Skin Care

Bacterial skin infections are quite common in dogs. They can be caused by simple things such as swimming or insect bites but often they can be associated with underlying allergies. Skin infections can cause your dog to be quite itchy and often comes with fur loss. Antibiotics and sometimes medicated shampoos are often necessary to treat these infections.

Fortunately, ringworms are not very common in dogs. It is a fungus that is generally spread from one infected animal to another. You may notice hair loss and scabbing or crusting of the skin. Various oral and topical treatments will be needed to treat a ringworm infection, in addition to environmental decontamination.

Allergic skin disease is usually a condition which we hope to manage, though we rarely cure it! Dogs can be allergic to all the same things that people are allergic to such as grasses, pollens, treats, food etc. Treatment is based on avoidance of the allergen if we are able to. Otherwise, we may need to employ regular bathing, anti-itch medication and the addition of omega oils to the diet.

There are many parasites which can cause skin disease, fleas are the one we are all most aware of through there are others which can be microscopic. We are often able to use topical treatments for these parasites though the medication we recommend may vary depending on the particular parasite we are treating.

There are several hormonal diseases which can cause changes to the skin and coat. Commonly we can see hair loss and skin problems with thyroid, adrenal or reproductive diseases. Blood work will be necessary to diagnose and proper medical management will be necessary.