Usually skin allergies will manifest itself by red to pink belly, ears, paws, reddened eyes & scabs. 

They eyes may secret a liquid that will turn crusty

Check the skin in the paws of your dog. Are they reddened and raw looking? Is your pet always licking and biting them?

This is probably a fungal infection commonly called a yeast infection and can be cured by your vet with a little Derma Vet or Panalog ointment. It’s amazing how fast this anti-biotic works. 

Some skin allergies are from food. Change your diet for your dog. Try a hypoallergenic dog food and check with your vet as to what type of food your dog will do best on.

If you have an older dog your wouldn't want to give him a diet high in fat. As a dog gets older he slows down just like us humans. He will tend to put on weight, darn it, just like us! So you might want to check about giving him a low fat diet with plenty of fiber. Sound familiar?

If you have a working dog then you will want a little extra protein and fat especially if your dog is working in very cold weather.

And of course puppies need a rich diet as they are growing so fast that they need all the nutrients they can get. If you have a bitch nursing her babies you will want to give her a diet rich in fat and plenty of vitamins and minerals because her babies are taking

Common Skin Allergies including Dermatitis, fleas, mites, ticks and Mange

In 25 years of breeding Cairn and West Highland White Terriers, I think I have seen all the different types of skin allergies there are. 

Many dogs are susceptible to skin allergies, called Dermatitis, and there are different kinds of dermatitis within this group. Lets look at the first type called Infectious Dermatitis.

Infectious Dermatitis

You might think these scabby lesions are hot spots but they are in fact a more stubborn type of skin dermatitis. They present with moist, scabby areas that the dog will not stop licking, chewing or biting. Sometimes it is just a yeast infection that does well with a drug called Panalog (a topical antibiotic).

Sometimes though, this condition is so serious that it just won’t go away and although you are treating each spot, another one soon appears on the dogs body. Usually found on the underside of the dog, it likes moist dark areas. The yeast loves this environment and is hard to or even impossible to control.

When my dog did not respond to this treatment I took her to the vet. He said that the Dermatitis was so serious that I could not treat it with Panalog cream alone and he prescribed an antibiotic.  The drug took effect almost immediately. No new outbreaks were seen and the infected areas were drying up and getting smaller.

Along with this treatment the vet also told me to bath her in a medicated shampoo called Malaseb.

Malaseb is a shampoo available from your veterinarian or online. This product was recommended to me by both my Vet and Groomer.  It will help the skin heal and get back to normal faster. It is very effective for yeast, but will not treat bacterial infection, or underlying allergies. It also has the benefit of making your dog feel a lot better and that’s what we want for out pets.

• Things that may help you are:
• Medicated Shampoos such as Malaseb
• Wiping the dog down with Malaseb wipes
• Healthy food with no wheat (poisoned) or corn (genetically modified)
• Wash bedding at least every other day in dye free/ perfume free detergent
• Adding a good source of omega fatty acids like fish oils
• Use of prozyme or other similar product
• Immune boosting supplements

More information on dog allergies of the skin and troublesome sores

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