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Skin problems are among the most common reasons pets visit the vet — and among the most frustrating for pet owners when left unresolved. In Texas, our most common cause is actually flea infestation or ticks followed closely by allergic skin disease whether that’s food or environment.
There are a variety of reasons that cause skin problems in dogs. In Texas, our most common cause is actually flea infestation or ticks followed pretty closely by allergic skin disease whether that's food or environment. We certainly also see contact irritation, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases.
With cats, it's a lot more complicated than it is with our dog friends. Our dogs are very dramatic like us humans, so they tend to be very itchy, and they'll scratch and chew in front of us all the time. Our cats tend to groom primarily when they are resting, when they're away from us, and when they're in a quiet place. The only thing you'll see regarding how uncomfortable your cat is is hair loss, but it doesn't even scratch the surface of what they are feeling.
The first and foremost in cats are overgrooming and hair loss. If your cat's grooming 24/7 or if your cat's stopping mid-walk to start grooming itself, that's not normal. Your cat's uncomfortable.
By far, the most common symptoms of allergies in cats are hair loss and over-grooming, especially around the mouth, ears, and backend.
One of the biggest ones among our cat friends that we talk about a lot, especially our allergic cat friends, is a rodent ulcer. That is what they used to be called. We now call them eosinophilic plaques, and you'll see an area on their lips, nose, or philtrum, or areas on their skin that become ulcerated, red, and will even sometimes erode into their lip. Cats can also develop acne on their mouth and chin, which can often be a sign of things like food allergies or other deeper conditions.
The biggest thing to think about in our cats is that many conditions on the surface can look very similar, and even as a doctor just looking at something, I often don't know the answer either. So that's why we have tools like cytology, food trials, and even sometimes, a biopsy is necessary to get an answer.
Anytime that you see over-grooming or hair loss, your cat is uncomfortable. They are very subtle creatures, so by the time you actually see hair loss, they've probably been miserable for a lot longer than you realize.
Our first step for any cat with dermatology issues will be good flea and tick prevention because we know that is one of the biggest reasons we'll see cats come in. Since fleas are very hard to see on a cat, as they tend to hunt and eat them, you often don't see them. So that will be our first step, as well as cytology, to see whether they have a yeast infection or a bacterial infection.
Absolutely. We know very well that itchiness, pruritis, chewing, and scratching can be quite painful. Most humans report they can't sleep through the night, they're miserable and we often see that in our pets too. So absolutely, it's very uncomfortable.
The most common signs we see are itchiness. For dogs, this can look like scratching but it's much more common that we're going to see that as chewing, licking, or rubbing. So you may see your dog rub its face on the ground or its back end on the ground. Dogs may also lick or almost corncob chew up and down their arms.
The tests depend on what we see on exam. We can do anything from cytology to skin scraping to all the way to biopsy. We're always going to start with an exam because that's really going to help guide us on what our next steps are.
The things that we see most commonly here are going to be hair loss, skin lesions, whether that's little pimples or red bumps or even ulcerated areas or hot spots. You might also see bright redness or changes in hair coat like it's brittle or oily.
The biggest concern we have is that it can lead to systemic infection. We see dogs with really severe skin infections that end up with really enlarged lymph nodes. They don't feel good and they may even develop a fever, especially with something acute like really bad hot spots or with autoimmune diseases.
Atopic dermatitis is essentially the dog's version of human allergies — allergic to something in the environment such as pollen, trees, grass, and ragweed. They express it through their skin instead of sneezing. Contact dermatitis is more like if you have something that touches the skin and it irritates it in that area. You'll see it on places like the bellies or around their eyes — places basically where you don't have as much hair.
What causes skin problems in dogs?
Allergies in dogs are very common, especially here in Texas. We see cases every day. In fact, half of our schedule as veterinarians is often filled with dealing with allergies.
Allergies mostly cause your dog to be extremely itchy, leading them to scratch, shake, and rub their face. This can result in sleepless nights for both you and your pet due to their constant scratching and chewing. Secondary infections can also occur from the excessive scratching and chewing, further exacerbating the itchiness.
While the most common symptom is itching, secondary infections, ear infections, skin rashes, and excessive chewing are common signs. In the case of an acute allergic reaction, your dog may have red, puffy eyes, a swollen face, or start sneezing.
A vet will first examine where your pet is chewing or rubbing to see if there's an infection that needs to be addressed. We also use the seasonal component to help us determine possible allergens. If your pet is dealing with allergies year-round, we may consider food allergies. Ultimately, a blood test can be conducted to diagnose what your pet is specifically allergic to.
We used to use prednisone frequently, but it has many side effects due to its comprehensive blocking of all inflammatory pathways. Nowadays, we use specific anti-inflammatories that target inflammation caused by allergies, which are safer with fewer side effects.
Hyposensitization or desensitization therapy refers to allergy shots, similar to what people can receive. We use a blood test or a skin test to determine what your pet is allergic to, then create shots based on these findings. These shots contain small amounts of the allergens and aim to train the pet's body not to react so severely to these allergens over time.
