One of the most difficult problems that veterinarians have to solve is dermatitis. It has a huge number of varieties. What is noteworthy, this disease can develop even under good animal welfare conditions. Most often, this disease is affected by Dalmatians and sharpei. But this does not mean that representatives of other breeds cannot suffer from this disease.
Allergic dermatitis in dogs is a consequence of a reaction to certain proteins that the body recognizes as foreign. In this case, the clinical manifestations may be different depending on the reasons why the disease was caused.
Features of manifestations
Even an experienced doctor sometimes can not quickly make a diagnosis. In the case of autoimmune diseases, not everything is so simple, and allergic atopic dermatitis in dogs can also have a different nature. Therefore, before starting treatment, you will have to pass tests and conduct various tests and tests. To date, three causes have been identified that lead to similar consequences. Now we will analyze each of them in more detail.
Flea dermatitis in dogs
Sometimes the owners are skeptical of the recommendations of veterinarians to regularly carry out preventive treatment for fleas, as well as deworming. It seems to everyone that his pet has no parasites and there is nowhere to come from. And if one or the other flea starts up, then there is nothing wrong with that.
In fact, the danger is not even the bites themselves or an amount of drunk blood that are unpleasant for the animal. Flea dermatitis in dogs develops due to the special structure of the oral apparatus of the parasite and the substances contained in its saliva. After a bite, a special substance - an anticoagulant - gets into the wound. Since it is found in flea saliva, it enters the blood with a 100% probability. This substance consists of a large number of various proteins. They are strong allergens.
First, get rid of fleas
Indeed, even if parasites are not visible at first glance, the veterinarian will certainly offer to carry out the treatment. The animal will not get worse from this, but it will help to exclude one reason for the development of the disease in the absence of a result. Allergic flea dermatitis in dogs can be suspected if you see bites and scratches, as well as flea feces, which are small balls that look like clotted blood, in places that are typical for insects.
In this case, it cannot be said that fleas are the cause of all misfortunes. For example, in animals with less sensitive skin, too painful reactions after insect bites are not observed. But it is necessary to purchase a special remedy for parasites and treat the pet. After a few days, the wounds will heal and you can re-diagnose to assess the change in condition.
Treatment of flea allergic dermatitis in dogs is symptomatic. Once the source of the negative reaction has been eliminated, symptoms will persist for several weeks. For their leveling, antihistamines and soothing ointments are used. If fleas continue to live on a dog, their use is futile. Once the source of the allergy persists, there will be no improvement.
Feed allergy
It is becoming more common today. Most likely, this is due to the fact that the quality of feed is noticeably deteriorating. Meat products are saturated with hormones and antibiotics, vegetables contain traces of pesticides. And finished feed is made using preservatives and flavorings.
When identifying the cause of allergic dermatitis in a dog, the probability of food allergy is usually put in second place in terms of prevalence. It is important to distinguish between food intolerance and actual allergy. These are different things. Food intolerance is a reaction to a single product.
Feed allergy is a reaction to the proteins contained in the feed. In this case, the size of the protein molecule matters. As a rule, beef, milk and wheat come first. This does not mean that in all animals these products will cause a negative reaction. Usually, in one individual, only one component has to be excluded from the diet.
Atopy
Allergic dermatitis in a dog can develop for another reason. In particular, this condition is a reaction to an allergen. The latter in this case penetrates the respiratory tract.
When it first enters the body, a substance triggers certain processes that initially do not manifest themselves externally. But with repeated exposure to the provocateur, a skin disease occurs. Most often, similar microparticles that cause allergic dermatitis in dogs are pollen, feathers and fluff.
Quite often, the symptoms of the atopic species are accompanied by manifestations of a reaction to any food. This greatly complicates the diagnosis and treatment choice. If there is a suspicion that the pet has an autoimmune disease, then it is best to contact a good, trusted clinic with experienced dermatologists in the state and the presence of your own laboratory. Then the chance to help your pet will be quite high.
How does the disease manifest itself?
