Does your little furry pal suffer from dog eczema and you're looking for the best dog dermatitis treatments? Look no further! Learn all about dog dermatitis, treatments and more below!
What is Dog Dermatitis?
If your furry pal is constantly scratching their skin raw, perhaps they are suffering from dog dermatitis. Dog dermatitis is usually caused by hypersensitivity or an over-reaction to irritants.
Symptoms of dog dermatitis are:
- Skin redness
- Hair loss
- Itching
- Licking, scratching, biting, chewing at affected areas of skin
- Face rubbing
- Pain
- Weeping skin sores
- Oozing skin
- Crusty skin
- Scaling; dandruff
- Skin dryness and flaking
- Abnormal skin pigmentation
Although the most common form of dog dermatitis is atopic dermatitis, there are several external allergens or stimuli that can cause a dog's skin to flare up. These include parasites or mites, food allergies, temperature changes, or something known as hot spots.
Hot spots are a wet scab that forms possibly due to allergic reactions or to insect, mite or flea bites. These hot spots are also termed moist dermatitis in dogs and can be considered similar to wet or weeping eczema in humans. In fact, the conditions are so similar that many common hot spot creams for dogs work equally well for dog eczema/dermatitis and vice versa.
The Best Dog Dermatitis Treatments
Finding a natural dermatitis treatment for your dog shouldn't be difficult, but you'll want to pay careful attention to a product's ingredients.
For example, owners should stay away from hot spot cream for dogs or dog eczema shampoo that use either zinc oxide or cocoa butter. Zinc oxide can actually cause vomiting or diarrhea if ingested by your pup. Cocoa butter (like chocolate) should be avoided at all costs, as both chocolate and caffeine are considered poisonous to dogs. Though pure cocoa butter only has trace amounts of the ingredient found in chocolate that is so dangerous for dogs. The danger is in the darker chocolates and less so in milk chocolate and even less in white chocolate, which is only cocoa butter.
There are many natural, safe alternatives made to treat your dog's eczema. For example, this Organic Paw Salve for Dogs works great on any irritated skin, not just paws, and is the perfect cream to use on dog dermatitis. It naturally soothes itchy spots and can provide relief to all types of red, hot, angry skin problems your pet may have. Therapeutic herbs calm your furry pal's skin and are completely pet friendly. Perfect for using on cracked paws or snout too!
We also love the Organic Manuka Skin Soothing Cream for pups and their humans! It contains only six all natural and dog friendly ingredients. We've had reports that dogs love it so much that they'll lick it off themselves and their human, so cover up!
If you're looking for a natural shampoo alternative, we suggest taking a look at this Natural Shampoo Bar for Dogs with soothing honey and oats. This gentle shampoo was designed for sensitive skin pups and is completely natural. Contains organic oils infused with essential oils that will help soothe dog dermatitis, hot spots, itchy skin and so much more.
Diet for Dog Dermatitis
If you are not able to find relief for your little furry pal, we suggest looking at your dog's diet instead. Eliminating ingredients such as wheat, corn, soy, rice and more can help manage their eczema flare-ups. Consider moving to home cooking for your dogs so can you trial different proteins and grains to see what your dog tolerates best. We love this veterinarian created supplement for homemade dog food. Creating your dog's meals can be very beneficial for your dog, but hard to do properly without the right mix of nutrients, so a supplement is your really only sure way of ensuring your pup is getting all the right minerals and vitamins it needs to thrive.
In order to determine your dog's allergies or sensitivities, we suggest visiting your veterinarian for further information on changing diets or starting an elimination diet with your dog.
Although, keep in mind that changing your dog's food can drastically change your dog's digestive system and not always in a good way, possibly leading to vomiting, diarrhea and various skin issues. Researching the proper food with your vet will lower the risk of exacerbating their dermatitis and will bring you one step closer to healing their skin for good.
Resources
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/skin/c_dg_ato...
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/integumentary-system/...
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/skin/c_dg_foo...
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Bio: Laura is a contributor and content developer for The Eczema Company. She is in no way a medical professional. Her comments, suggestions, and reflections are not intended to replace any medical advice. Always seek the help of a medical professional before undertaking any diet or lifestyle changes.
