By Hill's Pet Nutrition The impact of allergies on quality of life While pet parents often think of pruritus as a fairly harmless sign, anyone who has encountered a dog with chronic allergies is no stranger to the incessant and often debilitatingly severe clinical signs that can take over the lives of both the dog and their owner. Persistent pruritus in allergic dogs is not merely an inconvenience; it represents a significant and often overlooked welfare issue. Visible signs of incessant pruritus include damage to the skin, flaky skin, red patches of inflammation, scabs, focal or widespread hair loss, and sometimes watery eyes and nose.1 But the impact goes deeper. Dogs with chronic atopic dermatitis have a skin barrier defect that allows allergens to enter through the defective barrier,2 causing them to scratch and inflict self-trauma. This can lead to chronic inflammation that further compromises the skin barrier — resulting in a perpetual cycle of severe discomfort and skin damage.3 This relentless pattern of irritation, inflammation and infection creates extreme discomfort for the pet, reaching a point where it interferes with their sleep quality. Incessant pruritus and licking severely impact a pet's overall quality of life. Furthermore, chronic skin discomfort can disrupt household sleep patterns which can strain the human–animal bond.4,5,6,7 Types of Allergies Allergens fall within two major categories: environmental and food allergies. Of the two, environmental allergies are far more prevalent.1 Common triggers include weeds, grasses, mold, pollen and dust mites, but pets can develop reactions to a wide variety of allergens in their environment.8 The second major type, food allergies, are far less common; fewer than 10% of dogs experience them.9 Food allergies are typically caused by animal proteins like beef, chicken and dairy, but a food elimination trial is necessary to discover which ingredient is causing the reaction. Allergy Management The customary treatment protocol for environmental allergies relies on pharmaceuticals to manage allergy signs, including oral or injectable medications and supplements. But for some dogs with chronic allergies, pharmaceuticals alone may not be enough to manage clinical signs — particularly for atopic dogs who are susceptible to chronic signs. While it is often difficult or even impossible to completely remove the sources of environmental allergies, adding therapeutic nutrition alongside pharmaceuticals creates a multimodal treatment approach that can help address skin barrier dysfunction. For dogs suffering from food allergies, specialized nutrition with a hydrolyzed or novel protein can help eliminate the cause of their reactions. Overall, adding nutrition to the treatment plan helps provide holistic and effective allergy management and helps stop the cycle of chronic pruritus and skin irritation. The Study Hill's Pet Nutrition conducted a study focused on the effectiveness of Hill’s Prescription Diet Derm Complete nutrition in improving owner-reported sleep soundness in dogs with allergies. Derm Complete is designed with nutrition to help manage allergy signs by promoting skin health and healing, normalizing the immune response, and supporting the skin’s natural barrier against allergens. Formulated with Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, as well as bioactives and phytonutrients from herb and plant extracts, the nutrition had already been shown in previous studies to help reduce allergic responses like licking, scratching, head shaking and skin redness in as little as 28 days. For this particular study, dogs with seasonal pruritus were recruited from general and specialty practices in 12 states throughout the USA for participation in a randomized, double-blinded controlled study. Veterinary-reported canine atopic dermatitis lesion index (CADLI) scores and owner-reported pruritus visual analog scale (PVAS) scores were performed at the start of the study to assess dermatologic clinical signs. The dogs were randomly assigned to a Test Food group, where they were fed Hill’s Prescription Diet Derm Complete, or to a Control Food group for 63 days. At the end of the study, veterinary-reported CADLI and owner-reported PVAS values were collected again and compared with the baseline scores. Photo courtesy Hill's Pet Nutrition The Results Client-owned dogs with canine atopic dermatitis fed Hill’s Prescription Diet Derm Complete in a multi-center, blinded, controlled, longitudinal study demonstrated significant improvements in owner-reported and wearables-reported clinical signs. Notably more owners reported lower (improved) pruritus visual analog scores (PVAS) after feeding Derm Complete compared to baseline, indicating that it successfully reduced pruritus. Owners reported significantly improved sleep in dogs fed Derm Complete compared with dogs fed the