Let's look at the symptoms of allergic dermatitis in dogs. This is usually a skin lesion and severe itching. For scratching, animals use limbs and teeth, various sharp objects, the surface of a rug or rug. Biting and licking are also used.
Veterinarians know well where dermatitis is most often manifested in dogs. Photos of such animals do not leave anyone indifferent and make owners think about the timely treatment of their pets. Most often, the muzzle, limbs and armpit area are affected. But not necessarily, other parts of the body may well be damaged. Itching is also possible over the entire surface of the skin.
Additional symptoms
Itching is the most debilitating of them, but not the only one. In general, the condition of the animal is highly dependent on the severity of the symptoms. In some cases, anaphylactic shock is possible. Typically, the cause is a large amount of toxin. In any case, the treatment of dermatitis in dogs should be timely and comprehensive.
In addition to itching, the following symptoms can be noted:
- Slight redness of the skin called erythema. Strongly noticeable if the dog’s coat is short and light. Redness can also be seen in pets with dark hair, if you push it apart with your hands and carefully examine the skin.
- In places of constant licking, the hairline changes color in the direction of darker shades. This is due to a reaction to chronic exposure to saliva.
- The foci of baldness. The lack of wool on them can be explained by licking.
Secondary symptoms
Often the owner misses the primary symptoms of the development of the disease and draws attention to it only when the condition worsens significantly. Allergies often become the cause of the development of a bouquet of concomitant ailments. Here is a list of them:
- Pyoderma. Often this disease is attributed to scabies or other ailments caused by parasites. Therefore, incorrect treatment regimens are prescribed. Pyoderma develops with the participation of specific microorganisms. Usually these are staphylococci and streptococci. Microbes get into wounds when combing and lead to an inflammatory reaction. This complication is characterized by baldness and purulent foci on the skin. She becomes bloated, bumpy.
- Purulent conjunctivitis. Often provoked by the activity of purulent microflora. Therefore, specific treatment is prescribed, using antibiotics.
- Acute wet dermatitis. Outwardly, it looks like a cluster of wet hair. But when cutting it off, you can see how difficult the overall clinical picture is. Most often, dermatitis is combined with pyoderma, scabies, lichen and deep, complex infections.
- Otitis externa. The ear area is so affected that the canal of the hearing aid is completely blocked.
- Subdermatitis. This is a purulent infectious disease of the soles of the extremities.
- Acral dermatitis. Appears on the forelimbs, in the wrist joint. At first, the hair disappears in this place, the skin darkens and the affected area increases in size. It becomes visible above the surface of the entire coat.
The principle of treatment of allergic dermatitis
You won’t be able to ask the dog how much the current condition worries her. One has only to carefully monitor it and draw the appropriate conclusions. As you can already understand, the symptoms of the disease are similar to the signs of a huge number of diseases. Even an experienced doctor will not be able to diagnose at home without passing laboratory tests.
Thus, treatment begins with the exclusion of diseases that have similar symptoms. After that, you can go directly to an attempt to determine the type of allergy. The treatment regimens are comprehensive and should take into account three main areas:
- Exclusion of the cause that causes allergies in the pet.
- Symptomatic treatment aimed at stopping itching.
- Elimination of the consequences and complications of therapy.
The sooner you seek help, the more likely it will be effective. Allergy is characterized by a gradual increase in symptoms, so the owners do not notice them for a long time. Animals are admitted to the hospital in serious condition. But even in this case, treatment of dermatitis in dogs can be effective. The main thing is to be led by a veterinarian. With self-medication, it is impossible to take into account all the nuances. In addition, without laboratory tests, it is impossible to assess whether the right direction has been chosen. As a result, you lose valuable time, and the condition of the animal will worsen.
First steps
As mentioned above, flea dermatitis is most easily treated. In this case, it is quite simple to carry out the prevention of invasions. For this, today there is a huge amount of shampoos from parasites that help solve the problem.
