My dog has chronic itchy skin. Can she stop taking allergy meds?

Question

My two year-old Jack Russell female has had an itchy skin condition for over a year. She has scratched and bitten away much of the fur on her front legs and done similar, but less, damage to her back legs. She also scratches her neck, behind her ears, but there are no obvious skin lesions. Her response to medrone was positive at first, but did not last more than about a week. Her response to apoquel was similar. She is now taking 12.5 mg of hydroxyzine 2x daily. Must she take these for ever? Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Female | spayed | 2 years and 5 months old | 11 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. If you are able to find a way to avoid what is causing the allergies, you may be able to stop the hydroxyzine. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

My dog has chronic itchy skin. Can she stop taking allergy meds?

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