Dry Skin on Dogs - Know the 3 Main Causes and How To Prevent Them

Does your canine have dry skin? Dry skin on dogs is a warning sign. It is a warning sign that something is not right when your skin is dry and scratchy. So it is with your dog. Left untreated, dry skin can develop serious problems and get infections. To keep this from happening, you need to know what causes the dry skin.

1 – Allergic reactions

Dogs can be allergic to a wide range of things just like humans. Probably the most ordinary things canines are allergic to are fleas and their food. If your canine is allergic to fleas, you will spot pink, swollen spots or patches.  All-around these patches will often be dry skin. Both the swollen areas and the dry patches are irritating to your pet and causes itching, scratching and biting.

If you assume your dog is allergic to fleas, buy a topical medicine from the store or get one from your vet. The medicine must have both an antibiotic or steroid. Brush him properly and trim the hair from the swollen and itchy spots. Trimming the hair lets the spot get air, which helps the spot heal faster. Using cotton balls, apply the medicine. This treatment ought to heal these spots. If it doesn’t, see your vet for stronger steroids and an antihistamine.

If fleas aren’t the problem, your dog’s food could also be causing an allergic reaction. Experiment with different brands of foods to see if you notice an increase or decrease in the dryness and different symptoms.

2 — Bathing and Grooming

Bathing your dog might be the cause of his dry skin. For those who’re bathing your dog more than a few times each week that is most likely the cause. The natural oil in your canine’s coat not only makes your dog’s coat shiny, it also protects your canine’s skin. If you bathe your canine too much, you’re bathing away this natural protection leaving his skin dry and itchy.

How often you must bathe your dog depends on his breed and dirty he gets. Ask your vet or knowledgeable dog groomer how often you need to bathe your specific dog.

Bathing your canine with the wrong shampoo can even trigger dry skin. Shampoo your canine’s coat with shampoo made particularly for dogs. If that is what you’ve been utilizing and your dog nonetheless has problems, your dog could also be allergic to the shampoo. Look around at your pet retailer for hypoallergenic dog shampoos and see if it offers him any relief. Additionally, try using a moisturizer made for dogs. These can greatly help with the dry, itchy skin problem.

In between baths, make sure and groom your canine at the least once per week with a mild brushing. Giving your canine a gentle brushing helps spread his pure oils throughout his coat and skin and protects it from dryness.

In the event you’re not bathing your canine too typically or using the wrong shampoo, this most likely is not the cause of his dry skin problem. It could possibly be a normal health problem.

3 – Health

Because of misleading advertising and lack of quality food, it’s difficult to feed your dog food that that gives him all of the nutrition he needs. Simply to be on the safe side, it’s best to consider giving him vitamins. Even if your canine appears healthy to you, it’s best to get the professional opinion of a vet. By telling your vet what and how much your dog eats, he can inform you if he’s getting sufficient nutrition.

To ensure your canine is getting correct diet from his food, ensure you feed him food made specifically for his age, measurement, breed and any special medical issues he could have. Additionally, ensure your dog food isn’t low-cost and made with too many kinds of filler. Dogs need plenty of protein and this needs to be the main ingredient.

Be careful for fillers. These are listed as ground corn, corn gluten meal, floor wheat, peanut hulls and plenty of more. Feeding your dog low-quality meals stuffed with fillers means your canine is not getting the vitamins he needs to be healthy and this can cause skin problems in dogs.

Guarding against flea and foods for allergic reactions, bathing and grooming your dog properly, and being certain he’s getting the correct vitamin along with his meals and canine supplements, is a good start to putting an end to dry skin and skin problems on dogs. Use this info to determine what’s causing problems for your dog’s dry skin problem and put an end to dry skin on dogs.