How are allergies in dogs different from allergies in humans?

Of course, I don't know human medicine that well. But human allergies are mainly of the inhalant variety. So we have the hay fever-like symptoms, watery eyes, stuffy nose, even some coughing, and sometimes a postnasal drip. And dogs can have some inhalant components. But for the most part, dogs allergies are contact related. In other words, there are things that dogs are touching, laying down on, and are experiencing in the environment as they run through grasses and things that are causing contact allergies. So they are different, but they have some similarities also. But that's the main difference.

I'm not a human doctor, but the biggest difference is that when we think of allergies in humans, we think of sinus problems and pollens, among other things that lead to this issue. Dogs have those same issues, but people tend to respond to similar allergens that dogs do with sinus problems, whereas dogs primarily respond with skin problems. So I think that's the big distinguishing factor. It's the same thing with food allergies. Humans can also respond to food allergies with skin issues, but that's more commonly the primary presentation of food allergies in dogs.

People with allergies typically get upper respiratory symptoms and ocular issues, like itchy, watery eyes, runny noses, congestion, coughing, sneezing, and maybe some asthma in the lungs. Those are common areas of allergies in people. Dogs can also have respiratory and ocular allergies, but they more often get dermatologic or skin presentations, like itchiness, licking their feet, licking their bottoms, itchy armpits, and rubbing their faces. But feet licking is one of the more common areas of allergy presentation in dogs.

While the allergies themselves can be similar, the signs and symptoms are usually different. Dogs typically don't experience sneezing, runny eyes, and congestion as humans do. Instead, they usually exhibit skin issues such as excessive itching, licking of the paws, and redness.

A lot more times we'll see a lot more skin irritation in dog allergies versus in humans, where it affects your upper respiratory system.