible - Organic Unscented Hypoallergenic Dog Shampoo with Aloe is the one we'd look at first. No essential oils added for scent. Just gentle cleansing for dogs whose skin doesn't need anything extra.
There isn't one "best" shampoo for every itchy dog. The right choice depends on whether your dog's skin is simply sensitive, already dry, actively irritated, or reactive to fragrance and other ingredients.
What we would absolutely not do is try to cover an allergy-prone dog in perfume.
Fragrance doesn't remove an allergen. It doesn't make irritated skin healthier, and it won't help with sensitive skin issues.
Clean the dog. Rinse away what doesn't belong there. And choose the gentlest formula that makes sense for the skin in front of you.
When Fall Itching Needs More Than a Bath
Bathing can remove environmental material from your dog's skin and coat.
It cannot diagnose or treat the underlying allergy.
If your dog is intensely itchy, chewing themselves raw, developing open sores, losing hair, having recurring ear problems, developing a strong skin odor, or experiencing symptoms that don't improve with basic environmental management, it's time to involve your holistic veterinarian.
We have found that giving Bailey a custom selection of homeopathic remedies to address her specific allergy symptoms can be very beneficial in providing relief. Allergic inflammation can also make the skin more vulnerable to secondary yeast or bacterial infections, which may require treatment of their own.
That's another reason not to assume every fall itch is "just allergies."
Jacey Eats Fall. Bailey Wears It.
These two dogs in the 4-Legger pack could not demonstrate the difference any better.
Jacey sees the first of the leaves hit the ground and apparently thinks someone has opened a seasonal snack bar.
Bailey goes outside, enjoys the exact same yard, and comes back wearing fall on her paws and coat like she’s been back-to-school shopping.
Same yard. Same leaves. Completely different dogs.
So we manage them differently.
With Jacey, we're trying to keep the leaves out of the dog.
With Bailey, we're trying to keep as much of the outside environment as possible from staying on the dog.
And that's really the point: Pay attention to the dog in front of you.
If your dog gets itchy every fall, don't dismiss the timing as coincidence. Watch the pattern, reduce exposure where you reasonably can, rinse off what comes in from outside, and use a gentle shampoo when a full bath is needed. Shampoo should never increase the burden on an already hyped up immune system. Ingredients really do matter.
Because unlike Jacey's annual CODE BROWN, we'd prefer not to make any of our fall traditions an emergency.
