What does seborrhea smell like on dogs

Seborrhea in Dogs

What Is Seborrhea in Dogs?

Seborrhea in dogs is a condition that affects keratin in the skin. Keratin is a protein that gives skin and hair its form.

In canine seborrhea, keratin is produced in the wrong amountseither too much or not enough. Seborrhea causes dogs to have a coat of hair thats dry and lackluster or greasy.

Seborrhea in dogs can be what veterinarians call primary or secondary.

Primary Seborrhea in Dogs

Primary seborrhea is a genetic disease that always causes the dog to produce abnormal keratin.

American Cocker Spaniels, West Highland White Terriers, English Springer Spaniels, and Basset Hounds are the most common breeds to have primary seborrhea, but any dog can have this condition.

Secondary Seborrhea in Dogs

With secondary seborrhea, an underlying issue is causing your dog to make abnormal keratin.

Health issues that can cause secondary seborrhea include:

Symptoms of Seborrhea in Dogs

Possible symptoms of seborrhea in dogs are:

• Very dry, dull coat

• Dandruff

• Greasy, oily skin that smells bad

• Crusted, plaque-like (rough and scaly) skin lesions

• Itching that ranges from mild to severe

• Large amount of earwax and ear debris

Generally, all the skin is affected by seborrhea, but the folds of skin between the toes, in the armpits, on the belly and perineum (the area under a dogs tail), and at the bottom of the neck are usually worse.

Dogs with lots of skin folds, like Basset Hounds, usually experience more affected skin in those folds.

Causes of Seborrhea in Dogs

The cause of a dogs seborrhea depends on whether its primary or secondary.

Causes of Primary Seborrhea in Dogs

Primary seborrhea is a congenital, genetic disease that typically starts at a young age and gets worse as your dog gets older. West Highland White Terriers, Basset Hounds, American Cocker Spaniels, and English Springer Spaniels are most commonly affected.

Causes of Secondary Seborrhea in Dogs

Diseases and other health issues that can cause secondary seborrhea in dogs include:

How Vets Diagnose Seborrhea in Dogs

Diagnosis of seborrhea starts with a physical examination by your veterinarian to check your dogs skin and look for other symptoms.

You will also be asked how long it has been happening, if your dog has been scratching, and if there are any changes in your dogs food and water intake.

Your veterinarian will perform testing to determine the cause of your dogs skin condition. The following tests could help:

• A skin scraping to test for mites and lice

• An impression cytology (collection) of skin and ear debris to test for a yeast or bacterial infection that looks like seborrhea, such as Malassezia yeast

• A blood chemistry panel to screen for diabetes or Cushings disease (your vet will need further tests to confirm the diagnosis before starting treatment)

• A blood test for thyroid hormone levels to determine whether your dog has hypothyroidism

• A biopsy to look for autoimmune disease or cancer

Treatment for Seborrhea in Dogs

Based on the test results, your veterinarian will have a better understanding of what is causing your dogs seborrhea. The most important aspect of seborrhea treatment istreating any underlying conditions.

Treating the Underlying Cause

• Hypothyroidism: If your dog has hypothyroidism, they are treated with hormone replacement, an oral medication called levothyroxine that your dog will take for the rest of their life.

• Cushings disease: Treatment of Cushings disease involves lifelong medication called Vetoryl.

• Diabetes: Treatment of diabetes requires daily insulin injections.

• Cancer or autoimmune disease: If a biopsy shows that your dog has autoimmune disease or cancer, they will be started on medication to manage the disease, or your veterinarian may refer you to a specialist.

• Lice or mites: If a skin scraping finds lice or mites, the veterinarian will put your dog on medication to kill the parasites.

• Fleas: If your dog has fleas, a monthly flea preventative will curb flea allergies that can cause or worsen seborrhea.

• Vitamin deficiency: If your veterinarian suspects vitamin A-responsive dermatitis or zinc-responsive dermatitis, they will recommend additional vitamins in your dogs diet.

• Food allergy: If your veterinarian suspects a primary food allergy, they may recommend a hypoallergenic food trial.

• Infection: If your dog has an infection that developed because of seborrhea, then the infection must be treated. Your dog will require a three- to four-week course of oral antibiotics and/or antifungals.

Treating the Seborrhea Itself

To treat the seborrhea itself, your dog needs frequent baths with anti-seborrheic shampoos, typically every 2 or 3 days to start with. These shampoos typically contain coal tar and salicylic acid.

Frequent bathing is continued for 2-3 weeks or longer, until the skin improves. The goal of bathing is to remove excess keratin. Depending on how your dog responds to treatment, bathing frequency may decrease to every 1 to 2 weeks, or it may stay at every 2 to 3 days.

