How to help your dog’s skin issues

Many of us have dogs and many of our dogs have allergy problems that affect their skin. Dog skin problems are a very common issue. There are a few ways that you can cut back on their skin issues. They may have allergies to their food, things that dogs tend to get into when left alone, and other aspects of their environment.

Various allergies:

Food can be an issue when it comes to allergies in dogs. It could be because you have simply switched their food or they have finally built up a strong intolerance to it. Or they could have been allergic to it all the while.

Dogs also suffer from seasonal allergies just like humans do. Think about what we take our allergy medication for. We suffer from pollen allergies as well as other types that are brought about through warmer weather. These allergies used to stick around during spring and fall a majority of the time, but with climate change they can come about as soon as the flowers and other plants are tricked into growing, too.

Molds and dander are more environmental allergies that dogs can be affected by. Molds grow in dark and wet areas outside and inside of the house. So, your basement if it is unfinished may be a breeding ground for molds; especially if it floods a lot. Many of these are airborne issues.

How to help:

There are a few proven ways to help with dog allergies. If this is food related, then they may need to be put onto a medication that helps add digestive enzymes to their body. If this is not for you, you may consider changing their diet. Many dogs with skin issues tend to be put on chicken and rice or lamb and rice diets. These diets also help with other stomach issues.

Many dog owners go the way of the organic dog food. This is hands down the most nutritional way to go when it comes to food. There are many foods out on the market that claim to be organic, so be careful. Look into what has the animal as the first ingredient. As you go down the list of an ingredient list, it goes through from the most amount of an ingredient to the least amount of an ingredient. If there is more whey or some non-meat ingredient than there is than meat, it is best to look for a different brand. As mentioned before, you can always make the food from scratch. It is pretty simple if you pick a day a week to make the food ahead of time, that way it doesn’t inconvenience you too much. It is healthiest, because it is purely what you decide to put in it.

Soothe them:

The best way to soothe the skin of your dog is to use natural oatmeal shampoo. You can make your own that is also beneficial, because it simply needs plain oatmeal and tepid water. Blend the oats till they are in powder form then mix them into the bath water until it is as mixed as possible.

With these tips, dog skin problems will be a thing of the past.