Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: skin + irritated + web  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

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What is this skin irritation?

 Dogs can get allergies just like people do and there are many ways in which the allergy can show itself.

Some allergic pets will have respiratory symptoms. Another form of allergy involves the digestive system, resulting in vomiting or diarrhoea. The most common forms of allergy show up as skin problems and almost anything that an animal comes in contact with has the potential to produce an allergic response.

The most common types of allergies in the dog are bacterial, contact, inhalant, flea, and food allergies.

Bacterial Allergies

Bacteria that are normally present in the environment can produce an allergic response in some dogs. Sometimes, in animals with a poor immune system function perhaps due to another illness, the bacteria can invade the deeper layers of the skin and cause an infection.

The signs can range from raised circular lesions to generalised flakiness, itchiness and hair loss. The bacterial reaction can also be related to another infestation. For example, a dog that has a flea infestation will initially itch due to the allergic reaction from the fleas, then develop a bacterial infection and itch from the bacterial infection as well as the flea infestation.

Contact Allergies

Contact allergies are not commonly seen in pets. This form of allergy is a local reaction to some type of chemical. Examples of contact allergy include reactions to flea products, cedar dog beds, disinfectants, soaps, detergents, shampoos, topical drugs, plastic, rubber, other synthetic agents or any substance that may irritate the skin.

The reaction may develop within 4 - 6 weeks of exposure, but more commonly over a period of two years. The reaction is most often found on the feet, underneath, neck and chin. The skin is very red and often infected due to self-inflicted wounds. Usually, removing the offending substance from the pet's environment will resolve the problem.

Inhalant Allergies

Inhalant allergy is the most common kind of allergy seen in pets. The condition is similar to hay fever in people, but the symptoms show in the skin rather than in the respiratory system. For example, a dog may react to something in the environment, such as tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, mould spores, house dust or house dust mites.

This is found initially in younger dogs, and is often seasonal at first but it may become a permanent problem. Allergies to plant pollens are usually seasonal, but mould and house dust can create problems anytime of the year. The symptoms are usually the same for any of the inhalant allergens.

The patient will have severe irritation, especially around the face, feet, armpits and abdomen. The dog will scratch and chew so much at their skin that it can become infected and the dog may lose their hair.

Flea Allergy

Fleas are a common source of skin allergies in the dog. Before a female flea can reproduce, she needs take a blood meal from a host. Most commonly this is a dog or cat, but any mammal will do. When she bites the animal, she injects saliva into the skin so she can drink the blood. Some animals are extremely sensitive to flea saliva.

Fleabite hypersensitivity is where a pet reacts to one of the 15 protein fractions in the flea's saliva that is 'injected' into the skin when the flea is feeding. This reaction is the cause of most of the itching with a flea infestation, causing nibbling and self-trauma leading to a 'hot spot'. Once they are bitten and start itching they are at increased risk for a secondary bacterial skin infection.

With flea treatments, to completely get rid of fleas is quite difficult, especially if there are a number of pets in the household and they have free access to the outside. Effective flea control can only be achieved through the correct treatment of the pets as well as their indoor environment.

Owners should treat the areas where a dog spends most of the time, including outhouses and sheds, but particularly where it sleeps. Washing the bedding regularly in hot water will destroy any young fleas, but not the eggs, and vacuuming the carpet helps too.

Food Allergy

The dog may be allergic to a particular food, such as beef, milk, eggs or fish. This hypersensitivity may cause an itchy skin as well as occasional gastoenteritis, and they usually take a long time to develop. The allergy can be to the protein source such as beef, chicken, or pork; or to carbohydrates such as rice, or wheat.

Identification of the cause involves 'elimination diets, where the dog has a diet of new food to which they have had no previous exposure for example lamb and rice diet. Absolutely no other food is allowed and the clinical signs should regress within 12 weeks. At this point, other foods can be introduced into the diet to identify the cause. There are several hypoallergenic prescription diets available.

However, first of all, if you have not already done so, you must make an appointment for your dog to see a vet. The vet may start your dog on a treatment regime after a thorough clinical examination. Part of the therapy may well involve identifying the cause of the dermatitis and eliminating it from your dog's life.

Remember Elaine cannot replace the vet who normally looks after your pet and they should always be the first point of contact. If you are concerned your pet may be ill, don't delay contacting your own vet.