Wheat allergy - Can contact with skin cause irritation?

Cora has been doing great since we got her blood work back a few months ago and switched her to a raw diet and all natural, holistic flea/worm treatments confirmed as not containing any of the allergens which came back positive on her panels. She's gained back the weight she had lost, and her muscle definition is fantastic.

BUT...we've noticed that every few days she has a little flare up of red spots on her belly, arm pits and legs, and in particular her paws/between her toes (though none on her back or neck which was previously very bad) - nowhere near as bad as she was, and is not losing hair, and has no bald spots like she did before. The redness and itchiness concerns me, but she is nowhere near as itchy as she used to be.

We've only just clicked that she walks and plays in wheat fields a couple of times a week - which are now recently cut back, but still, I was wondering if contact with her skin would possibly cause a reaction?

I imagine the best thing to do would be to avoid these areas for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference, but as she goes there on her pack walks with our day carer it might be difficult to avoid completely. I don't mind putting her back in her allergy suit (which we bought when we thought her allergies were pollen and grasses, before we got the blood work done) and getting her active wear boots, but just want to check I'm not havering that it could be the skin contact causing the issues.


For those who don't know us, Cora has confirmed allergies to:

Wheat
Corn
Potato
Rice
Soya

We thought this meant just food ingested, but perhaps we need to be careful about skin contact too?

No expert ,could it be harvest mites
A pals dog has similar (no allergies ) the small red spots etc dog walked through cut harvest fields
Might be something to consider

It's not mites, but thanks for responding. She has been checked several times by the vet, with skin scrapings and all. They have come back negative for all mites, mange, etc, and full blood panel came back with allergies as above.

Mollie is gluten intolerant, she is fine with gluten on her skin, but Duncan used to be grass intolerant/allergic and ingesting or touching grass affected him badly. So I would guess it depends on the dog.

It's wonderful that Cora has come so far, and you must be frustrated with this last little bit of the puzzle.

I would not be in the least surprised if wheat in the fields could be causing the problem - especially as the kernels after harvesting are scattered all over the ground so it's easy for a dog to come into contact with them. I imagine that it won't be very long before the fields are ploughed up, so with luck the problem will disappear and you will know what to avoid next year.

Ima allergic to hay mites, & copra mites and her allergy presents itself the same as yours in her ears, paws and groin. She doesn't have to actually carry the mites as such but she will come into contact with them daily and certain times of year are worse, frequent bathing and paw washing might help, contact allergies seem to be more difficult to control than ones that are ingested. Was your dog tested for common allergies or just food?

Its great that you're getting to the bottom of Cora's allergies. I too have a dog that has many allergies. Mine is allergic to wheat + most grains, beef, chicken, pork. He too has recently been scratching and scratching and he is very allergic to harvest mites. I could walk him on a wheat field with no problems until the beginning of August when the mites appeared this year and he now too gets red spots on his belly, between his pads, toes etc. Harvest mites are prevalent in long grass, hedgerows and in the wheat field that I could walk him on before with no problem.

They have been awful this year and are still around. These mites are not controlled by Advocate or Frontline spot ons. Unfortunately there are no products that actually stop the mites getting on the dog and you can only kill the mites once on by spraying the dog with Frontline. I'm having to spray my dogs legs and feet daily and have recently found a product called CSJ Skinny Dip shampoo which really helps and the spray which is natural and contains neem oil. (another member here found the website) A neighbours dog had had blood tests, skin scraping and nothing showed up. I suggested harvest mites and sure enough that is what it was. ..... so don't rule harvest mites out. As soon as we have the first frost the wretched things will go or by late October. My dog is allergic to the digestive enzyme that the mites inject to dissolve the skin of its host.

Good luck with Cora and it will be interesting to see if in the next 3 weeks or so she stops scratching and the red spots disappear.

I am glad your girl is doing so well.
In answer to your question yes skin contact can cause exactly what you are describing. I would avoid the fields for a few weeks and see if she improves.

It really does sound like harvest mites - one of my dogs had an allergy to them a few years ago (and yet only 3 were found on him) and now another one is having problems too. I've recently bought the neem oil shampoo and spray and will be bathing him today so I'll let you know how it goes!