The skin is the most important and largest organ in the dog, the main function of which is the barrier. Violation of the integrity of the skin causes negative consequences for the pet, so you need to carefully monitor its condition and take measures in time. One common problem is fungus.
What is a fungus?
Fungus in dogs, or dermatophysis, is a common reason for visiting veterinary clinics. This disease can develop in a dog at any age and under any conditions, even with the best. It is almost impossible to protect the pet from the appearance of the fungus, but it can be cured. Today, there are many modern drugs that can successfully fight the disease. The main thing is to recognize the occurrence of the problem in time and seek help.
There are many varieties of fungus, but only some of them are dangerous for the pet.
How does a fungus appear?
Fungus in dogs can appear in the course of communication with individuals already suffering from this disease. After walking on contaminated grass, there is also a high probability of infection. However, the wearer can bring the fungus from the street on the shoe itself. These microorganisms are quite dangerous. Some of them can harm not only the animal, but also humans.
Another case is a dog’s low immunity or high sensitivity to disease. Yeast is always present on the skin of dogs , which does not cause any disease. Under certain conditions, the number of bacteria begins to increase, resulting in malaysia.
Puppies, young dogs, weak animals after illness, animals prone to allergies and with immune pathologies are susceptible to the fungus.
Dermatophysis is a common occurrence in dogs with tangles and lumps of wool. The skin does not breathe well under them, as a result of which its protective function decreases. Also, with excessive washing of the dog with cleansing shampoos, the skin loses its function, and again, the fungus can develop in dogs. Therefore, do not often bathe your pet, even if it seems to you that the coat already looks dirty.
The reproduction rate of the fungus is very high, therefore, at the slightest suspicion of its presence, you must immediately go to the clinic.
In the process of reproduction of the microorganism, the dog's immunity decreases, even though vaccinations have been given. Dermatophysis affects the deep skin layers, which leads to inflammation of the follicles. And this creates the most favorable environment for the subsequent occurrence of other parasites.
Where does a dog get fungus?
As a rule, the onset of the disease has a certain pattern. Initially, a dog develops a fungus on its feet and ears.
Sometimes it appears only on the interdigital area, on the skin around the claws and paw pads. The skin becomes rough, inflamed and cracked, crusts or scales appear, the nails turn yellow and begin to bend.
The fungus in dogs on its feet most often occurs in the autumn and spring. The pet begins to limp, nibble on the affected area. A fungus may also appear in the ear of the dog, on the inner surface without hair. Since the hair is scarce in these places, it is easiest to notice the disease there. The ear fungus in dogs carries a danger, because with severe itching, the pet will actively scratch the area and can damage the auricle.
Symptoms of the disease
Like any disease, the fungus in dogs has its own symptoms. The primary symptom by which the presence of infection can be determined is itching. Recognizing this moment of work is not difficult, since any owner will immediately notice when his pet often begins to itch. In places where itching appears, peeling of the skin is formed.
Infection with trichophytosis is also possible, with rounded bald patches forming on the dog’s skin. Purulent discharge may appear, resulting in the formation of crusts. This fungus affects the hair follicles. In the future, they may not fully recover, and spots will remain forever.
Dogs are susceptible to infection by a fungus such as favus. Affected areas of the body emit an unpleasant odor. Rounded spots with crusts of a gray-yellow hue appear on the skin. After getting rid of the infection, the hair there may also not recover.
There are cases when the skin fungus passes to the follicles, and then a chronic form of the disease develops. A pet with chronic mycosis can infect animals and humans.
Who is affected?
The fungus occurs, as a rule, in young dogs, because they still have insufficiently strong immunity. Also, the development of the disease is affected by poor nutrition, hormonal imbalance and corticosteroid therapy.
The incubation period of the disease is 8-30 days. It is impossible to determine the type of disease and methods of treatment on your own, therefore it is not worth taking any measures without consulting a doctor.
At the reception at the veterinarian
The veterinarian will conduct a comprehensive examination of the pet, if necessary, prescribe other diagnostic methods, for example, a study using a lamp, microscopy. Only after the fungus has been detected in the dog, treatment can be carried out.
The development of mycosis is promoted by a high level of humidity, because the microorganism actively multiplies in warmth and in light. Veterinarians recommend, on this basis, not to walk the pet during the day.
Symptom-free fungus
It happens that there are no symptoms at all, but the fungus is present. You can notice how the hairs periodically fall off, and if the infection happened a long time ago, then the hair becomes dull, starts to get confused and looks unpresentable just a few days after washing. Many attribute these processes to molting - seasonal, from changing feed or shampoo. However, the coat will remain in this condition until action is taken. Sometimes you can notice small bald spots of a slightly grayed skin, but if the pet’s coat is long, it is practically impossible to detect them.
