Wash Your Dog for Healthy Canine Skin

I have had terriers for 45 years and, with one or two small and very short-lived exceptions, I have never had a dog with itchy skin. 

Why is that? 

I chalk it up to two simple factors:

1. 
   I prefer mutts, cross-breeds, and unregistered dogs. 
   
   One of the main reasons we have a lot of skin problems in dogs, and especially terriers, is that most show dogs are heavily inbred and, as a consequence, they have weak immune systems and more allergies.
   
   
    
   
   


2. 
   I wash my dogs every week. 
   
   I have always washed my dogs once a week, and you should too.  You have heard that washing your dog is “bad” for the dog?  Nonsense.  A dog wants to be clean and it deserves to be clean. You wash yourself at least once a week, right?  Do the same for the dog.  If you are worried about keeping your dog’s coat shiny for shows, please grow up and get a life.  A dog does not want a ribbon — its want to be free of itch.
   
   

So why do dogs get itchy skin? 

There’s a lot of veterinary mumbo jumbo on that score, but let’s cut to the chase and lump up the three factors:

1. 
   Weak immune system and auto-immune disorders. 
   
   Dogs can get allergic to pollen and even to their own dandruff, which is one reason you want to wash your dog — to reduce pollen and dander as well as dirt. Yes, some dogs have food allergies, but this is much less common than most people think, and the most common diet-based allergy in dogs is not to corn or wheat, but to beef.  If your dog has seasonal hotspots, it is almost certainly not due to a food allergy, but to a reaction to pollen, dander, and fleas.
   
   
   
   


2. 
   Allergies to fleas, mites, ticks, and mosquitoes. 
   
   Flea bite dermititis is common, and it only takes one or two fleas for a dog with a weak immune system to go a little nuts.  One reason to wash your dog with flea shampoo once a week in spring, summer and fall, is to make sure your dog harbors few or no fleas, mites, or ticks. 
   
   
   
   


3. 
   Dogs have too much hair these days. 
   
   Air circulation over the coat and the skin helps cut down on fungus infections. When thick hair is combined with poor hygiene (too little bathing and too little combing), the ground is set for canine skin trouble.  Again, washing your dog and combing out the under-thatch at least once a week will solve a lot of problems.
   
   
   
   

Do you need a special shampoo to wash your dog? 

No. 

The folks who claim otherwise are marketing nonsense or repeating old wives tales.  If a shampoo is gentle enough to be used on a human head once a day, it’s fine for a dog once a week!

In cold-weather months, when fleas and ticks are not much of an issue, use the cheapest shampoo you can find at the grocery store.  I get Suave at about $ 1 a bottle, and it works fine.  Expensive non-medicated dog shampoos are all hype and marketing.  Save your money.

In summer, I use an off-the-shelf pyrethrin-based flea and tick shampoo ($ 4.00 a bottle on the Internet and $ 7 at the store), and I make sure to lather well around the ears and neck, and around the dog’s vent area. 

Pyrethrin is a very safe, old, and natural insecticide made from Chrysanthemum flowers, and pyrethrin-based shampoos are famously effective at killing fleas and ticks. In doses too small to kill fleas and ticks, pyrethrin repels them, and the the active ingredient is biodegradable as well.  The US Department of Agriculture says pyrethrins are “probably the safest of all insecticides” and has approved their use around foodstuffs and at food plants. 

Killing fleas, airing and brushing the coat, and getting rid of the dirt, dander and pollen on your dog, are all key to keeping your dog’s skin healthy and happy.

Do you already have a dog with itchy skin, aka a “hot spot”?

If it’s a seasonal hot spot, as is so often the case, then it almost certainly has nothing to do with a food allergy, and is more likely to be due to pollen, dander and (especially) fleas. 

Wash your dog, treat for fleas, and knock down the initial itchiness with a dose of benadryl (2 mg or less per pound), and things should sort themselves out fairly quickly.

After the fleas are gone from the dog, and eliminated from its bedding as well, I generally recommend washing dogs that have skin problems with a human dandruff shampoo like Selsun Blue. 

If the seasonal hot spot problem continues (probably due to pollen) the dog should also get dosed with benadryl (up to to 2 mg per pound of dog, every 12 hours) to reduce itching.  Remember:  people take benadryl for their allergies all the time, and dogs can take it too if it is administered in the proper dose (not for cats!).  For terriers, the 25 mg. benadryl caplets sold at Walgreen’s as a “sleep aid” for humans are just about perfect.

