The Most Common Skin Problems in Dogs and Cats: Part 1

Although our dogs and cats will occasionally scratch when they have an itch, whether it behind their ear or front leg, etc., incessant scratching is not common. According to PetMD.com, there are six main reasons why dogs and cats scratch.

Often times, when we see our pets scratch we don’t think much of it. On the other hand, there are times when the scratching is persistent and we must not dismiss it.

These six reasons are part of a main category resulting from dermatitis, and the categories are listed below.

*Environmental

*Nutritional

*Parasitic

*Allergic

*Neurogenic

*Infectious

These categories also become more challenging the more frequently they are diagnosed. T.J. Dunn states that the simplest diagnosis begins with environmental dermatitis, and is progressively complicated with the diagnosis of neurogenic dermatitis. Environmental dermatitis is a result of what pets are exposed to, but their skin doesn’t agree with it. By matching the environmental irritant to the pet’s skin, you can determine preventative methods. There are different examples, such as moist eczema and contact with plastics can cause environmental dermatitis. We will focus on the top three most common categories; environmental, nutritional and parasitic.

Nutritional dermatitis occurs because of a lack of nutrition. When fed appropriate amounts of a balanced diet, your pet’s nutrition is stable, and you’ll see results immediately. Quality dog and cat food consists of organic, all-natural, grain-free and veterinary-prescribed diet food. Our products, Wholistic Canine Complete for dogs, along with Wholistic Feline Complete for cats, adds in essential organic and super-premium ingredients for your pet. These are both supplements that can provide optimum results for your pet’s health, in addition to their current diet. Your pet will also maintain a shiny and supple coat when eating well, and this can be maintained also with our Wholistic Flax Seed Oil, which is pure, organic and cold-pressed flax seed oil that produces heavy concentrations, resulting in a high-shine coat for your pet.

Parasitic dermatitis is mostly a common form of fleas and ticks, and an overexposure to an area where they are inhabited, can result in an overly sensitive reaction to even a single bite from a flea. The bite results in allergic dermatitis due to the saliva of the flea. Other intense reactions from parasites similar to fleas are Cheyletiella mites, scabies (red mange), and Demodex mites. All of these parasitic dermatitis result from excessive or repeated exposure to an infected environment, stresses from a disease, poor nutrition or immune disorder. This can be prevented by providing supplements and nutrition support to your pet, such as Wholistic Diatomaceous Earth, Wholistic Alfalfa Powder, both excellent and highly recommended for your dog and cat. We will focus on the next three categories of dermatitis in a future article.

Do you find yourself struggling with common skin problems with your cat or dog? If so, what preventative method(s) have you found to be the most effective?