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During spring and summer time, your dog’s skin allergies are extremely common and can cause itchines, dryness, redness, and flakiness. Here are 5 common reasons your dog is suffering from skin problems, and what you can do about it.
Do you have an itchy dog?
Although fleas are the most common cause, there are some incredibly annoying skin allergies in dogs that manifest with:
- Itchiness
- Dryness
- Flaky skin
- Inflamed skin
This can be a real pain for everyone involved, and it isn’t always easy to find the trigger or fix the problem.
What Causes Your Dog’s Skin Allergies?
While every canine health exam or treatment should start with a visit to the vet, self-education can also be extremely helpful.
In this post, we’ll help you understand what causes those awful skin reactions and how you can help your dog get back to being his joyful, silly, and happy self.
1. Fleas
We already mentioned that fleas are the number one cause of “the itchies” and other skin allergies in dogs.
They bite, they annoy, they frustrate, and they can even make your dog anemic if she’s small enough.
But that isn’t the only issue fleas cause; they’re also the number one trigger allergic dermatitis, too.
For some reason (maybe genetics) some dogs seem to react more severely to bites than others.
Rather than just being a bit itchy at the bite site, they develop large welts and widespread “hives” or hot spots, which they then scratch, causing microabrasions and even hotspots.
The Solution
So what’s the fix for flea dermatitis?
Well, sensibly, you should eliminate the fleas first with a good spot-on or pill-based treatment like Capstar or Revolution.
Spot-ons should be given on a schedule to prevent future infestations.
If flea dermatitis becomes severe enough, it can even cause secondary infections including:
- Candida (yeast)
- Staphylococcus aureus
These are best treated with topical or oral antibiotics and antifungals.
See your vet or pharmacist for more information.
2. Ringworm
Ringworm has a sort of misleading name; it’s not a worm at all. Instead, it’s a fungal infection that develops into strange bulls-eye patterns.
It is not only extremely contagious, but also transmissible to humans – meaning you or your little ones could contract it if you aren’t aware your dog has it.
Dogs who spend time around livestock and other outdoor animals have a much higher risk for contracting ringworm.
That’s because the fungus loves an environment containing:
- Moisture
- Mud
- Wooded
- Dead or decaying plant matter in the soil
In fact, ringworm often lives in the soil until your dog digs in it, transferring the fungus to his own skin.
The Solution
Treating ringworm (in humans or pets) is surprisingly easy – all you need is a good compounded topical antifungal medication.
Often, vets will prescribe the same cream for humans and dogs; both contain the identical medication.
But that doesn’t mean you should use your dog’s medicine (or vice versa) if you get it.
The doses are often quite different, and it is possible to use too much or too little.
Ask your pharmacist to help find the right treatment for your dog’s skin allergies.
3. Mange
Ever hear the term “mangy dog” in popular culture? What this really refers to is a skin condition called mange.
Mange is a skin disease technically caused by tiny microscopic mites.
As they burrow in and bite, they damage hair follicles, causing hair shafts to fall out. This is why the condition is also associated with:
- Hair loss
- Sores
- Bald spots
Like flea infestations, mange can also trigger extreme allergy reactions.
But the lesions and inflammation associated with mange presents very closely to dermatitis, although there are some minor differences.
The Solution
First, know that mange is very rare in domestic dogs who live most of their lives indoors. I
t’s far more common in outdoor dogs, strays, and dogs who spend a lot of time in communal spaces (yes, this includes the dog park).
Mange is HIGHLY contagious upon contact.
Treating it isn’t easy, either. Your dog will need long-term medicated therapy to restore his skin to a healthy status.
Like fungal infections such as ringworm, treatment often needs to be given for months to fully eradicate the mites.
4. Food Allergies
Outside of direct skin infections and conditions (like flea dermatitis), food allergies in dogs are the number one cause of allergic reactions affecting the skin.
Dogs are incredibly sensitive creatures and nearly all react to at least one commercially-available kibble or canned food in their lifetime.
It isn’t entirely clear why this happens.
It may be a result of the fact that dogs aren’t designed to eat kibble naturally, or it may be due to failures to maintain quality in the dog food industry.
What we do know is that certain ingredients are much more likely to trigger your dog’s skin allergies than others.
Check out this list of triggers sourced from the BMC Veterinary Research Center.
It lists ingredients in order of likelihood to cause skin allergies in dogs, listing the number of dogs likely to be affected by the trigger to the right.
- Beef (34%)
- Dairy Products (17%)
- Chicken (15%)
- Wheat (13%)
- Soy (6%)
- Lamb (5%)
- Corn (4%)
- Egg (4%)
- Pork (2%)
- Fish (2%)
- Rice (2%)
That means nearly 34% of all dogs suffer from beef allergies affecting their skin. This is remarkably high!
It’s no wonder so many dogs experience the “itchies!”
The Solution
It would be super if we could tell you that a simple pill or topical could fix food allergies for dogs…but it would also be untrue.
Truthfully, treating your dog’s skin allergies that are triggered by food ingredients can be time-consuming, expensive, and difficult.
If you can afford it, allergy testing is a good logical first step. There, your vet can test your dog to see which ingredients he or she reacts to. If nothing else, it’s a good place to start.
If allergy testing doesn’t pan out, or if you need another option, most vets will recommend a combination of:
- Antihistamines
- Topical soothing creams
- An elimination diet
Topicals soothe, orals reduce the reaction, and the diet focuses on finding and eliminating the issue.
Elimination diets place the dog on a highly restrictive, single-protein food temporarily (usually around 3 weeks) to “reset” the immune system.
You then add in an ingredient at a time.
When the skin problems crop back up, you know you’ve found at least one trigger.
5. Environmental Allergies
By now, you’re probably thinking that dogs are just full of allergic responses.
This is true!
In fact, it’s also possible for your dog to be allergic to environmental influences, too – including:
- Grass
- Hay
- Pollen
- Trees
Some dogs are even allergic to other dogs, laundry soaps, perfumes, other pets, or dust and mildew in the air.
It can be heart-wrenching to watch your dog suffer just from running on the very grass he loves to play in so much.
But the good news here is that environmental issues are relatively easy to treat.
The Solution
The easiest way to eliminate environmental allergy triggers that bother your dog’s skin is to eliminate the trigger.
That’s easy if it happens to be a laundry soap or perfume…but you can’t exactly eliminate the great outdoors.
And just not walking your dog because he’s allergic to grass? Not really an option, either.
In cases like these, the better option is often to medicate with oral antihistamines.
Given once a day in a non-drowsy form, they can curb your dog’s skin allergies to the point where they can once again be their normal, happy selves (including frustrating you by digging a hole across the world in the backyard grass).
Compounded veterinarian topicals can help you address and soothe any direct hotspots or lesions while also preventing nasty secondary infections.
Your pharmacist and vet are your best guide!
Conclusion
Your dog is your best friend and number one companion and you want to treat your dog’s skin allergies.
Your veterinary pharmacist, on the other hand, is one of the best partners you can have in helping your dog feel better (aside from your vet, of course) when allergies strike.
Don’t be afraid to reach out for recommendations when you need help!
Burt’s Pharmacy and Compounding Lab is a veterinary pharmacy that can help you with your pet’s prescriptions, whether they are compounded or not. If your pet needs medication, contact us today.