Of course not all “hot spots” can be eliminated with a good shampooing alone.  There is a chance your dog might have a fungal skin infection, aka, “ring worm.”

The cheap over-the-counter remedy here is to treat the red or balding areas with a topic fungal ointment like Tenactin or its generic equivalent. Rub it into the root of the hair and the skin. This ointment is the same ointment used to treat athlete’s foot and jock itch, and is sold at any pharmacy or grocery store for about $ 7 a tube.

Another step that may be necessary, especially if the dog has already rubbed the skin raw, is to dose the dog with an antibiotic like cephalexin (sold without prescription as “Fishflex“) until the skin heals up.  A 7-day course of antibiotics will help the dog “attack the attacker” from the inside, as well as the outside.

If you suspect mange, wash the dog and bedding with a pythrethin-shampoo, and dose the dog at the mange site with a dilute (.05 percent) solution of Ivermectin as well. 
.

Dog Skin Infections | Equine & Canine Care

Dog skin problems are the most common health issues in dogs. You will be interested to know that many dog skin problems that afflict humans, are actually counterpart in dogs. If you look at your dogs skin, this will be an important indicator to show the health state of your pet. Dog skin problems are grouped into catergories according to their cause eg: immune, infectious or flea. Although dog skin problems are usually due to a deficiency in the dogs immune system there may be other factors such as inherent abnormalities of the skin structure. If your dog skin problems persist you need to seek professional medical advice!

In the treatment of dog skin problems, benzalkonium chloride is present in antimicrobial solutions causing healing to be accelerated as a result of keeping the wound infection and bacteria free.  Skin antiseptics and wet wipes are some of the human pharmaceuticals in which this ingredient is used, however it has proven to be very effective within the animal industry, especially for dog skin problems.  Standard concentrates are manufactured between 50 – 80% and sold under trade names such as BC50 & BC80.  Treating dog skin problems with our antimicrobials will leave you with a 99.9% efficiency rate due to the presence of benzalkonium chloride.  The sum of ingredients used should always be read before using any treatment in respect of dog skin problems.

Are you impressed?  I sure am! Our antimicrobials are very different to when it comes to treating dog skin infections .  Probably the most important reason why, is that it has a proven 99% efficiency rate.  Dog skin infections can be treated by remedies such as tea tree oil and triclosan, but this only offers a 16.4% efficiency rate!  Although dog skin infections seem common, they are not always easily treated.  When treating dog skin infections, our antimicrobials are specifically designed to deeply penetrate into the layers of the skin to help the wound heal from the inside out.  This is most important as dog skin infections need to heal this way naturally.  Just as nature intended.

A hot spot, itch sore and yeast infection all form part of dog skin infections.  Sometimes it may be difficult to distinguish between which one your pet may be suffering from, however they are all quite distinct.  As part of dog skin infections, hot spots are usually superficial bacteria on the skin.  As part of dog skin infections, itch sores are simply skin irritations and as part of dog skin infections, yeast infections are inflamed pimples with flakey edges.  So you see, dog skin infections is a pretty broad category, therefore if you really care about “mans best friend “, educate yourself so you can be sure to do the right thing.

Equine & Canine Care

Alopecia is loss of hair from areas of the body where hair is usually found. This is so for hair loss in canine skin disorders and is as a result of a disease called alopecia areata which attacks the hair follicles. In canine skin disorders, this is the part of the skin where hair grows and falls out at the size of a quarter in round patches. Also known as an autoimmune disease there is a very interesting fact about alopecia (hair loss) which forms part of canine skin disorders. Under normal circumstances the immune system protects the body against illness, however in alopecia the immune system attacks its own body (by error) in this case hair follicles causing hair to fall out. Scientists do not know the cause of this, however have listed that “genes” may play a role in canine skin disorders.

Dog Skin Conditions – Hot Spot

Dog Skin Conditions – Ring Worm

Dog Skin Conditions – Staph Infection

Dog Skin Conditions – Mange

Dog dry skin has a low level of sebum and an inability to retain moisture. Usually the skin will feel tight and if cracked, shows a severe case if dehydration. In the case of dog dry skin this will escalate in winds and increase temperatures causing the skin to flake. When oil glands do not supply enough lubrication to the skin, it becomes dehydrated and dog dry skin will then have to be treated with a solution which is not only for topical care, but will addres the illness from the inside out. Along with a genetic condition, dog dry skin can be caused from an underactive thyroid.  All of the above will ultimately cause the skin to be sensitive and will require a nurturing approach when treating.

