Care For a Dog"s Dry Skin

If your dog is itchy and has dry, flaky skin accompanied by bumps, scabs, pimples and patches of thinning hair, he might have seborrhea (dandruff). Bathing him every other day with warm water and a medicated shampoo containing sulfur or salicylic acid may help. You can also use an after-bath rinse or moisturizing spray containing colloidal oatmeal, glycerin, fatty acids or urea

Your dog’s condition might be caused by poor nutrition. Many commercial dog foods lack essential fatty acids and vitamins such as A, E and B-3 (niacin) . Try a higher-quality dog food or talk to a veterinarian about supplements specifically for healthy skin and coat.

Frequent bathing can cause dry skin. Bathe your dog as little as possible, using a moisturizing shampoo made especially for dogs. Human shampoo is too harsh for dogs because our skin has a different pH [source:  Brushing your dog regularly will help him stay clean and stimulate his skin to produce moisturizing oils

You can also try the following home remedies to relieve your dog’s dry skin problem:
Add olive oil to his food two or three times a week.
Bathe your dog in a warm water and oatmeal solution.
Apply teat tree oil, fish oil, calendula extract or vitamin E (all available in health food stores) to his skin.
Make sure your dog is well hydrated by providing him with more water, fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, or by adding water to his dry dog food

If nothing helps, or if your dog’s skin condition worsens, see a veterinarian to rule out other causes for his dry skin, like mange, infection or ringworm. It may be necessary to treat your dog with prescription medication

Natural Dog Skin Care The way to a soft as silk, smooth as satin coat and skin for your dog

Dog hot spots are a nasty skin problem and what starts out as a skin irritation often ends up as an unsightly soar which tends to spread and your poor dog is not only suffering, but looks like he’s down with some sort of contagious disease.

What exactly is a hot spot and how can you identify it?

A hot spot is a superficial inflammation and bacterial infection of the top layer of a dog’s skin.

Most common symptoms are:

· Licking, biting and chewing a spot on the skin endlessly.

· The spot suddenly increases in a matter of hours, sometimes with pus inside.

· The sore may sometimes begin to ooze.

· The hot spot loses hair.

· The sore smells funny.

It starts off as a red itchy spot.To relieve the itching the dog chews, bites or scratches the offending area which of course worsens the condition.The red spot soon turns into a sore, becomes infected and results in an open wound.This becomes so painful to the dog that your usually fun and frolicking furry friend turns into a growly and unhappy pet.

The three main causes of dog hot spots are:

1. Long and furry coats:
Certain breeds such as Shih-Tzu’s and Pmeranians are more susceptible to hot spots, this is because their long and furry coats are more susceptibel to get tangled and matted hair.  Dogs with long coats are also more prone to having trapped dead hair and, especially the smaller dogs since they are low to the ground, they “mop up” debris from the floor or ground. All this leads to irritation of the skin which in vet language is termed pyotraumatic dermatitis, but in your language and mine, it is commonly referred to as hot spots.

2. Allergies & environment:

The environment that your dog lives in has a lot to do with allergies.  First look at the immediate  your home.  What do you clean your floors with?  If you are using chemically laced household cleaning products to keep your floors clean and regularly have your carpets cleaned commercially, there is harmful chemical residue left on the floor.  Your dog lies on these chemicals which eventually begin to bother his skin.  Other environmentally caused allergies might be plan pollen at certain times of the year (think of spring fever in humans).

3.Dog habits:

Other dogs are just plain hyper and will end up biting, licking and gnawing at themselves if left alone. This can also cause hot spots to appear.

What can be done to relieve our precious from this misery?

Steps:

1. Trim the fur from the area around the hot spot with scissors. If the area is large at all, you should shave it instead. Causing the hot spot to be exposed to the air will help dry out the moisture and speed up healing.

2. Clean the affected area with a gentle skin cleanser for dogs and rinse thoroughly with cool water.Adding a drop or two of tea tree oil to the water helps to disinfect the area.

3. Apply a cold compress to the area a few times a day. It is best to use a cool wet washcloth.

4. A number of natural products have also proven to be very effective against dog hot spots. Among these are witch hazel, apple cider vinegar. Apply a good natural topical ointment such as K9 KlearUp which has the natural healing ingredient, Tepezcohuite.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure:

1.  Brush your pet daily, especially if he has a long coat that tends to get tangles.

2.  If your dog likes to swim, make sure that the coat dries well, this is particularly important with dogs that have a second undercoat such as a Chesapeake or a Newfoundland.

3. Use natural, chemical free household cleaning products to do your floors.

4. Contract a carpet cleaner that uses natural, environmental ingredients in the cleaning process

5. Keep your home well vacuumed and free of mites and other critters that can make a pet’s and your own life miserable.

Most importantly, be on the lookout for early symptoms.Treated early and swiftly your best friend will continue to be his true and happy self.

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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.