This can happen for various reasons. Perhaps the pet has a good resistance to the disease or the pathogen is not very dangerous. But in any case, having found such symptoms, it is necessary to pass a skin scraping to make sure that the amount of fungus does not exceed the norm.
How to cure a dog’s fungus? It all starts with a diagnosis
The veterinarian will illuminate the coat with a lamp. If there is a fungus, an emerald color will be visible . But it is worth taking into account the fact that half of the existing fungi do not give such a glow.
Diagnosis with a lamp gives absolutely no information other than conviction in the presence of a fungus.
If the veterinarian immediately prescribes all kinds of pills and ointments, without conducting other tests, then the disease can be combated for many years. Therefore, you must either insist on continuing the diagnosis, or consult another doctor.
A comprehensive analysis is needed to determine the type of fungus, the number of bacteria, their reproduction rate, and sensitivity to drugs. This is not a very cheap service.
How to identify a fungus?
You can identify skin fungus in dogs using the following tests:
- Blood donation for bacteriology. It may be that the pet is sensitive to cocci and other bacteria, and the fungus itself is a secondary infection. In this case, the primary source of the disease must be eliminated.
- Blood donation for the determination of allergic reactions. Allergies can not always occur and have pronounced symptoms. If the pet’s skin inflammation is associated with an allergy, then the fungus will appear all the time, even after seemingly successful treatment. First of all, you need to eliminate the allergen.
- Blood and urine donation for detailed biochemical analysis. It is important to find out the state of the pet’s health, since the fungus in the dog appears at the moment of weakened immunity or against the background of chronic ailments. Analyzes will show if there are malfunctions in the work of any organs.
Having the results of the tests on hand, the veterinarian can instantly determine how to treat the fungus in the dog. It is important to choose exactly those drugs that will not only weaken the microorganism, but destroy it.
Anti-fungal preparations
If the skin of the dog has only a few spots with bald patches, then ointments and solutions are used:
- "Clotrimazole".
- "Juglon".
- "Mykozolon".
If the lesion sites have a large area, then the use of such agents is dangerous, since antifungal drugs are toxic. In this case, use shampoos:
- "Fluconazole".
- "Griseofulvin."
- Ketoconazole.
Also used are tablets or injections in combination with immunostimulants.
There are times when an allergic reaction appears at the place where the injection was given. To prevent this from happening, the dog can additionally be administered diphenhydramine.
To eliminate the fungus in a dog, treatment is prescribed with antifungal antibiotics, however, they can cause gastrointestinal and liver problems.
Be sure to check with your doctor if this type of fungus is transmitted to other animals and humans. If the answer is positive, gloves should be worn during treatment. It is best to isolate the dog for a while, for this you can use a separate room or aviary. But the pet should not feel abandoned, because stressful situations reduce immunity.
Self-treatment - exacerbating the situation
If someone you know gives you tips on how to get rid of the fungus yourself, or shares a doctor’s advice, you should not use them. Each case is individual, and in order not to harm the pet, do not self-medicate. Since fungus often occurs in a dog, it is not difficult to find a photo of the disease as well as treatment methods. Many, believing that this is not such a serious ailment, begin to seek information and conduct treatment on their own. But this is not worth doing. Not only can you spend a lot of money on unnecessary drugs, you can also aggravate the situation and harm the health of the animal.
As soon as a fungus is found in a dog, it is worth throwing away all the litter, disinfecting toys and other objects that the dog came into contact with. Replace combs and brushes with new ones.
Disease prevention
Prevention of fungus is to maintain hygiene and maintain the dog’s immunity. It is worth refraining from walking the pet in places where stray dogs walk. It is also necessary to observe the correct diet and give the animal sufficient physical activity. Be sure to buy vitamins for your pet to increase immunity.
Vaccination against a fungus is ineffective, in addition, sometimes it worsens the situation. It is impossible to protect the pet from infection, however, having noticed the disease on time, you can go to the veterinarian and destroy the infection.
If you have absolutely no opportunity to visit a veterinarian, then you can make an antifungal ointment with your own hands. This requires natural birch tar, sulfuric ointment and acetylsalicylic acid. Take 25 g of ointment, 2 tablets of acid and 1 tsp. tar. Then mix everything well. This medicine is considered an analogue of the ointment "Yam", only it will cost several times cheaper.
A dog is a friend of a person, and if you decide to take responsibility for the maintenance of the animal, then you need to understand that any pet needs proper care, nutrition, attention and treatment. After all, each animal is susceptible to various diseases for one reason or another. Turning regularly to a doctor, you can identify ailments at an early stage of their development. Carry out a home inspection of your dog daily, as there are many infections that your pet can catch on the street.