Types of Laminitis:

White Line Disease

Seedy Toe

Classical Laminitus

Road Founder Type

White Line Disease and the above related diseases have many of the same symptoms and can be treated much in the same way.  However, it is the road founder type laminitis which is quite different and maybe deserves a brief overview.  This type illness occurred mainly in heavy carriage horses which were used on the turnpikes of Europe.  Unlike White Line Disease, road founder is the actual tearing away of the laminae, near the distal border of the coffin bone.  In severe cases, the horse would go lame which is always a bad thing.  All hoof related illness including white line disease is of a serious nature and therefore should be treated correctly.

 

Hair Loss forms part of horse diseases in the equine industry and can be easily noticed as:

-areas of “missing mane”

-horses tail

-underneath the girth, saddle or blanket

-bald patches on the coat

-scabs falling off with losing hair.

Sometimes in horse diseases, it is hard to tell if your horse is suffering from general hair loss or something which may need a veterinarian’s opinion.  Sometimes when using nutritional supplements, allergic reactions can occur such as hives, bumps or scabs.  Horse diseases such as microsporum ringworm can start as alopecia with no scabs and will need a culture done for proper diagnosis.   The general rule about any hot area on the body (horse diseases) is most likely an infection and should not be ruled out when caring for hair loss symptoms.

Dog skin problems are the most common health issues in dogs. You will be interested to know that many dog skin problems that afflict humans, are actually counterpart in dogs. If you look at your dogs skin, this will be an important indicator to show the health state of your pet. Dog skin problems are grouped into catergories according to their cause eg: immune, infectious or flea. Although dog skin problems are usually due to a deficiency in the dogs immune system there may be other factors such as inherent abnormalities of the skin structure. If your dog skin problems persist you need to seek professional medical advice!

If your vet tells you your pet is suffering from a skin disorder, do you really understand what he/ she means?  Canine Skin Disorders – this would refer to a disturbance or interuption in the normal funtioning of your dogs skin!  Break up the word disorder and what do you get?  Dis-order.  Just as in dis-ease, when a healthy body is not at-ease.  Canine Skin Disorders can be genetic, it can be caused by trauma or symptematic to the outside environment.   The word disorder is used across the board to describe human conditions or anything out of alignment with its natural state of working order as also in canine skin disorders.

Equicanine treats dog skin conditions with a simple antimicrobial body wash. This solution takes away causes of discomfort, dermatitis and fungus. While treating dog skin conditions these symptoms are eliminated, not just covered up, and acts fast for immediate relief. One great thing about using this solution is that it can be used on your dogs whole body or specifically to the affected area. Dog skin conditions can be noticed from various behaviours like licking, itching, scratching, bald patches, sensitivity to touch, scaly patches on the skin and more which are too many to mention, however can be treated with the same solution. Antimicrobial Wash should also be used as a preventative measure by bathing your dog once or twice a month to keep infection away. This would greatly minimise the need to treat your pet from any dog skin conditions which could cost you time, money and an unhappy friend.

Your dog suddenly develops a new behavior. He is doing one of three things or all of them together, scratching, biting or licking his fur. This would mean your pet has “dog dry skin“. If you take close enough notice to the time of year this is most likely to happen, it will be when the weather becomes cooler, during the autumn or winter months. If your pet suffers from dog dry skin, you would see some of the following symptoms ie: skin irritation, open sores on the body, loss of hair and your dog seems to be licking his face / feet more often than usual. Dog dry skin is a problem for many pets, however this does not have to be the case. Some of the things you can do to prevent dog dry skin is – do not bathe your dog too often and when you do, make sure you use dog shampoo. Brush your dog often to remove dead hair and use quality food and supplements. Dog dry skin can be treated most effectively with an animicrobial body wash as a preventative measure as well as a cure.

White Line Disease and why a professional diagnosis is so important. We had a lady who’s horse was shod approx 2 weeks ago. She was in the process of finding a new farrier following the retirement of her current one. He said her horse had white line disease in three of the hooves. The only outer sign was a white line where the hoof wall ended. The hoof was not breaking off or anything of that nature as in the accompanying picture.