Additionally, you will need to clean your dogs ears with a medicated ear cleaner every 2 to 3 days. If there is an infection in the ears, your veterinarian will prescribe an ear medication as well.

Your dog may also be started on prednisone to decrease inflammation and debris buildup. Regular rechecks with your veterinarian, typically every one to three weeks, are important to monitor how your dog is responding to treatment.

Recovery and Management of Seborrhea in Dogs

Recovery and management depend on the cause of the seborrhea. If a primary cause of seborrhea can be found, managing the primary disease is key.

It can take several weeks for the signs of seborrhea to resolve, and the primary disease-causing seborrhea will need to be managed for life.

It is also important to understand that once seborrhea is present, abnormal keratin placement in the skin will continue to occur.

Using anti-seborrheic shampoos and ear cleaners on a schedule recommended by your vet for the rest of your dogs life helps to decrease keratin buildup and prevent infections.

If your dog gets itchier or develops skin lesions, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Management of seborrhea often requires a lifelong routine of bathing and ear cleaning, but with consistent treatment, your dog can enjoy a good quality of life.

Seborrhea in Dogs FAQs

How can I treat my dog's seborrhea at home?

After seeing a vet to confirm your dogs diagnosis, you can treat seborrhea at home by using an anti-seborrheic shampoo containing coal tar and salicylic acid.

Home treatment also includes bathing your dog every 2 to 7 days on a schedule set by your vet. You will also clean your dogs ears with a medicated ear cleaner every 2 to 3 days.

If an underlying health issue is causing your dogs seborrhea, youll need to follow all treatment protocols for that illness to ensure the seborrhea is properly managed.

If your dogs seborrhea is not improving, however, take them to the veterinarian. They might have developed bacterial and yeast infections of the skin and ears that require a prescription medication.

Does seborrhea in dogs cause hair loss?

Yes, it can cause hair loss.

What does seborrhea smell like on dogs?

Seborrhea can smell very badly, like grease, corn chips, or a strong doggy scent.

Is seborrhea in dogs contagious?

No, seborrhea is not contagious to other dogs or humans.

Image Credit: iStockphoto.com/photo-vista.de

WRITTEN BY

Emily A. Fassbaugh, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Emily Fassbaugh grew up in San Diego. She attended the University of California, Davis for both her undergraduate studies in Animal...

Seborrhea In Dogs: Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment & More

Is your dog greasy, itchy, or smelly at the moment? If so, he might have a condition called seborrhea. Its always important to get your veterinarian to examine your dog as there are many things to consider when treating this condition. Lets explore these in more detail and what causes canine seborrhea in the first place.

What Is Seborrhea In Dogs?

Seborrhea, also known as seborrheic dermatitis, is a skin disease that commonly affects dogs. It is a condition that affects areas of skin that are rich in sebaceous (oil-producing) glands. These glands either go into overdrive, producing too much sebum, or their function becomes reduced, leading to dry and irritated skin.

People can also suffer from similar conditions, including seborrhea capitis, which is seborrhea of the scalp (causing dandruff and cradle cap in infants).

What Causes Seborrhea?

There are many different reasons why your dog might develop seborrhea. This condition can be either primary or secondary to something else thats going on.

Primary Cause Is Inherited

Seborrhea can be an inherited condition, with the exact cause undetermined (also known as idiopathic). It is quite rare, but some breeds are more prone to idiopathic seborrhea than others, including American Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, West Highland White Terriers, Basset Hounds, and Shar-Peis. Most of these dogs have non-itchy skin.

Secondary Suggests An Additional Health Concern

Secondary seborrhea occurs due to underlying health conditions andmay or may not be itchy, depending on the cause.

The following conditions can make seborrhea more likely to occur as a secondary problem:

• Allergies
• Parasites such as mites and fleas
• Hormonal conditions such as hypothyroidism
• Fungal infections
• Obesity
• Dietary deficiencies

What Does Dog Seborrhea Look Like?

There are two types of seborrhea in dogs, seborrhea oleosa (oily seborrhea) and seborrhea sicca (dry seborrhea). Most dogs suffer from a combination of both types, so the symptoms can be a mixture of dry and greasy skin.

Here are some symptoms of canine seborrhea to be aware of:

• Large flakes of dry skin (dandruff), often found on your dogs face, back, and sides. It may also be seen on your dogs bedding.
• Red, inflamed skin which is excessively itchy.
• An unpleasant yeasty odor, caused by the grease from oily patches and any secondary infections (bacteria and yeast can worsen odors).
• Crusty thickened areas on the skin.
• Hair loss (alopecia).

How Is It Diagnosed?

Your veterinarian will start by examining your dog for classic signs of seborrhea. As well as checking your dogs skin, they will also examine the rest of your pet to check his overall health status.

