Dogs: what to do in case of skin complaints?

Many dogs have skin complaints

In dogs, skin complaints are a common and annoying problem. This is because the skin is the largest organ of the dog. In an adult dog weighing 30 kg, 12% of the body weight is skin. Fortunately, not all complaints are equally severe or long lasting. One of the most common causes of skin complaints are still the fleas. Although nowadays a lot is known about the occurrence of fleas on the animal but also in the immediate environment, it remains a difficult problem. From fleas it is known that dogs with a flea allergy continue to have complaints when there is a flea bite once every five days.

Problems on the skin, do not always disappear quickly

. Unfortunately, not all causes of skin complaints at home can be solved equally quickly. For example, if there is a wound larger than a small abrasion, it is often necessary to visit your vet. Wounds caused by other dogs or cats can, even in humans, easily become inflamed. It may then be necessary to give a course of antibiotics. At very superficial wounds often suffices the cleaning with Betadine. When in doubt immediately after wounding or when a fever occurs after a few days, always contact your veterinarian to set up a proper treatment.

Bacterial inflammation often reason for vet visit

. Scratching, biting or extreme licking of the skin disrupts the skin barrier. The skin is then no longer optimally protected against the penetration of bacteria, for example. This causes inflammation of the skin. These bacterial inflammations are called superficial, deep or very deep pyoderma. Often are superficial inflammations between skin folds or between the toes and can often be well treated with special Etiderm shampoo and honey ointment such as Dermiel wound ointment and Vetramil. When there are inflammations in which not only the outer layer of the skin participates, it is advisable to visit your vet.

Many dogs are hypersensitive to ingredients from the food

. In addition to parasites and bacteria, there are a few other causes of skin complaints in dogs. Many dogs have skin complaints due to a food allergy, intolerance to certain food ingredients or are hypersensitive to something from the environment (atopy). With food intolerances dogs almost always react to the animal proteins in the food. We see less often dogs that develop an allergy to the carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, grains etc. An allergy often develops at a young age, but even older dogs can develop symptoms after a change of food. There are tests to see what the dog does and does not react to, but in practice it is often decided to offer the dog a special hypoallergenic food or an elimination diet for 6 to 8 weeks. It is, however, necessary that the dog really eats nothing other than the special diet because this can influence the outcome. If after these 8 weeks it goes well with the dog, then it can be chosen to give this food the rest of his life. The hypersensitivity to a certain protein will not disappear. It may be that in the course of time the dog becomes hypersensitive to the chosen food, then the search unfortunately starts all over again.

When food doesn't seem to be the problem, but there is still a lot of itching

There are also dogs that seem to be allergic to food, but in reality react to allergens (substances to which the dog is allergic) from the environment. You can think of house dust mites, pollen, seeds and grasses. When you think that this is the case, then it is advisable after walking the dog with Allermyl anti-itch shampoo to wash because you then the pollen etc on the skin in any case reduced. In addition, your veterinarian can also offer other support.

Skin complaints with itching always just pass by your veterinarian

Itching is often a very annoying problem for both dog and owner. There are a lot of causes for itching in dogs and therefore for a correct diagnosis it is good to show your vet your dog. In addition, a skin infection can also maintain the itching while the first cause of the itching is already gone. In order to get out of the vicious circle it may be necessary to give medication to your dog.