Excerpts from the Time Magazine article featuring Dr. Falk:
“Every day, itchy dogs shuffle into Elizabeth Falk’s veterinary office. Some can’t stop chewing their feet or scratching their bellies. Others have red, smelly ears, or rashes on their skin. All are intensely uncomfortable because of environmental allergies. “They’re sitting in the waiting room, and everyone else is backing away out of fear that it’s contagious,” she says. “It’s super busy helping as many as we can.”
More and more dogs are suffering from atopic dermatitis, otherwise known as environmental allergies: According to a 2018 report from Banner Pet Hospital—the latest U.S. numbers on the subject—there’s been a 30% increase in cases over the past 10 years. In 2021, a teaching hospital in Brazil reported that 25% of dogs they examined suffered from allergies. Though dog allergies aren’t consistently tracked, anecdotally, they’re soaring.
There’s a strong genetic component to atopic dermatitis, Falk says. Certain breeds are prone to them, including German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, English Bulldogs, West Highland Terriers, Shih Tzus, pitbulls, pugs, and Boxers. Allergies look different in different breeds. German Shepherds, for example, tend to get crusts around their lips, Falk points out, while labs develop bumps between their toes.
Read more in Time Magazine!
