We live in New England and all of a sudden this past summer many of my Labs started having issues with licking their feet and occasional scratching... These are dogs that have never shown any allergic symptoms in their lives. My 10 yr old is one of them.. Our vet tells us that the weather is causing alot of havoc with animals due to the humidity, fungus and molds... I was wondering if anyone else is having issues where they did not prior. I am getting a little panicky about my lines.
the dogs are related, though 1 does not have any symptoms at all... And they range in age from 2 to 10.. No known allergies either side as far back as I can go... Strange.....

I would suggest a trip to the dermatologist with all your related itchy dogs and see if they can help you solve your riddle. Or you can spend a zillion dollars and hours of aggravation changing foods, reading websites, running to the vet, and asking opinions from Tom, Dick, and Harry.

Thanks for your suggestion Breeder.

What I was hoping to find out is if anyone else was having the same issue, possibly due to the extreme strange weather many of us are experiencing..

I also know of some people with no previous hx of allergies,who are currently having sniffles and running eyes not related to a cold and being sick..

Yes I've had the same thing with my dogs this summer. We live in a heavily wooded property that has quite alot of shaded areas,some of it is grassed the rest just nice forest floor. It rained so much that the fungi, mold and mildew were overwhelming, nothing seemed to get a chance to dry out.The dehumidifier and a/c were running 24/7, the washer and dryer never seemed to stop from washing dog towels after the rains.
And no, it's not "genetic", even my 3 little rescue dogs which are all small terriers and pinschers got itchy and chewy on their feet at times throughout the summer and into the fall. I did do foot baths/soaks with Povidone Iodine and that seemed to give them some relief.
I'm hoping next summer isn't so wet and we don't set any more precipitation records.

I'm sorry I wasn't more direct in answering your question, no I didn't have any problems with my dogs being itchy at all this year and I live in New England as well. The five other breeders I know (that I just checked with) that have a variety of breeds and live throughout New England, also had typical summers with no itches or allergy problems. We did all have constant rain, flooding, mold, mildew and nasty weather overall. I hope this answer is more helpful.

we seem to have the itches but from the dryness. We have had such a drought this year that everyone seems to be itching from dry skin, lots of dandruff. We still haven't had any rain or snow. I can't remember the last time it rained. We have had a couple with a few bald spots that cleared up with a little prednisone and they haven't come back.

Try leaving the bathroom door open when you all shower.(I know, this could potentially lead to a four legged jumping in with you!!!) Run a teapot of water and let the steam go for a while when you're in the kitchen and try house plants that require daily watering. Fish oil, too.

All seems to work well when we've got dry skin problems.

I have a line that gets itchy when they don't have enough light/sunlight. Itchies come out with many rainy days in a row and in mid winter.

I keep a flourescent light on in kennel and in their area in the home until 10 pm and the itchies resolve. Not sure if this applies but thought I'd share.

Thought I should clarify that my vet says its stress of not enough light causing itchies - like people who get depressed with lack of sunlight.[/quote]

Thank you everyone for the replies. We are actually working with a mold remediation company since we have mold in the house.. While the levels are not alarming, the rep feels something is amis.. We live in a very small house with multiple dogs.. I have been having alot of upper respiratory issues... So we tried more dehumidifiers and it seems to be a tad worse. We run wood pellet stoves too.. So now we are going to test the humidity levels to see if they are in a good range.. if not we will add a humidifier. We have wetness on the interior of our windows every winter and the air flow is not great...
So maybe the dogs brought in alot of the crap that is outside when it was really bad, and having the house closed up so tightly is causing the issues with all of us.. We have no rugs etc, but I am sure the buggers find places hard to reach and clean.. I don't typically have any allergy symptoms and never have... But I have been to the doctor for sinus infections 3 yrs in a row during the winter months.. I had thought of stress too as they seem to do it less when they are engaged in play, etc...
Thanks again for all the replies... It is crazy how different all our dogs are and how they react to different things.. I am gald to read that there are some with no known allergies having issues as of late...
YES praying the coming months do not bring more symptoms. UGH!

I'll try the fish oil, mink oil sprayed on them seems to help too. I can to a pot of water on the stove when they are inside. Thanks for the ideas

To Frustrated Breeder, your house sounds like mine.Wet weather this summer and now super dry. I believe that the moisture on the windows is from the dogs breathing, we have all the dogs sleep in the house with us, and they mostly sleep in the bedroom. It's more noticeable if it's really cold outside.
We run a woodstove too in our basement, and keep a pot of water on it all the time as well as run a pot on the stove upstairs too, but now the last month has been really dry and I'm adding the humidifier.I usually spray a leave-on conditioner on the dogs when it rains, but I've been spraying them at least once a week since it's so dry and about half had baths to get rid of the blowing coat. I had 2 air systems that died this summer and have yet to replace them and I got sick this year for the first time in years.I've noticed that there is alot more dust in the house this winter than last and we have wood floors as well.

I am thinking it would be a good time to get new air filter systems.