What foods cause itchy skin in dogs

Itchy Skin Conditions In Dogs

Itchy skin for dogs

Unfortunately for our four-legged friends, itchiness and uncomfortable scratching can be a fact of life for dogs. The proper veterinary term for the unpleasant feeling of itchiness is pruritis. Any dog can suffer from pruritis at any age for a variety of reasons, which weve detailed below.

How do skin conditions affect dogs?

In dogs, chronic itching or scratchy skin has a huge impact on wellbeing. Just as in humans, where chronic itching is said to be as debilitating as chronic pain due to the impact on quality of life. Similarly, weve noticed that pet owners have reported that their dogs demeanour, following treatment of their itchy skin, is hugely positive. Weve had owners describe them as having a new lease of life, being more playful, eating better and seeming more interested in interaction suggesting that conditions and skin allergies can have huge impact on quality of life for an itchy dog too.

Skin problems can cause great discomfort and irritation for your dog. They are rarely life-threatening, but if not treated promptly and properly can cause a great deal of suffering and make your dog uncomfortable. Your pet will likely become irritable, withdrawn, restless and in some cases, painful.

Which dog breeds are affected most by skin diseases?

Certain dog breeds are more commonly affected by allergies and are more often seen by our vets with skin problems and itchy conditions. These breeds include, but are not limited to:

• West Highland White Terrier (Westies)
• Shar Pei
• French Bulldog
• English Bulldog
• Cockerpoo

What causes a dog to itch?

A dog scratching is a sign of an underlying skin problem, including bacterial infections, dog food allergies, and more. The most common causes of itching in dogs are parasites, infections, and allergies.

Parasites

Parasites such as fleas and dust mites are the most common cause of itching in dogs. Itchy dogs scratching at flea bites can lead to bleeding, red skin and bald patches.

Unfortunately, some flea control preparations available from supermarkets and pet stores are no longer fully effective in controlling parasites, due to resistance developing. Spot-on treatments become less effective if your dog swims or you bathe your dog.

Dog skin infections

Infectious causes of itching include bacterial and fungal (yeast) skin conditions. These are sometimes secondary to other causes such as an allergic reaction or systemic illnesses causing weakness in the dogs body or damage to the skin. Infections are often accompanied by patches of missing fur, scaly skin, odour and discharge.

Dog allergic reactions

Allergic itching or allergic dermatitis can be caused by insect bites, food allergies or environmental allergens such as pollens, mould and dust. Allergies may be seasonal or all year round, depending on the individual dogs triggers.

Find out more about the most common dog skin conditions on our blog.

What are the symptoms of itchy skin in dogs?

In most dogs, itching may be generalised or focal (confined to one area). This means you might find hot spots or areas of bald skin, or you may just notice your dog scratching all over.

Common symptoms of itching in dogs include:

• Excessive scratching
• Chewing/ biting at the skin
• Licking (and saliva staining of the fur)
• Rubbing the skin against furniture or on the ground
• Rashes and redness of the skin
• Flaky skin
• Irritability
• Being unable to settle or rest

Excessive licking, scratching and rubbing can cause damage to the skin, leading to inflammation, thickened skin, hair loss (alopecia) and skin infections.

How to treat your dogs itchy skin

There are several treatment options to try to get your dog to stop scratching. Successful vet treatment of your dogs pruritis depends on diagnosing the underlying cause.

If your dog is suffering from itchy skin, contact our friendly call team or book online to make an appointment at your local Animal Trust vet clinic for expert advice. Our vet consultations are free (except for out of hours) and our veterinary surgeons will examine your pet for any lesions that may indicate the cause of their itching.

Our veterinary medicine nurses and vets will offer investigations of your dogs skin condition based on their findings and outline any lab fees involved. They will then plan with you the most appropriate management of your pets skin condition. This will consider your dogs age, the condition of their skin, hormonal imbalances, other underlying medical issues and other symptoms, and will ensure the plan is affordable for you.

Common dog skin condition treatments

There are a number of options available for your dog, which our team of vets will discuss with you at consultation.

Treating itching in dogs with antihistamines is one of the most common forms of treatment. However, in many dogs the response to antihistamines is variable, and their use is not supported by current research.

