Spring often means an itchy time for dogs
Sadly, for up to half of dog owners, the summer isn’t the easiest time for their pets to cope with. That’s because many dogs have a mild to severe reaction to many of the microscopic grass and tree pollens that are part of the normal cycle of nature at this time of year. For dogs the problem often starts early in life, any time up to 4-6 years of age, and then progresses in severity as each year passes. The trouble with a developing sensitivity is that the initial signs can be very subtle and may even be missed in the first few summers, especially as they resolve in the autumn. During annual health checks at this stage in a dog’s life the regular question always asked by Vets is directed towards signs of skin irritation - chewing, scratching, rubbing or scraping!
So what are the tell-tale signs ?
The main areas of problems for dogs are in the closed-in skin fold regions. Think of the equivalent region for us humans as being the hot, sweaty areas. So for dogs that equates to feet, armpits, groin region and ears, as well as under the base of the tail. For many dogs the latter is often mistaken for anal gland problems. Legions of dogs over the years have ‘suffered’ having their anal glands emptied when in actual fact the problem has been to do with their skin. The two just got lumped together. A dog’s skin is incredibly sensitive compared to ours. And one of the few ways the skin has to respond to an insult is to become inflamed as it attempts to ward off attack. That leads to itchiness which of course leads to scratching. As we all know, scratching an itch usually only makes it worse. Try telling that to your dog! Not all of these areas on the dog’s body will be affected though, sometimes the problem affects only one area, which makes diagnosing the problem a bit more difficult. By building up the history over a few summers the problem does become fairly clear in most cases. Plenty of other additional factors can contribute to the skin’s sensitivity, making things even worse for a dog. These include fleas, house dust mites and background skin bacteria and yeast, amongst others.
What’s going on in my dog’s skin ?
The reaction, or rather, over-reaction to these normally occurring pollens is the result of a hypersensitivity. It’s effectively an allergic reaction. All over the body the microscopic pollens are being absorbed through the porous skin surface and presented to cells deeper in the skin that then ‘over react’ to these normal pollens in dogs with skin sensitivity. These cells release histamine which cause the irritant reaction we see, namely reddening and itchy skin. As each summer comes round it will take less and less of the irritant factor (the pollens) to cause more and more of an over-reaction within the skin. The skin becomes sensitised during the first summer’s exposure, and then hypersensitised as each year comes round. Sadly, there’s no way of knowing which puppy is going to be prone to this condition when it grows up. For us humans we are generally quite lucky in terms of our skin as we respond well to the use of anti-histamines. For dogs, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Once the itch has been controlled some dogs will be helped by certain types of anti-histamines. Finding out which one though is often something of a lottery and there are much more sophisticated medications available if the problem ever progresses to this level of help being needed.
So what do we do to help dogs with itchy skin ?
For those dogs scratching themselves to distraction the first job is to stop the itch. That’s often possible with the fairly careful use of anti-inflammatory medication. And for the most part that means steroids. Thankfully our knowledge and understanding of skin irritation means that resorting to steroids is usually fairly short term as we get to grips with the skin’s over-reaction. Specific, medicated shampoo treatment is also used to clear the “mulch” of pollens from the skin surface, along with the rapidly multiplying yeast and bacteria that are complicating the picture as they ‘enjoy’ the favourable conditions. Within a very short time the itchiness should be managed, unless the problem has started to spiral out of control, in which case there are a range of additional treatments waiting to be used to steady the situation. The most important thing is communication with your Vet this stage. Regular updates will get the situation under control a lot quicker than just letting the problem drift along.
How do we keep a dog’s skin as itch free as possible in future ?
This is the real aim. As soon as it’s recognised that there is a recurring theme of skin irritation at this time of year then more long term planning is started to ensure the summer isn’t a continual blight for a dog. This planning will mean low level skin care in the form of shampoo use and regular (monthly) de-flea management extending in to the autumn and winter. Often the work that’s undertaken in the “quiet” season for skin itch will determine just how bad a summer a skin sensitive dog will have.
© copywrite Dai Gittins MRCVS.
