Why do some dogs have lots of skin allergies and others not, and some breeds you can almost guarantee will have skin problems (like Westies)? Is there a hereditary link? I assume so or why are some breeds more likely to be affected.

Do you think lighter coats might have more problems?

It's not something I have any experience of, my previous collies, borzois and shepherds had no skin problems at all and neither do the current silkens. However, a dog I would like a pup from next year has a pollen allergy, before the hay was cut he was actually eating holes in himself scratching and nibbling so much. Piriton helped but as soon as the fields he runs on were short he was absolutely fine. Same the year before. Is this something you would want to breed on from? Should I be reconsidering where I go next for a pup?

I should add that there are no other dogs in this country I would want the breeder to use, so if I don't take one from the litter I've been waiting for then it may be that I don't have another silken at all/anytime soon. It's not a problem in the breed at all, in fact this is the first dog I know of with it.

I would hope for a bitch from this litter and if she matures the way I want I already know where I want to go next, this is plan I've been working on for years.

In most animals light coats are more prone to skin issues- ie skin cancer, sun burn etc.  I had a siamese who used to have to have sun block on the area in front of ears as the light coloured fur was sparse there and his pale skin would burn. Personally I would not buy a white dog or cat for this reason

Also it may be relevant where he lives- in some places harvest mites are a major issue.  I went to visit my family in a rural area they were living and was utterly eaten alive and the itching was dreadful- do not have a problem at home nor have I had an issue in other rural places.

might it be an idea to phone the vet local to where he lives and see if a lot of dogs have the itch issue at that time of year?  see if its something about where he lives?

Oddly I am seeing brookes dermatologist this morning so will ask her .
The last chat we had on this indicated that atm it isn't confirmed although some breeds do be more likley to have skin allergies than others and research is being done Westies being the one qe were discussing  .shall try and remember to ask
As I've earned allergies are a very complicated subject. Brookes only show in her ears( fcr. ) her line does not have the problem Whispas were on his body but not his ears ( gsd ) and again not his line

Both my dogs different breeds had allergies and both were solid black

It's an interesting question - whether skin problems are more often seen in light coloured dogs, or not.  In my own main breed, it was (or still is?) the bicolours who seemed to have skin problems.  It was rumoured that one breeder, years ago,  who only had bicolours, used to 'dip' her hounds regularly.   I must say we had one bicolour, and he didn't have any skin problems during his life and the only boy I had some problems with, a blanket tricolour, had skin issues later in life, after he had to be castrated.  But then again, I had a couple of other hounds who needed castration, and had no skin/allergy problems.

So whether this is hereditary or not, I don't know.   Do all Westies have skin problems, or just some bloodlines within the breed?

Harvest mites ..... ug.   When we lived back East, our hounds, and so us, had these.  Ghastly.

What I didmt realise before brooke was that many ear problems are actually caused by allergies and as in brookes case affect her ears and  rarely show on any other skin .
My gsd had no ear issues but had serious body skin irritation causing massive hot spots

Hotspots seem to affect a number of golden retrievers and are thought to be due to allergies. I’ve not had a golden with hotspots before and had not heard of them prior to the current dog. She has had a few hotspots but they seem to flare up when her skin has been damaged in some way such as a bite or graze

Bit of both, I think.  Absolutely hereditary in some cases - you've only got to look at the frequency of allergy problems in frenchies regardless of their colour - but in many cases it's just one of those things as well.  My worst dog for it was absolutely fine until she was 6, then she just exploded with food allergies.

> in some places harvest mites are a major issue

Yes I had thought of that but the other dog, cats and people were fine.

> In most animals light coats are more prone to skin issues

Yes, my horse was mostly white and he needed suncream on his top lip. Shame, white is soooo pretty

> I am seeing brookes dermatologist this morning so will ask her

Oh cool, thank you

Interesting that both yours are/were black, and have no problems in their lines, suggesting that in their cases anyway it's just a random occurrence?

Thanks everyone, interesting reading your experiences it seems more of 'just one of those things' if not actually a breed known for allergies. I suppose I could have a pup and if she/he also had allergies then I wouldn't breed on from them.

Apparently for some breeds there has been a gene found and if the dog has that gene it is likley to present with allergies . Westies goldens and labs being 3 that were mentioned although there are likley to be others not yet known but suspected .