If it was white line disease the distinct line would have stayed, however after a week the horse was shod the line, what appeared to be “white line disease” was not a disease at all. Only where the farrier had trimmed the hoof too short which reached a bit of flesh point. White line disease is a serious illness and should be diagnosed by a veterinarian, not only by first opinion of the farrier. If not treated properly the horse will founder and a portion of the hoof will need to be cut away. This is not a pretty sight! If you are suspicious of your horse developing white line disease, always obtain a professional opinion.

Hotspots, itchiness, and other canine skin and coat problems

My human who is a veterinary naturopath, gets contacted ALL the time with dog problems such as hotspots, dry and/or flaky skin, dry & dull coats, and so on. The very first question she asks is what do you feed your dog??? That’s the key, what you feed is the key to STOPPING all of this.

I’ve blogged plenty of posts here about RAW FEEDING, which I make NO BONES about hehe! That is the key to ending these problems with your dogs.
To help assist your dog with symptoms such hotspots, dry skin, and other canine skin problems you can use a new product that we just learned about called K9 Klear Up. It only has three ingredients that are all natural: shea butter, vegetable-based emulsifying wax (we get those two products ourselves from Mountain Rose Herbs), and Tepezcohuite extract pronounced (‘Tep-Ez-Co-Heety’) and it’s a tree found in the former Mayan empire (present day central America). The people there used it for over 1,000 years to treat skin lesions of every kind.

Hey we dogs ARE smart, you humans just mess with us WOOF!

From the pads to the ears you can assist your dog with any skin woes WHILE feeding a raw diet. Don’t forget the raw meaty bones okay? This product is to assist and is not a cure-all, WOOF!

You can make K9 Klear Up a part of your natural first aid kit too – we’ve made it part of ours!

Some things you can use it for include hotspots, chronic skin rashes, cuts, scratches, minor bleeding, split pads, after surgery aid, acne, flaky skin, fungi, and so on. You don’t need to use much so a little bit goes a very long way.

If you want to know more just go to www.K9KlearUp.com. And to learn more about a natural approach to the health care of your dog join us on our natural dog health care group here:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalHealthCareForDogs/

To learn more about raw feeding your dog check out these audio program sets from Animal Talk Naturally:
Audios from Animal Talk Naturally:
Nutrition for Our Carnivore Pets, Vol 1
Nutrition for Our Carnivore Pets, Vol 2
Nutrition for Our Carnivore Pets, Vol 3

Have a pawsitively tail waggin’, NATURALLY healthy day, WOOF!

Bark ‘N’ Blog is brought to you by Aspenbloom Natural Pet Care

Canine Skin Problems

Canine Skin Issues can be a problem for most  dogs. I have never had to resort to medicine to cure them. Below is a  Easy Home Remedy For Most Canine Skin Problems.

Cause’s of Canine Skin Problems

Cause’s of Canine Skin problems can be caused by anything from fleas, swimming in dirty ponds, Dry air during the winter months can also be a factor. Food allergies, all of which can cause skin issues. Sometimes yeast is the culprit, caused by many factors. listed below.Once they start Chewing it is hard to get them to stop, it becomes a habit, that is not easily broken. This recipe will help break that cycle.

Canine Skin Problems Help has Arrived

Below has been a tried and true method that i have used for many years,
and in my experience works.

Using home based remedies rather then antibiotics or worse, is always a good choice.
Not only for the monetary value but the results that medicine can have on any living creature.

What to do to Cure Canine Skin Problems

Of course it is very important to keep the skin clean.
Disinfect the area on a regular basis to avoid problems later.
I suggest a medicated shampoo or oatmeal shampoo always works well..

When bathing is not enough

For skin infections, hotspots, cuts and scrapes and any skin irritation that could become a problem later, we do want to cleanse the skin with a gentle solution.
This solution takes care of care of staph infection,, yeast, and most common bacteria, and it is safe for the dog, if they should lick once applied..

It is, povidone-iodine ,it can be purchased from any Pharmacy, and is easily used.

Povidone-Iodine Works Great

To dilute the povidone-iodine until it’s the color of iced-tea.

• Pour a small amount in a bowl or whatever is available, dilute with warm water.


• Soak a clean washcloth in the solution and wipe the infected areas gently to get the solution onto the skin.


• Pat dry, Repeat this process twice a day for a week or more until the problem resolves.

This has prevented any need I have had to give antibiotics and has resolved most any canine skin problems, without having to resort to antibiotics or veterinarian visits

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