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Lucy Liu our cinnamon Chow is frequently bothered with hot spots and has to wear her doughnut loads of times throughout the year. Below is a small article about the 10 most common dog skin conditions.
We hope you find it helpful !!
Dog skin conditions are one of the main causes for treatment at vet clinics. Skin issues can cause significant discomfort for your pet, more prevalent in the warmer seasons, where allergies are more prone, and can indicate an underlying health condition that hasn’t already been diagnosed.
Dogs can suffer from mild to severe skin conditions, many of which require professional treatment to resolve before they get any worse. In fact, when a skin disease is left untreated for a while the condition can often become more complicated. For example, an allergic skin reaction may become secondarily infected with bacteria, or a bacterial infection may also become infected with yeast. Some of the most common skin disorders in dogs include bacterial skin infections, environmental allergies and parasite allergies. To help you understand the range of dog skin problems and the more obvious symptoms identified with each issue, we have summarised 10 of the most common skin conditions in dogs.
Symptoms of dog skin conditions
Itching is one of the most obvious symptoms if your dog has a skin condition, but it’s difficult to determine exactly what’s irritating your dog without a full veterinary examination. While it is quite normal for a dog to occasionally itch, just like a person may occasionally scratch their skin, frequent or prolonged itching is a tell-tale sign of something going on.
Dogs can relieve the itch by rubbing their head against an object or scratching the irritated area with their paws. You may also see your dog licking their paws or other areas of the body to soothe the irritated skin.
Other signs suggesting an issue with the skin condition includes the following symptoms:
Skin sores
Dry skin
Rashes
Lumps
Redness
Dandruff
Bumps
Hair loss
Check your pet regularly to spot any of these symptoms and take note as and when your dog has a reaction. You may find your pet itches specifically after meal times, during a particular season or if you’ve recently done any housework, all of which can indicate an underlying allergy. The more information you can provide from observing when your pet displays a sign of an irritation, the better, so your vet can make a full and accurate diagnosis of an allergy or skin infection.
The most common types of dog skin conditions
The most common types of dog skin conditions include contact allergies; bacterial infections; fungal infections, and parasite allergies.
1. Environmental allergies
A sudden onset of itching particularly to the face, feet, chest and stomach can indicate an environmental allergy, triggered as and when your dog is in contact with the cause of irritation.
This particular type of allergy in dogs is called ‘Atopy’ and is similar to how people have hay fever – except that dogs show it by having irritated, itchy skin rather than watery eyes and sneezing.
A blood test can help diagnose whether your pet is allergic to grass, dust mites and pollens, which are some of the most common things dogs are allergic to. Treating environmental allergies can be difficult and in the most severe cases involve shampoo’s, tablets and injections. Over recent years, there have been some new drugs which have revolutionised the care of dogs with this disease and a combination of treatments can help ease your pet’s symptoms effectively.
2. Food allergies
Increased itching often involving the face, feet, ears and anus are signs of a potential dog food allergy. Dogs can develop food allergies from the type of protein consumed as part of their diet such as beef, eggs, chicken and dairy, although it can be anything in the diet such as wheat or even vegetables.
Like humans, who experience food intolerances, pets must go through an elimination process for 8-12 weeks to rule out any causes of the allergies. Your vet will advise you step by step on this type of treatment. It is vital that you refrain from introducing your dog to any of the suspected allergens during the elimination process to ensure an effective treatment process.
3. Folliculitis
Folliculitis means inflamed hair follicles and often occurs when your dog is experiencing another skin problem such as mange or an allergy, as the hair follicles become infected by the underlying skin condition. It appears on the body in sores, bumps and scabs over the skin. Shampoos, oral antibiotics and antibacterial ointments are prescribed by a vet to help treat and soothe the infection.
4. Impetigo
Puppies are more prone to impetigo, which may also indicate an underlying skin condition. As with all conditions in young animals, expert treatment is recommended as soon as you suspect something is wrong.
Impetigo lesions can appear on the dog’s stomach as blisters, which can burst and scab over. Dogs can be treated for impetigo with antibiotics or washes and your vet can run a few tests to diagnose the existing problem.
5. Ringworm
Ringworm, despite its name, is not a worm but a fungus that is highly contagious to other animals and humans. The fungal infection appears as circular, crusty bald patches and is often found on a dog’s head, paws, ears and front legs. Your dog’s skin can also appear inflamed and red from where they have irritated the area from scratching. It’s imperative that you contact your vet straight away if you spot any signs of irritation, who can prescribe a topical treatment to kill the fungus and prevent it from spreading.
6. Yeast infections
Warm areas on a dog’s body attract yeast infections, which love to grow in hard to reach areas, such as the ear canal, in between your dog’s toe, groin and perineum. The skin can thicken, causing your dog to itch and bite at the infected area. Yeast infections can discolour the skin and tend to smell unpleasant: a topical cream, washes and tablets will help to relieve the symptoms and help cure the infected site.
7. Ticks and fleas
Ticks and fleas affect your dog’s skin by biting and sucking their blood. Flea saliva enters the body and can cause an allergic response which irritates your pet’s skin, causing them to itch profusely. Pets suffering from a severe parasite allergy experience symptoms of inflamed, red skin, will often scratch and dogs may chew at their fur to relieve the itching. In extreme conditions, their fur can fall out in patches.
Fleas are tiny parasites which can survive in our carpets and bedding, which is why it’s so important to vacuum regularly, wash your pet’s bed and make sure they’re up-to-date with their preventative treatments to kill off any bugs.
8. Mange
Mange is a severe skin condition caused by several species of mites that live on the dog’s hair and skin.
There are 2 main types of mange: one caused by the demodex mite ‘demodectic mange’, which tends to affect dogs under one year old, older dogs or pets with another underlying condition.
Sarcoptic mange caused by sarcoptes mites, which is an intensely itchy condition and is often first seen on the dog’s ears. Symptoms of mange include hair loss on the face and legs, along with severe itching and redness around the affected areas.
As with fleas and ticks, if your pet has mange, wash their bedding and make sure any other animals avoid contact with this pet. Mange is diagnosed by the vet looking at a sample of some of the skin under the microscope. Treatment includes tablets and dedicated shampoos to kill the mite, ease the itching and inflammation – in fact, some of the flea and worm products that vets prescribe can also protect against mange.
9. Dandruff
Like humans, dogs can get dandruff or ‘scurff’ and dry skin; this can be a sign of an underlying problem, like an infection. Some dogs are prone to having dry skin, particularly in winter and it may be affected by their diet; high-quality sources of protein, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids can all help keep the coat healthy. Simple cases of dandruff are normally easy to treat with shampoos but the vet will want to check there is nothing underlying.
10. Lupus
Lupus is an autoimmune disease which means the body’s immune system attacks its own cells. Unfortunately for our pets, open, crusty skin sores which take too long to heal can indicate an immune disorder, these will often be seen around the nose, eyes and paws. If left untreated, lupus can be very serious so making sure the vet gets to the bottom of any skin condition that isn’t improving is very important for your pet’s health.
