Dogs with Skin Allergies - Tips on Symptoms and Treatments

Dogs with allergies are very common. While humans typically display many allergies as nasal ailments, dogs often display allergies in their skin with a skin inflammation called dermatitis. When inflicted with dermatitis, canines will often scratch and lick either all over or in a specific body area. If the problem is severe dogs can actually damage their skins. Dog owners also find these allergies and their dog's resulting constant scratching or licking dog to be very annoying.

If your dog shows sign of a severe skin problem, please consult a veterinarian. My family has owned many dogs over the years. Below is a summary of potential causes for a dog’s allergies.

1. Environmental Dermatitis
2. Nutritional Dermatitis
3. Parasitic Dermatitis
4. Neurogenic Dermatitis

Environmental dermatitis:

Symptoms: Dogs with environmental skin allergies will excessively lick themselves and perhaps chew their paws. Some dogs may even have a “hot spot”, which they constantly chew or scratch, others may rub their face on furniture or rugs. The dogs with this condition may display a thickened skin that is greasy or has a strong odor.

Cause: Dogs develop environmental dermatitis due to an immunological reaction to an element of their environment; such as: dust mites, pollen, mold, excessive exposure to moisture. Even minute skin scratches or a flea bit in dogs with dense coats can trigger this condition. In today’s modern world, a dog’s contact with plastic can, on rare occasions, cause environmental dermatitis.

Treatment: Treat your dog with cortisone spray or cream or medicated shampoo. Use caution with sprays or ointments as these items can be harmful to your dog if overused.

Some homeopathic remedies, especially for “hot spots” include applying a cool mixture of two aspirin dissolved in 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and a cup cooled-steeped-tea. You should apply the mixture to the “hot spot”. If you have a long-haired dog, you may need to shave the hair around the “hot spot” to get the mixture directly on the skin.

You can also bath your dog in cold water and Epsom salts.

Nutritional dermatitis

Symptoms: The dog’s skin and coat show signs of stress. Dogs with this type of skin allergy can also display head shaking, rubbing faces, ear inflammation, excessive paw licking, flatulence and sneezing. Some dogs with severe food allergies can present with vomiting and diarrhea.

Cause: Dogs can develop nutritional dermatitis by not getting enough of the right nutrients and vitamins. Canines with this cause often consume poor quality food, which lacks all the necessary vitamins. Some dogs can also have food sensitivity to certain foods. Common ingredients that can elicit a reaction in a dog’s skin include: milk, eggs, fish, corn, whey, soy and some preservatives. Some dogs can also display a skin reaction from consuming beef, chicken or pork.

Treatment: Give the dog a high quality diet of meat. Be sure to read the dog food labels. Some dry dog food lacks all the necessary ingredients for a well-balanced diet. If the dog’s diet is lacking, supplement it with Omega Fatty Acids, vitamins or home made dog food. Visit this link for more information on dog vitamins.

If you suspect a food allergy, you could try a premium hypo-allergenic dog food for a few weeks to see if the dog’s symptoms diminish. Be sure to consult with your vet about potential allergens before you test your dog’s diet.

One excellent home test is to make your dog’s food for a week. Use this diet only for one short time as it lacks sufficient nutrients for the long-term. During this test phase, you should only feed your dog food that is made of ingredients he has not had before. The dog’s diet should include a good protein (such as turkey, lamb or venison) mixed with a new-for-him starch; such as rice or potatoes. You can then gradual add back ingredients about one new ingredient (example: beef) each week and watch his reaction. Conduct the full test over a one month period.

Parasitic dermatitis

Symptoms: Dogs with this type of skin allergy will bite and lick his skin. Some parasites can also cause hair loss and flaky, dry skin. You may think a dog with this condition has dandruff. With the smallest mites, the dog may develop multiple small scabs.

Cause: Parasites, most commonly fleas, can easily hide in the dog’s environment. Other potential parasites include mites, which you can only see with a magnifying glass. These mites live on the dog’s skin surface and can be transmitted to humans. Mites can be a particular problem for young Cocker Spaniels.

Some mites are invisible to the eye. Vets may need to actually view a dog’s skin scrapping under a microscope to view these small mites.

Treatment: Quality flea and tick shampoo. Again, use caution with chemical treatments, as these items can be harmful to your dog if overused. Some homeopathic remedies include using mineral oil on cotton balls to remove ear mites and applying water and baking soda to relieve itching from insect bites.

Neurogenic dermatitis

Symptoms: Obsessive scratching and even tearing skin

Cause: Dog is confined, bored or experiencing separation anxiety. This is one of the harder causes to diagnose. Veterinarians may make this prognosis after eliminating all other causes.

Treatment: If your dog shows signs of chronic skin allergies, you may need to consult your Vet.

In diagnosing and treating dogs with allergies, you must be persistent if the first treatments do not work. The causes of these allergies and necessary treatments are so very diverse. You may need to locate a Veterinarian specializing in dog allergies and skin disorders.