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Beyond the Itch: Fresh Thinking on Allergy Management
The atopic dog and the one with chronic enteropathy often sit on opposite sides of the clinic – yet the same biology often drives both cases.
In this three-part newsletter series on Beyond the Itch: Fresh Thinking on Allergy Management, we’ll look at what drives chronic sensitivity beneath the surface – beginning with the gut itself. We’ll explore why microbial diversity is more than a buzzword, how dysbiosis fuels inflammation, and what it takes to restore the immune regulator at its source.
Reviewing the gut-skin-immune axis
As many as one in four dogs experience recurrent skin or gastrointestinal signs each year, their diverse presentations masking a common cause: a disrupted gut-skin–immune axis. A loss of mucosal integrity and microbial balance, leading to an immune system that no longer knows when to stand down.
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“Digestion and absorption of nutrients coming from our foods – like fatty acids, vitamins – all of those are going to impact what that skin barrier looks like” – Dr Laura Gaylord
What we feed provides the raw materials for microbial metabolism. As nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are digested, they’re broken down into a huge range of metabolites – short-chain fatty acids, bile acid derivatives, amino acid by-products, and more. These metabolites act as messengers, shaping which microbes thrive and how immune cells respond. In other words, nutrition doesn’t just fuel the body – it trains the gut-skin-immune axis at the same time.
Restoring tolerance means rebuilding this axis – from within.
The gut as the immune regulator
Roughly 70% of immune cells reside in the gastrointestinal tract. There, a complex interaction unfolds between microbes, enterocytes, and immune tissue – a balance that keeps the body from overreacting to harmless antigens.
When the microbiome is diverse and stable, beneficial bacteria ferment dietary fibres into short-chain fatty acids, strengthen the mucus layer, and train immune cells to tolerate commensals and dietary proteins.
But modern pressures – stress, some antibiotics, and poor diet – disrupt that balance. Once the mucosal barrier becomes permeable, food antigens, microbial fragments, and toxins enter the circulation. The immune system responds as though under siege.
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“We use the term ‘dysbiosis’ to describe alterations in the composition of the microbiome that result in functional changes. Dysbiosis has been associated with enteropathies, atopic dermatitis, obesity, metabolic diseases (chronic kidney disease and liver disease), cancer, and neurologic dysfunction.” – Dr Laura Gaylord
Emerging research confirms that this pattern is measurable. Dogs with chronic enteropathy and atopic dermatitis both show reduced microbial diversity – particularly a decline in Fusobacterium and Megamonas, genera associated with intestinal health1 – and altered short-chain fatty acid concentrations.2 Even in dogs fed hydrolysed diets, microbial richness remains static after weeks of feeding.3
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“With hydrolyzed diets... we’re not training the microbiome for diversity and variety, so there’s a potential risk of low microbial diversity with this mono-diet approach” – Dr Laura Gaylord
We may be removing antigens, but we are not rebuilding resilience.
About Lyka Hypoallergenic Pro
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Formulated to restore the gut–skin–immune axis from within, Lyka Hypoallergenic Pro delivers a single novel protein (Australian goat) with select prebiotic fibres that feed beneficial bacteria and support mucosal repair. This diet was formulated by board-certified vet nutritionists to help re-establish microbial diversity, reinforce barrier integrity, and retrain immune tolerance over time.
Webinar
👉 Watch the full webinar, Beyond the Itch: Fresh Thinking on Allergy Management with Dr Laura Gaylord, and learn more about Lyka Hypoallergenic Pro – real food that rebuilds resilience from the gut up.
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