Scratching and Hair Loss in Dogs
Your veterinarian will assume the role of a medical sleuth, doing rigorous examinations and laboratory tests to identify the cause of your dog's irritation before diagnosing and treating the disease.
What Are Scratching and Hair Loss?
Scratching and hair loss, sometimes known as alopecia, are signs of skin irritation in dogs. They do not suggest a specific condition, even though they imply irritation and damaged skin. Instead, they can be brought on by a variety of other dermatological conditions.
Dog Hair Loss and Scratching Symptoms
Regardless of the cause, your dog may exhibit the following signs of skin irritation:
Symptoms
Skin rubbing or chewing
Strips of exposed skin
There are hair clumps all over the house.
Skin that is flaming, red, or bleeding
To find the cause and provide appropriate treatment, a veterinarian must address symptoms including hair loss patches and persistent scratching.
Scratching and Hair Loss Causes
Hair loss and scratching in dogs can be brought on by anything from minor exterior irritation to deep organ malfunction. among the possibilities are
- Parasites (such as fleas, ticks, mange mites, or lice)
- allergies to certain foods, pollen, or other irritants in the environment
- fungal or bacterial infections
- liver illness (irritating bile salts accumulate under the skin)
- thyroid disorder
How to Spot Hair Loss and Dog Scratching
- When did your dog begin turning bald?
- Does your dog scratch?
- Has your dog ever experienced the same issues? Then when?
- Do you currently give your dog any medications? Phyto supplements?
- What does your dog consume during meals and outside of meals?
- Other than scratching or hair loss, have you noticed any other symptoms?
- Are there additional pets in your house, and if so, do they have the same issues as yours?
- Do your loved ones notice any unusual skin lesions?
Visual Inspection
From head to toe, your dog will have a physical examination to check for signs of parasites, skin diseases (including red patches, scabs, and sores), and general health. The examination will also cover other body parts like the teeth, ears, and eyes. This is because diseases of the skin occasionally manifest as diseases of the internal organ systems or other parts of the body.
Your veterinarian can identify which diseases are most likely causing hair loss and scratching based on the results of the history and physical examination. The outcomes will also assist in deciding which diagnostic procedures should be carried out.
Skin disease-specific tests
Your veterinarian may advise performing a few tests if your dog has been losing hair or scratching and has a skin condition. These consist of:
- examining skin scrapings for signs of the mange-causing mites
- Skin cytology testing for signs of bacterial and yeast infections
- fungi cultures that look for other fungal infections and ringworm (not a worm)
- skin biopsies if there is a suspicion of skin cancer or another serious skin condition
Systemic Condition Diagnosis
In rare situations, a blood test may be advised if your dog's skin condition is thought to be the result of a more systemic (whole-body) illness, according to your veterinarian. A complete blood count (CBC) and chemical profile make up most blood screens.
The red and white blood cells in a blood sample are examined closely during the complete blood count. The kidney, liver, protein, and electrolyte functions can all be assessed using the blood chemistry profile.
Blood tests that assess thyroid function, such as total T4, free T4, and/or thyroid-stimulating hormone, may also be performed on dogs with skin conditions.
Skin Disease Diagnosis Using Flea Control
If you are not currently utilizing flea control, your veterinarian will probably initially suggest a trustworthy flea prevention method if your dog is itching and losing hair. This is because, even when they are the primary cause of the ailment, fleas can be famously difficult to discover in dogs.
Even if fleas are not the root of the problem, controlling them is still crucial because fleas have a tendency to exacerbate any existing skin conditions.
Identifying Skin Conditions Resulting from Food Allergies
Your veterinarian might advise conducting a food trial after fleas have been treated and eliminated as the source of the itching. To restore your dog's immune system to a non-reactive baseline, you can try feeding your dog a special diet for two months.
This particular diet, also known as a new protein diet or a hydrolyzed (chemically digested) diet, is free of all the elements that cause food allergies in dogs the most frequently: proteins and carbohydrates. Beef, dairy products, chicken, and eggs are typical protein triggers, whereas wheat, corn, and soy are typical carbohydrate triggers.
These components can be tried one at a time to see if they cause a skin reaction once the dog's immune system has calmed down. If so, itchy sensations should start to show up within three days. Dogs with food allergies typically exhibit sensitivity to a variety of proteins and carbohydrates.
Testing for Allergies and Immunotherapy
Allergy testing may be advised if other possible causes of hair loss and scratching have been ruled out and if your veterinarian is reasonably confident that your dog is experiencing atopy (an immune system that is sensitive to anything in your pet's environment).
The compounds to which your dog is allergic can be identified through allergy testing. Hyposensitization, also known as immunotherapy, is used to treat acquired allergies. This entails slowly training your pet's body to stop reacting abnormally to the allergen by injecting a solution of the allergen (the thing that causes the allergy) into your pet.
Prevention and Treatment
Treatment for hair loss and scratching in dogs must be aimed at the particular organism or condition causing the skin inflammation and will vary depending on the cause.
The majority of skin diseases can be prevented with a healthy diet, lots of exercises, routine deworming, vaccinations, and medication to ward off fleas and ticks.
As they can develop as a normal part of aging and are more common in some dog breeds, liver illness and thyroid disorders in dogs are not always prevented. But by taking the aforementioned precautions, you may give your dog the best chance for a healthy life and help him or her cope better with any eventualities.
Dogs with Hair Loss and Scratching: Prognosis
Once more, the diagnosis for a dog experiencing hair loss and scratching is based on what is causing the symptoms.
Dogs can return to their regular lives after a few months of treatment for the majority of the parasite, bacterial, and fungal diseases. While the liver disease may need more rigorous therapy and has the most uncertain prognosis of the potential reasons, it is treatable with medicine for hypothyroidism.
