Dog Itching | Canine Itching

The clinical term for itching is called pruritus, and just as in us “people” , dogs can develop a case of dermatitis too. There is a wide spectrum of causes of pruritus in canines, who have skin and coat trouble. Some dogs can stay out all day digging holes and rolling in the grass and still have no effects. Others, kept indoors with excellent, care may still develop severe itching disorders.

For most canine itching and scratching abnormalities can be due to many things, but most likely will fall into one of these categories: Environmental, Allergic, Infectious and the most challenging, Neurogenic.

Dogs can appear to be physically and nutritionally normal, but have signs of annoying canine itching, pruritus, and hair loss and skin irritation. Through the analysis of the canine’s daily activities, your vet can discover probable causes. Many dogs are actually very sensitive to simple lawn grasses, so by matching what is visible on the doggie’s skin with a probable environmental irritant – the cause of the itching skin problem can be determined and corrective measures can be taken. An example is Moist Eczema, often called a “Hot Spot”.

These skin lesions often occur as a result of moisture on the skin surface from rain, pond or lake water. Minute scratches on the skin form, and in some cases with dogs with especially dense coats, these scratches may be hard to see. Also, if your dogs have an accumulation of matted hair, moisture on the skin may remain long enough to allow superficial bacteria to reproduce and create an infection. In some cases, Moist Eczema will spread very rapidly and require rather aggressive therapy to correct, so diagnosis early on can help cease a canines itching.

There are a handful of common causes for frequent skin irritation in dogs itching; some causes are relatively minor and easy to remedy, while others are more serious and difficult to treat.

Parasites: Parasites are among the most common cause for dry, itching and flaky skin in dogs. Fleas are the most common and visible skin parasite, but there are other types of parasites that can cause problems for dogs. Some of these parasites live deep in the hair follicle and are not visible to the naked eye.

Allergies: Allergies can take several forms, but the most common forms associated with itching skin are contact dermatitis and food allergies. Contact dermatitis is a skin irritation that can arise literally overnight, causing dogs to react to a substance or surface that he’s never had any problems tolerating in the past.

Fungal Infections: Fungal infections, such as yeast infections, are another cause for dry, itching and scaly skin in dogs. Ringworm is another example of a fungal infection that can affect the skin. Unfortunately, these micro-organisms can not only spread around the dog’s body, but they can also spread to other pets and even human family members.

To what are dogs allergic? Take a look around you right now. Odds are that your dogs could be allergic to half-a-dozen different substances in the very room you sit; that doesn’t even include microscopic substances in the air you and your dogs breathe! Food, carpeting, blankets, dust mites, mold spores in the air, pollen, plastic food dishes, furniture stuffing and ornamental plants all have the potential to trigger an allergic reaction in your dogs. Food allergies are so common that pet food manufacturers have invested millions of dollars in research, development, promotion and delivery of “antigen specific” diets to help in the therapy of dogs itching with food allergies.

Often your dogs can have an allergy to “flea bites” or flea saliva. When fleas come in contact with your dogs, their immune defenses, which are normally primed and ready for a fight, are lessened during the course of the battle; due to the repeated antigen/antibody reaction. Side effects of this sort of battle can cause tissue irritation, inflammation, swelling and cell destruction. That’s when we notice the dogs going into the “itching-and-scratch-bite-and-lick” mode! There’s a biochemical war going on within the dogs!

Mycanineallergies.com| Los Angeles CA