I've posted before about Harvey's skin irritation / allergies but over the past three weeks he has  been much better with nowhere near as much itching and the thinning fur on the top of his head is  growing back - maybe this is due to the course of anti biotics that he had which cleared up the bacterial infection or it could be the Dorwest garlic & fenugreek along with the mixed vegetable tablets I am giving him? Yesterday and today however, he has been going mad scratching and it starts when he comes in from the garden. Now it has rained lots here over the past two days and the grass is saturated so the boys are coming in with wet paws - before this we have had mostly lovely dry weather and I'm thinking that there is possibly a link with wet grass and Harvey's skin flaring up? We haven't had the allergy tests done yet - I've held back with the good few weeks we've had but now another flare up  :-( I just wondered if anyone here with dogs allergic to grass / pollen find that wet conditions bring on bad reactions?

Do you think it could be like some human conditions that when the skin gets plenty of sun it clears up. i've got a few friends with skin problems and they are always alot better in the summer months.

I don't know but I don't think so - it hasn't been really warm and sunny but we've had a dry spell which means that the grass has been dry. I've just noticed that whenever Harvey comes in from the garden when the grass is wet, he starts scratching like crazy so there may be a connection there - I suffer with hayfever and get a really itchy, sneezy nose on rainy mornings for some reason - I know its not the same but.......

my tangles ear are playing up over the last two weeks due grass and tree put her prition 1 tablet a day

] > my tangles ear are playing up over the last two weeks due grass and tree put her prition 1 tablet a day

I have Piriton in, I will try him, thanks

My girl has a specific grass pollen allergy (she has been allergy tested), and gets red, sore, itchy eczema between the toes and on her muzzle. And, you're right - wetness just makes it worse. I have eczema myself and know from my own experience that  inflamed skin is very itchy indeed when it gets wet! In Bracken's case, I think it is down to the increased pollen that is around, which brings out the skin allergies, causing the skin to get inflamed, and then the wetness making the skin feel sore. We have few problems in the winter months, even though her skin may be wet a lot of the time.

With Bracken we make sure that we dry her feet (especially between the toes), and muzzle, very well indeed when she comes inside if the grass is even slightly damp, particularly in the pollen season. It is a ritual now whenever she comes back into the house from the garden or from a walk, if the ground is damp or wet, and makes a big difference.

I have found an absolute lifesaver in Fuciderm gel (for acute moist dermatitis) when she is sore between her toes. This has to be prescribed by the vet - but you may already be using it. I put it on at night, and then put on some very simple cotton twill booties, which do up with double-sided velcro, to prevent her licking and biting her paws. Not sure this will work with Harvey's head, unless he wants to wear a nice bonnet!

I give Piriton too, as many others have said. .. and bathe her in Malaseb (another lifesaver) when her skin is bad: the ten-minture wait, with the shampoo lathered up on the skin is very important here.

My vet is always reminding me that pollen stays around in the environment for a very long time, through much of the autumn, and I have found that the symptoms get worse through the year until around October/November, when they mostly go away until the following spring. We usually end up with steroid injections once a year. Last year it was in October, the year before she managed until the beginning of November, and then made her nose and muzzle so sore that it bled, and I knew we had to get the steroid injections done. I don't like to do this often, neither does my vet, but once a year doesn't seem too bad.

Sorry for the lengthy descriptions! Hope some of this may be of help.

Claire

Hayfever generally gets worse after rain because all the pollens etc.. are brought down from the atmosphere. Your dog may have an allergy to some pollens, or perhaps there are chemical residues (pesticides and so on) on the grass that are becoming active again with exposure to water. Finally, many skin conditions are made worse by humidity. So it's all a bit of a catch 22. Like humans with a bad case of hayfever, the only help seems to come from antihistamines and in the worst cases steroids.

Some say that taking honey made from local beehives can help build some immunity to local pollens but I don't know how reliable the evidence is for that or if it has ever been tried on dogs.

I would try to use the correct dose of piriton and avoid steroids as far as possible, though sometimes they are the only thing that will work.

i just rang my vet he going to supply me prition she can have up two tablets a day her weight is 16,2kg for the next four months so i can put on heer isurance.