Not sure if that helps any

> Apparently for some breeds there has been a gene found and if the dog has that gene it is likley to present with allergies . Westies goldens and labs being 3 that were mentioned although there are likley to be others not yet known but suspected .<br /><br />Not sure if that helps any

That is really helpful, thank you, I'll ask the embark techgeeks, I assume no silken carries this gene or it would have been flagged by embark already. They are always finding new things, like some silkens carry the overeating gene that is very common in labs (and me!)

They've identified the bald thigh gene in greyhounds and whippets which again some silkens have but in silkens it manifests as a bald tummy. Genes are fascinating aren't they, and Embark do seem on the ball.

Overeating gene ,yep labs and fcr .Brooke definitely has it i battle with her need to eat all the time .she would be a barrel if I let her

Genes are fascinating although my knowledge is very small

Yep, one of mine has it, he is always stealing and would literally eat till he bursts. On the plus side he will race back to me for the smallest crumb of food and is always willing to learn new tricks for food

I guess its random . My sister had one of whispas  siblings and she had no problmes and I was very much in touch with the breeder so knew there were know skin issues
It was similar with brooke I am in touch with her breeder and she is just an anomaly both with skin and some of her behaviours

> in some places harvest mites are a major issue

Yes I had thought of that but the other dog, cats and people were fine.
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when I visited family it was just me being afflicted- my family (and their dog) were not at all. I really reacted to them.  and it was a common issue in the area that some people really had to load up on repellants etc while others were ok

It is both environmental and genetic. Dogs with more white in their coats are statistically more likely to suffer from allergies, so if you are choosing a puppy and they come in colours other than white, choose one of those!

Dogs which are fed kibble as puppies and whose mothers were fed kibble during pregnancy (instead of raw) are more likely to suffer allergies: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.552251/full

Over-stimulation of the immune system (too many vaccines, too young) can cause it to turn against itself and auto-immune conditions to develop.

It is for sure much easier to manage a dog which is only allergic at certain times of year. You could just get one Cytopoint shot for that time of year for example (or a couple) - it wouldn't mean medication year-round. But of course just because the stud is allergic to a seasonal allergen, doesn't mean any allergic pups will be - they could be allergic to something which is around year-round.

If you have any other options, I'd go for those and avoid a pup from a stud with allergies. Dogs with allergies shouldn't really be bred from. On the other hand, if it's an amazing stud and the bitch has no allergies and the pups are raw fed and you choose one which isn't white and don't over-vaccinate and try to stack all the other things in your favour, you could maybe be ok!

Totally agree with your points 1234 and with regard to breeding definitely something to consider as per your last paragraph.

I've had 2 Westies, - 1 had seasonal allergies which were controlled by switching to a grain free diet + Piriton.  The other is absolutely fine, no allergies or skin issues at all.
Incidentally, they both love sunbathing - the oldie (who we lost in 2019) would lay in the sun forever unless I brought him in.  The youngster is a bit more savvy & will move into the shade now & then.
I have no proof, but I do wonder whether some of the skin issues, particularly with Westies, comes from having them clipped so close to the skin and bathing at the groomers so regularly.  I hand strip mine and they only get a bath is they roll in something nasty.

I have an 18month old black labrador bitch. She has hair loss around her eyes, hot spots in her ears and bald spots on the inside of her front legs, below the soft pads. We have been to a few vets, they say it something different everytime! We got blood test done, she now on prescription kibble and plain cooked chicken. It seems to flare up from oct until april. So frustrating for all of us. At the minute we are also giving her piriton and using diprobase on her ears. Has anyone heard of similar happening to other labradors? Any advice greatly received. Vet is pushing to try Apoquel, we used it before and made her so sick, not keen on using it again!

I would ask for a referral to a dermatologist.  Sounds like u need specialist advice. There are other treatments than aquopel once the problem has bidentified fied

Agree, I would go for a dermatologist.

I also recommend Zymox for management - ear drops and shampoos.  Absolutely outstanding, enzyme-based products.

>We got blood test done,

What did the blood test find? That's kinda important when it comes to avoiding allergens...

>Vet is pushing to try Apoquel, we used it before and made her so sick, not keen on using it again!

Ask if you can try Cytopoint injection instead. It affects the immune system less, and is safer - doesn't work for all dogs though.

But really you need to start on immunotherapy, as everything is just masking the symptoms - only immunotherapy is addressing the cause and has the potential to actually fix the problem. A referral to a dermatologist would be a good idea..