My new collie has allergy symptoms. Is it hereditary or environmental?

Question

My late collie had allergies upon arrival(never did before) became atopy dermatitis which was treated and resolved. She then had IBD and Addison's then died of liver cancer. I got a new collie from same breeder(4 yr male) who is very healthy, but began sneezing and scratching and biting himself on 2nd day like previous collie. Both were always in outdoor kennel and never in a home. Could this be from no exposure to certain allergens? I'm afraid to try another. Home is immaculate. Suggestions? Pet's info: Dog | Collie | Male | unneutered | 3 years and 5 months old | 70 lbs

Christie Long, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hopefully this isn't anything terribly serious. Allergies, as I'm sure you know, can be difficult to deal with, but the very first thing to do is to make sure that Graham is free of fleas (which are much more common than allergies) by using a high quality flea preventive. If the itching and biting persists, then it's time to make sure he doesn't have mange (mites) or ringworm, as they cause similar signs but have very different treatments. If all of these treatments and tests do not yield a resolution, then yes, you should consider whether allergies are causing these signs. It likely has nothing to do with your home, as dogs are frequently allergic to very ubiquitous things, like grass and dust. And it's also worth mentioning that there is likely a hereditary component to allergies, so if he came from the same breeder as your previous allergic dog, then I think it's possible that this could be a problem in that line of dogs.

My new collie has allergy symptoms. Is it hereditary or environmental?

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