NEW - Canine Skin Health - 5 minute read

A dog’s skin protects it from the elements as well as keeping moisture in the body, something vital for life, so it plays a very important role and should not be overlooked. Keeping skin moisturised and healthy provides the perfect environment for coat to grow. When it is dry, itching is more likely causing trauma to the skin and damage to coat.

On a healthy dog sebum is continuously being produced in the hair follicle, coating the hair as it grows and moisturising the skin. Any disruption to this cycle and a dog will show signs of skin issues.  Being covered in fur does help protect the dog's skin but as dogs on average only have seven layers of skin where humans have fifteen, dogs tend to react to skin problem quicker than us. 

Early warning signs of a skin problem

Flaky or scaly skin

Greasiness

Thinning hair

Change in hair colour

Redness

Spots bumps on skin

Odour

Dogs like us live in a world full of pollutants, either on the ground or in the air. Being a dog means you can enjoy life running, rolling, swimming and generally pushing your face in to life.

Their fur works incredibly well in protecting them from the weather, but it also acts as an effective carrier for all the allergens they encounter which build up over time, eventually causing irritation in some dogs.

Dogs scratch because they itch, so solving the problem entails you being able to identify what is triggering the itching.

There are many causes, but the most common causes of itching are:

Parasites – dogs will scratch and chew excessively resulting in sore skin, loss of hair sometimes secondary infections, and in extreme cases be depressed.

Allergies - dogs like us can experience allergies that can affect their skin, common allergens are food ingredients, grass, mould, pollen.

Bacteria – A dog’s skin is covered in healthy bacteria, if the bacteria is compromised and starts to overgrow then problems can occur. This can be due to the dog's immune system being faulty or if the dog is suffering from an underlying disease that is disrupting the natural flora of the skin. Small lesions from running into undergrowth or scratching due to parasites etc can also be an effective opening in the skin for bacteria to cause an infection.

Yeast / fungal infections - This type of skin problem comes with a characteristic cheesy odour and causes dry scaling or sticky discharge or both in the affected area, they are found anywhere on a dog but commonly in damp warm places in  skin creases, groin  ears feet or around nails.

Dry skin - Characterised by dry scaly patches of skin, flakiness and dandruff, dry skin can be due to several reasons: if the sebaceous gland is not working properly, so inadequate sebum is being produced for a healthy, moisturised skin or the coat is particularly heavy or matted which does not allowing the dead skin to shed effectively,. Also changes in weather, nutrition or an underlying condition can all affect the balance of the skin.

Regular bathing in an appropriate shampoo that cares for the skin and coat is one effective way you can help keep your dog’s skin healthy.

Interested in knowing more?

Enrol in the NEW Mastering Canine Skin Conditions webinar. Read all about it here