control food. These results demonstrate that Prescription Diet Derm Complete provides substantial benefits to dogs with atopic dermatitis when used as part of multimodal therapy. There was also considerable improvement in owner-reported scores for “how much does your dog’s condition interfere with your sleep” after 3 months in dogs fed Derm Complete compared with dogs fed a control food. At the completion of the study, 8/10 veterinarians reported that they would recommend Derm Complete to a colleague. (Figure 1) Figure 1. How it works Hill’s Prescription Diet Derm Complete is the go-to clinical nutrition formulated to help manage environmental and food allergies in dogs with dermatological issues. Single intact animal protein Visible skin healing in as little as 3 weeks and reduced scratching in 4 weeks HistaGuard Complex, a proprietary blend of bioactives, phytonutrients and high levels of essential fatty acids, helps normalize the immune system reaction to environmental allergens Formulated with Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids to reduce scratching and promote skin regeneration in dogs with environmental allergies The nutritional profile uses carefully formulated ingredients focused around promoting a healthy skin barrier and immune system health to help normalize the immune system's response to environmental allergens. Help normalize inflammatory response: Egg, polyphenols (including quercetin), antioxidants and fish oil Strengthen skin barrier: Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids Nourish skin and coat health: Amino acids, Vitamins A, B and E, zinc, and copper Support immune system health: Vitamins A, E & C, antioxidants and zinc When to recommend nutrition As the only clinically tested nutrition for both food and environmental allergies,* Hill’s Prescription Diet Derm Complete can play an important role in multimodal treatment plans for canine patients presenting with allergies. This simplifies dietary management and offers a comprehensive approach to complex allergic dermatoses. Primary indications for recommending Derm Complete include the broad spectrum of atopic dermatitis, adverse food reactions, flea allergy dermatitis and chronic presentations of otitis externa, which is frequently a localized manifestation of systemic atopic disease. It is an ideal choice for any form of pruritic dermatitis where the underlying cause is suspected to be allergic in nature, whether environmental or food-related. By helping to manage pruritus, Derm Complete can help reduce painful excoriation and improve owner assessed sleep quality and overall quality of life for patients. This not only transforms the daily experience for dogs with allergies but also helps to ease the burden on their pet parents, providing a holistic solution that veterinarians can confidently integrate into their allergy management protocols. *Among leading therapeutic brands in North America References Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. (2025). Food & environmental allergies in dogs. https://www.hillspet.com/health-categories/dog/food-and-environmental-allergies-in-dogs. Clinical nutrition for the management of dogs with environmental sensitivities. Data on file. (2019). Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Study of client-owned dogs with canine atopic dermatitis. Data on file. (2026). Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Outerbridge, C. A., & Jordan, T. J. M. (2021). Current Knowledge on Canine Atopic Dermatitis: Pathogenesis and Treatment. Advances in Small Animal Care, 2, 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yasa.2021.07.004 Wright, A., Gildea, E., Greaves, M., Longstaff, L., Wyn, R., Nagda, N., DiPietrantonio, K., Enstone, A., Riley, D., & Bartram, D. (2025). Exploring Pet Owner Preferences in Order to Assess the Role of Cost and Quality of Life in Anti-Pruritic Treatment Plan Selection for Dog Owners. Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 15(4), 509. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15040509 Noli, C., Minafò, G., & Galzerano, M. (2011). Quality of life of dogs with skin diseases and their owners. Part 1: Development and validation of a questionnaire. Veterinary Dermatology, 22(4), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3164.2010.00954.x Effectiveness of a Dietetic Dermatologic Food on Pruritus in Atopic Dogs. Data on file. (2017). Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Seid, J. (2022, January 31). Can Cats Have Allergies? Signs, Common Types & Treatments. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. https://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/healthcare/can-cats-have-allergies. Bauhaus, J. M. (2018, February 9). Does My Dog Have a Food Allergy? Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/nutrition-feeding/dog-food-allergies-and-hypoallergenic-food.
