Canine Skin Allergies

Have you noticed that your dog is scratching or licking more than normal. If so, your dog may be suffering from canine skin allergies. Similar to us, dogs also can be born with or develop an allergy at any stage of their life and symptoms can present quite suddenly. There can also be a number of causes for the allergies, the most common being flea saliva. Diagnosing your dogs allergy problem can be extremely difficult and time consuming as there are five different canine skin allergies.

Lets look at each one separately.

#1  -  Atop Dermatitis
Veterinarians rank atopic dermatitis as being the most common allergy affecting dogs, and usually presents when the dog is very young.

Atopy as it can often be called is triggered by a variety of different antigens, for instance, dust, mold, pollens and other airborne and surface organic materials. The dog may appear healthy with no visible symptoms and then start scratching and chewing intensely and in some cases until the skin is raw, broken and bleeding.

#2  -  Parasitic Dermatitis
Usually presents with the dog constantly scratching, pawing and chewing. Fleas are again the main cause of parastic dermatitis as well as mites, deer fleas, gnats, chiggers and ticks to a far lesser degree.

Sarcoptic and Cheyletiella mites are particularly nasty and usually cause a severe reaction resulting in scabs forming in the affected areas.

The Dermodex mite normally attacks young dogs or puppies that have an immune disorder, poor nutrition or live in a harsh environment, or have a protein deficiency.

#3  -  Bacterial or Yeast Infections
Candida Albicans is the most common micro-organism growing in all dogs stomachs. When an over growth occurs it causes a ph-imbalance. This happens as a result of poor nutrition, heartworm medication, thyroid problem, genetic and/or environmental stress, and in some cases long term antibiotic medication.

The external symptoms of bacterial and yeast infections usually present as constant itching and licking of paws, genital area, and redness and inflammation. There may also be an odor between the toes, the inner thighs and the dogs underarms.

#4  -  Nutritional Dermatitis
Nutritional dermatitis is probably the most common of all canine skin allergies and is the result of poor nutrition. You may be buying a commercial brand dog food labelled appropriately but is missing the correct vitamins and nutrients.

#5  -  Neurogenic Dermatitis
Obsessive and persistent chewing and licking charactorises this form of dermatitis, and is often the result of frustration, confinement or separation anxiety.

It is important to get an early diagnosis from your local vet in relation to any canine skin allergy.