Prescription strength parasite control, ideally in tablet form, will be required to clear mite infestations for an itchy dog. These tablets can treat the entire flea life cycle where fleas are found.

Anti-inflammatory steroids are often considered the most effective medication to manage itching. Unfortunately, they can cause multiple side effects if used systemically for long-term courses, so are often used for short-term management or applied topically.

Where infection is found to be present, antibiotics or medicated shampoos will be required to clear the infection and relieve the itching. Sometimes this treatment may be required for a month or more.

Prescription hypoallergenic food trials (similar to an elimination diet) may be advised for 6-8 weeks to feed your dog to test for food allergy or intolerance. These diets can be used for longer-term management if they help to control the itching.

If a cause of itching cannot be identified, or the treatment of underlying diseases does not control the itch, then medical treatment may be required for longer-term management of your dogs pruritis. These medications include steroids, Apoquel, cyclosporine and Cytopoint injections. These act on the dogs immune system to prevent the excessive release of inflammatory mediators in reaction to an allergen.

Further things which may help relieve your dogs itchy or dry skin include:

• Keeping up to date with parasite control. Fleas are prevalent all year round. Dogs at increased risk are those who encounter other dogs, cats and wildlife. However, 95% of the flea life cycle is in the environment, so all animals are at some risk of fleas. Some parasites, such as ear mites, demodex and scabies mites are only treated by prescription-strength medications.
• Avoiding strong detergents or biological washing powders if your dog has sensitive skin.
• Avoiding possible triggers eg., certain fields where grass/ plants have triggered a reaction, particular walks where your pet has become irritated.
• A hypoallergenic food trial, removing all additional treats and foodstuffs which may trigger gastrointestinal or skin reactions.
• Various skin care supplements are available to add into your dogs food or be given as treats. These often provide omega fatty acids, which help to improve the oil content in your dogs skin, soothe itching and reduce excessive moulting.
• Shampoos can be useful to moisturise your dogs dry or sensitive skin, which can relieve irritation. Washing your dogs paws after a walk will also remove allergens such as pollens and dust. Medicated shampoos may be required for dogs with skin infections or conditions (such as sarcoptic mange or folliculitis).

Home remedies for a dog with itchy skin

Our advice would be to contact your veterinary surgeon as the first port of call before trying a home remedy for your itchy dog. Your vet will offer a professional opinion on the likely causes of your dogs itching. They can also offer investigations where appropriate and can prescribe medication or advise home remedies as deemed appropriate to alleviate your dogs discomfort.

Can you cure your dogs itchy skin?

Potential cures will depend on the underlying cause for your dogs itching.

For example, if irritation is caused by a parasite, contact with an allergen which can be avoided, or an infection, then the itching can be cured with appropriate treatment.

However, for many dogs, there is an underlying hypersensitivity to food, allergens in the environment or atopy. In these cases, lifelong management of your dogs condition will be required. This may include control of your dogs diet, allergen avoidance, occasional or long-term medication, and treatment of any complicating factors (such as infection, conditions like an autoimmune disorder and more), may be required to keep them comfortable.

Skin conditions can be complex. Always follow your vets advice to avoid unnecessary flare ups and discomfort for your dog. If you do not feel that the current plan is working, or your dog suffers a relapse, please contact your vet for further advice.

Seeking a veterinary opinion in the early stages of skin disease may help to prevent the signs worsening, avoid suffering and ultimately reduce the amount of treatment required.

To speak to a vet about dog skin disorders or to arrange a consultation for your itchy dog, get in touch with your local Animal Trust clinic.

Skin Disease Due to Food Allergies in Dogs

Dermatologic Food Reactions in Dogs

Dermatologic food reactions are non-seasonal reactions which occur following ingestion of one or more allergy causing substances in an animals food. The physical reaction is frequently excessive itchiness, with resultant excessive scratching at the skin.

While the pathogenesis of these reactions is not fully understood, immediate reactions and delayed reactions to food are thought to be due to a hypersensitive immune response. On the other hand, food intolerance is a non-immunologic idiosyncratic reaction due to the metabolic, toxic or pharmacologic effects of the offending ingredients. Since it is not easy to distinguish between immunologic and idiosyncratic reactions, any negative response to food is generally referred to as an adverse food reaction.

