Pollen season: itchy dogs and short tempers

For about three weeks starting in late March, everything in Houston is yellow. Cars, patios, the water in the retention pond, the dog. Oak and pine pollen arrive together, and a lot of dogs spend April scratching, licking their paws and sleeping badly. A dog that is itchy all night is a dog that is short with the kids the next day, and our team hears about the temper before anyone mentions the itch.

What to notice

• Paw licking that starts the moment the dog comes in from the yard.
• Head shaking and ear scratching in the evening.
• A dog that used to hold place easily and now gets up, circles and scratches.
• Grumbling when touched somewhere that never bothered it before.
• Restless nights, which show up as a cranky morning.

Itching is a vet question, and we are not vets. If the dog is losing hair, has red skin or is chewing itself raw, that is an appointment, not a training issue. What our trainers can help with is the routine around it.

The after-walk routine

Pollen comes in on the feet and the coat. The easiest change is a routine at the back door: the dog sits on a mat, each paw is wiped with a damp cloth, then the dog goes to place for five minutes to settle before it has the run of the house. Most dogs fight the paw wipe at first. That is a handling problem, and it is the same problem that makes nail trims and vet visits a wrestling match, so it is worth solving on its own.

Teach it the way we do: one paw, one second, one treat. Then two seconds. Then the cloth. Then all four paws. A week of ten reps a day and the dog offers the paw. This is cooperative care, and the pollen month is a good reason to start it.

Walks and place in a yellow month

Walk early, before the wind picks up, and skip the freshly mown grass at the park for a few weeks. The tree lined streets around the training home in Cypress are as bad as anywhere, so our own April routine is a paved walk, a wipe at the door and a long place. Keep the place bed washed and off the patio. Move the water bowl inside, because the outdoor bowl is a pollen soup by noon. And keep the structured walk even if the dog seems tired; it is the one part of the day that does not change, and a dog with a changing body needs the routine more, not less.

When the temper is the problem

A dog that starts grumbling at the kids in April usually stops in May when the pollen does. A dog that keeps it up, or that has snapped, needs a trainer to see it, because a growl that works becomes a habit that outlasts the season. A $220 in-home lesson lets our team watch the household and the dog together. For a dog with a real pattern of irritability or guarding, three weeks of Platinum at $3,750 includes behavior modification and the unlimited follow-up lessons that keep it fixed once the dog is home.

Written by

Best Dog University Team

Board and train trainers in Cypress, Houston. 16+ years, 900+ dogs. About our team