Depending on their findings, they might suggest some additional tests, which could include:

• A blood test to check your dogs organ function and to check his thyroid hormone levels
• Samples from the skin to culture for any bacterial or yeast infections
• Skin scrapes to examine under the microscope for parasites
• Biopsy of the skin to look for deeper infections, cancer, and other diseases

If all of the possible secondary conditions are ruled out, then a diagnosis of primary (idiopathic) seborrhea is made. Animals with genetically related primary seborrhea may develop this condition at a young age.

How To Treat Seborrhea In Dogs

Seborrheic dermatitis treatment revolves around treating the symptoms and curing the underlying cause (in the case of secondary seborrhea).

Shampoo

The most common treatment used in the management of seborrhea is medicated antiseborrheic shampoos. These seborrhea dog shampoos help to gently lift the scurf on your dogs skin and reduce the risk of additional flakes and crusts forming. They cleanse your dogs fur and also help to reduce secondary infections.

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, Shampoo therapy can decrease the number of bacteria and yeast on the skin surface, the amount of scale and sebum present, and the level of pruritus; it also helps normalize the epidermal turnover rate.

Ingredients commonly found in these shampoos include coal tar, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and fatty acids. The exact shampoo prescribed may depend on the degree of seborrhea your pet has. You may use other products in conjunction with shampoos, such as sprays and moisturizers (emollients), to help prevent your dogs skin from drying out. Your veterinarian will advise you on how frequently to use both shampoos and moisturizing products.

Other Options

Other medications that you can use in the treatment of seborrhea include measures to treat the underlying cause of the disease:

• Anti-parasitic products to treat ectoparasites like fleas and mange mites.
• Treatment for hormonal conditions like hypothyroidism will consist of oral medications and monitoring with regular blood tests.
• Treatment of underlying skin allergies. You can manage allergies in a multitude of ways, depending on what the underlying trigger is. Some dogs will require strict hypoallergenic diets. Others may require immunosuppressive drugs like ciclosporins or glucocorticoids. Your veterinarian will discuss the various options available for your pet. To get a clear picture of your dogs allergies, you might want to take an at-home dog allergy test.
• Antibiotic and antifungal medications to treat any secondary infections.In cases of primary idiopathic seborrhea, one study has suggested that oral retinoid therapy may be helpful in its treatment.
• Vitamin A supplementation is also used in some cases.

Are There Any Home Remedies?

You should always follow advice from your veterinarian about the treatment of your pets condition. Discuss any canine seborrhea treatment home remedies with your veterinarian these must not take the place of any prescribed medications. However, the following natural therapies may be helpful in the management of seborrhea.

• Omega-3 fatty acid supplements help to act as natural anti-inflammatories and help support healthy skin and coat conditions.
• Other dietary supplements may be useful to supplement vitamins such as A, C, and E to help with general immunity, health, and skin conditions.
• You can apply coconut oil to itchy areas to help soothe and moisturize. Choose an unrefined oil, known as virgin coconut oil.
• Regular bathing with soothing oatmeal-based shampoo may help irritated skin.

Never use human shampoos or products on your pet unless with express agreement from your veterinarian.

What Is The Prognosis For Canine Seborrhea?

Some cases of canine seborrhea can be cured with appropriate treatment if you seek help promptly. Treating the underlying cause of seborrhea can lead to a full resolution in many cases.

However, if your dog suffers from the less common primary idiopathic seborrhea, he may require long-term management strategies for his skin. Symptoms can usually be kept under control in these cases if you follow your veterinarians recommendations.

Can I Prevent It?

You cant prevent genetically inherited idiopathic seborrhea. However, not breeding from animals that suffer from seborrhea and buying from good breeders that wouldnt reproduce from affected animals, can reduce the risk of seborrhea in your dog. If youre buying a puppy from a breed prone to seborrhea, make sure to meet both of the parents and give them a once-over to reduce the risk of purchasing a puppy with problems.

You can lessen the risk of other dogs getting seborrhea by using parasite preventatives, feeding a good quality commercial diet made to AAFCO standards, maintaining a healthy body weight, and managing any underlying allergies as recommended by your veterinarian.

Does Your Dog Have Other Skin Problems?

Is your dogs skin frequently itchy or rashy? Dogs suffer from a host of skin problems in addition to seborrhea.If this sounds like your pup, he could be suffering fromskin allergiesfrom something in his food or environment.Skin infections are also common in dogs, so you may want to know the signs of infection before it leads to seborrhea.

You must take your dog to your veterinarian if you suspect he has seborrhea, an infection, or allergies to receive a proper diagnosis and have appropriate treatment, which depends on the cause of their condition.

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