The treatment of allergic dermatitis in dogs is much more difficult if the cause is a negative reaction to food and various additives. Its symptoms are often nonspecific, and treatment requires selectivity in drugs and foods. The most difficult thing is with those animals that are contained in the finished feed. Active advertising, promotion of popular brands by veterinarians, as well as ease of use lead to the fact that many owners consider this food the best option for their pets. It is understood that it contains everything a dog needs for a full life. Unfortunately, prepared feeds are most often the culprits of your pet's condition. While they were not in such quantity on sale, the health problems in animals were much less.
Effective therapy
For feed allergies, you can use one of the following steps:
- Check with your doctor for a home-made diet for dogs prone to negative food reactions.
- You can switch to another protein. In some cases, this implies a change of brand.
- Introduction to food hydrolyzed proteins.
Regardless of which scheme is used, smoothing and the complete disappearance of symptoms can be observed no earlier than two months after changing the feed. Since treating allergic dermatitis in dogs takes a long time, you need to keep a food diary and record all changes in it.
The best option is to transfer animals to natural food. Here you can quite accurately regulate the intake of various nutrients, including protein. But in this case, the owner is faced with a problem, namely a digestive disorder. Most often, the disease manifests itself as diarrhea and flatulence. But gradually these symptoms disappear and the condition improves. When switching to a new protein, you need to be sure that the other feed does not contain the previous proteins, to which there was a reaction.
Switching to a diet of hydrolyzed ingredients can be a good solution. But the cost of such feed is often too high. In this case, the protein molecule has already undergone a process of partial hydrolysis. And the smaller it is, the more the risk of allergies is reduced.
Atopy treatment
A complex and lengthy process that concerns not only the exclusion of an allergen, but also the treatment of existing skin problems. Anti-inflammatory drugs are the basis in the treatment of many pathologies that are associated with the activity of the immune system. Allergies are no different. Therefore, corticosteroid and antihistamine therapy is the basis of treatment.
- Cortisone is a steroid, but it has nothing to do with the anabolics used by bodybuilders. In most cases, the animal feels better after the first application. Usually it is prescribed in a course for one to two weeks. During this time, most often the itch completely goes away. But prolonged use of cortisone leads to disruption of the adrenal glands, or Cushing's syndrome.
- Antihistamines. They are used for a long time.
Quite often, desperate owners of a sick pet begin to consider the visible signs of illness in other animals in the photo for comparison. Allergic dermatitis in a dog would not have been so acute if they had immediately consulted a specialist. But instead, the owners at best try to treat the animal on their own, with folk remedies. As a result, intolerable itching leads to the fact that the dog strongly combes the skin, even to the erasure of teeth. And in place of the wounds, severe dermatitis with focal infectious lesions is formed.
Secondary infection treatment
As a rule, its appearance leads to a blurring of the clinical picture. At first glance, you can’t make out what this ailment is, and the owners do not know where to start treatment. In addition to an injectable antibiotic, it is necessary to use local action. They are an auxiliary, but very important part of the course of treatment.
- First of all, you need to clean the surface of wool, soaked crust and suppuration. To do this, it is best to use a swab moistened with any antiseptic solution.
- In addition, externally, you can use Levomekol and moist lotions of affected areas with Chlorhexidine.
- Widely used antibacterial drugs such as streptomycin ointment and its analogues.
- Often, in addition to bacterial infections, fungal infections develop in animals. Most often, a complicated course of pyodermatitis of the paw pads occurs. Well-established funds based on clotrimazole. During treatment, you need to make sure that the animal will not lick the product.
There are no special ointments for allergic dermatitis for dogs. Veterinarians analyze the condition of the animal, make the necessary tests, and on the basis of this select the most effective treatment.
Animal care
In any case, you need to tune in to the fact that the treatment will be long and rather complicated. It will be necessary to provide the animal with high-quality and appropriate diet special nutrition. In addition, be sure to change its litter and choose a new high-quality coating from natural materials. Be sure to bathe a sick animal in cool water twice a week. If it is hot, it will intensify the itching, and more frequent washing will lead to thinning and drying out of the skin. Together with the veterinarian, you can pick up special shampoos that are not therapeutic in themselves, but will contribute to recovery.