Pay special attention to wiping off your Golden Retriever’s paws. [3] X Expert Source Jamie Freyer, DVMLicensed Veterinarian Expert Interview. 7 December 2021. Your dog could lick its paws or touch another part of its body with the paws and trigger an allergic reaction. Reducing exposure can be effective if your vet identified the specific ‘culprit’ allergen. Without knowing the specific allergen, reducing exposure would be very difficult. [4] X Research source

Placing a plastic cover over your dog’s bed Using the air conditioner when it’s hot outside Keeping your Golden Retriever in non-carpeted rooms, such as the kitchen Keeping your Golden Retriever out of recently vacuumed areas Not giving your Golden Retriever stuffed toys to play with, since they could accumulate dust

If you do have house plants, put activated charcoal on the soil to prevent mold development. [8] X Research source Look for activated charcoal at your local gardening store. Clean your dehumidifiers according to the product’s instructions. Cleaning them will help them work more effectively.

Medicated shampoos often contain oatmeal or essential fatty acids to keep the skin from drying out. [10] X Expert Source Jamie Freyer, DVMLicensed Veterinarian Expert Interview. 7 December 2021. Purchase the medicated shampoo at your vet’s office. Do not use a human shampoo to bathe your dog. Dog skin and human skin have different pH levels. Because of the pH differences, human shampoo could irritate your Golden Retriever’s skin.

Consider rinsing or wiping down your Golden Retriever each day. This would remove the allergens in between baths. However, this may not be practical if you have a busy schedule. You could also use a topical anti-inflammatory product between baths on the itchy spots. This product, which would contain a steroid like hydrocortisone, would be available at your vet’s office. If your Golden Retriever has skin lesions, wash very gently around those areas, since they may be very sensitive to the touch.

Use a pet-safe conditioner.

Antihistamines are effective in about 30% of dogs with CAD. Antihistamines are inexpensive and have very few side effects. [14] X Research source

Antihistamines for dogs are given by mouth.

Note that the active medication in Benadryl can vary depending on the country. Always check with a vet to make sure the key component of any antihistamine is safe. [17] X Expert Source Jamie Freyer, DVMLicensed Veterinarian Expert Interview. 7 December 2021. Try each antihistamine for 10 – 14 days. [18] X Research source Your Golden Retriever may need a higher dose of antihistamine than a human would need. Before using these over-the-counter antihistamines, ask your vet what dosage of antihistamine your dog will need. With each antihistamine, contact your vet to let them know if your Golden Retriever’s symptoms are getting any better. Your Golden Retriever may still be itchy with antihistamine therapy. However, the itchiness will probably be less than what it was before.

Even though steroids rapidly reduce itching and inflammation, your vet’s goal may be to limit or even eliminate the use of steroids for your Golden Retriever. [19] X Research source Prednisone is a type of steroid used to treat CAD. [20] X Research source

If your Golden Retriever needs long term steroid therapy, your vet may prescribe a low dosage to be given every other day. [23] X Research source Your vet would start with an initial dosage, then gradually decrease that dosage as your Golden Retriever’s symptoms improve. Do not make changes to the steroid dosage on your own. This could make treatment more challenging.

If you notice any side effects (e. g. , drinking and urinating more often, diarrhea, increased panting) at home, contact your vet right away. You do not have to wait until your regularly scheduled appointment to have your Golden Retriever examined.

Fortunately, as a dog starts to respond to cyclosporine therapy, the required dosage would decrease. Therefore, the cost of cyclosporine therapy would decrease over time. Talk with your vet if you are concerned about the overall cost of cyclosporine. Atopica® is the brand name for cyclosporine that is used in dogs.

Infections and thickening of the gums are rare side effects of cyclosporine.

These follow-up visits will also allow your vet to determine how well your Golden Retriever is responding to therapy.

By exposing your Golden Retriever to small, measured amounts of the allergens (rather than a large, uncontrolled amount in the environment), your dog’s immune system would slowly become more tolerant of the allergens over time, therefore lessening the allergic reaction. [31] X Research source Results of the skin tests your vet performed to diagnose CAD would indicate the specific allergens. Immunotherapy is most helpful for dogs that have skin allergies for longer than two to three months at a time and have not responded well to other skin allergy medications. It is a lifelong treatment.

At the beginning of immunotherapy, your vet will increase the dosage of allergens until a maintenance dosage is reached. Your vet will determine the maintenance dosage and keep your Golden Retriever at this dosage level. Your vet may change the frequency of injections during the course of therapy. [32] X Research source

Before starting immunotherapy, your vet will probably ask that you commit to this treatment for at least 1 year to see if it will work. [33] X Research source Approximately 60 – 75% of dogs on immunotherapy will experience a 50% improvement in symptoms. This amount of improvement could mean that a dog does not need to be on other skin allergy medications. [34] X Research source