Allergies are hypersensitive skin reactions that occur in already sensitized animals. The allergen can penetrate the body in one of four ways: inhalation (which can cause atopic uticaria), ingestion (which causes an allergy to food or medicine, or uticaria), through the skin (which causes a contact allergy) or parenterally (as in the case of dermatoses from flea bite allergies, shots or uticaria).