Symptoms and Types

• Non-seasonal itchiness of any body location
• Poor response to anti-inflammatory doses of glucocorticoids generally suggests food hypersensitivity
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Excessive gut sounds, passing of gas, and frequent bowel movements
• Malassezia dermatitis (fungal skin infections), pyoderma (bacterial skin infections), and otitis externa (inflammation of the outer ear)
• Skin plaques broad, raised flat areas on the skin
• Pustules pus-containing raised skin inflammations
• Erythema redness of the skin
• Crusts dried serum or pus on the surface of a ruptured blister or pustule
• Scale flakes or plates of dead skin on the skin's surface
• Self-induced baldness due to scratching
• Abrasions/sores on the skin due to scratching
• Leathery, thick, bark-like skin
• Hyperpigmentation darkening of the skin
• Hives swollen or inflamed bumps on the skin
• Giant wheals (elongated marks) on the skin
• Pyotraumatic dermatitis infection of the skin wounds due to scratching excessively, and bacteria entering the wounds

Causes

• Immune-mediated reactions result of the ingestion and subsequent presentation of one or more glycoproteins (allergens) either before or after digestion; sensitization may occur as the food passes into the intestine, after the substance is absorbed, or both
• Non-immune (food intolerance) reactions result of ingestion of foods with high levels of histamine (an antigen known to cause immune hypersensitivity) or substances that induce histamine either directly or through histamine-releasing factors
• It is speculated that in juvenile animals, intestinal parasites or intestinal infections may cause damage to the intestinal mucosa, resulting in the abnormal absorption of allergens and subsequent sensitization to some ingredients

Diagnosis

Your veterinarian will perform a complete physical exam on your dog, including a dermatological exam. Non-food causes of dermatologic disease should be ruled out. Your veterinarian will order a blood chemical profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis and an electrolyte panel to rule out other causes of disease. You will need to give a thorough history of your dog's health, onset of symptoms, and possible incidents that might have preceded this condition, especially regarding any changes in diet, and any new foods added to your dog's diet, even if temporary.

Food elimination diets are advised for dogs thought to be suffering from adverse food reactions. These diets typically include one protein source and one carbohydrate source to which the dog has had limited or no previous exposure to. A clinical improvement may be seen as soon as four weeks into the new diet, and maximum alleviation of clinical signs may be seen as late as thirteen weeks into the food elimination diet.

If your dog improves on the elimination diet, a challenge should be performed to confirm that the original diet was the cause of disease and to determine what ingredient in the original diet triggered the adverse reaction.

Challenge: feed your dog with the original diet. A return of the signs confirms that something in the diet is causing the signs. The challenge period should last until the signs return but no longer than ten days.

If the challenge confirms the presence of an adverse food reaction, the next step is to perform a provocation diet trial: going back to the elimination diet, begin by adding a single ingredient to the diet. After waiting a sufficient amount of time for the ingredient to prove either agreeable or adverse, if there is no physical reaction, move on to adding the next ingredient to your dog's diet. The provocation period for each new ingredient should last up to ten days, less if signs develop sooner (dogs usually develop signs within 12 days). Should symptoms of an adverse reaction develop, discontinue the last added ingredient and wait for the symptoms to subside before moving forward to the next ingredient.

The test ingredients for the provocation trials should include a full range of meats (beef, chicken, fish, pork, and lamb), a full range of grains (corn, wheat, soybean, and rice), eggs, and dairy products. The results of these trials will guide your selection of commercial foods, based on those that do not contain the offending substance(s).

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Treatment

Avoid any food substances that caused the clinical signs to return during the provocation phase of the diagnosis. Antibiotics or antifungal medications may be prescribed by your veterinarian if secondary pyodermas or Malassezia infections are taking place.

Living and Management

Treats, chewable toys, vitamins, and other chewable medications (e.g., heartworm preventive) that may contain ingredients from your dog's previous diet must be eliminated. Make sure to read all ingredient labels carefully. If your dog spends time outdoors you will need to create a confined area to prevent foraging and hunting, which can alter the test diet. All family members will need to be made aware of the test protocol and must help keep the test diet clean and free of any other food sources. Cooperation is essential to successful treatment of this disorder.