How To Recognize and Treat Skin and Coat Issues

Common Skin and Coat Issues

You might have noticed your dog or cat itching. Suddenly it seems like their body is covered in scabs or lesions, and their hair is falling out. What could the cause be? For many of our pets, allergies are commonplace and can lead to a multitude of issues with their coat or skin.

While talking to your veterinarian is important before you start or stop medications, sometimes you need an alternative while you're waiting to get in with an appointment for your dog or cat. We have some options that might benefit your furry friend and can be a staple to your pet first aid kit.

Allergies

Allergies are one of the most common problems affecting our dogs and cat. They can include sensitivities to foods that they eat and may require that your dog or cat eats a specific type of food every day. Others can be sensitivities to allergens like pollen and ragweed or even dust. Your dog or cat may need to be on allergy medications to help control the occurrence of problems.

External Parasites

Fleas and ticks are another major cause of your pet itching and losing hair. These pesky parasites can hop on our dogs and cats while they're out for a walk or even hitch a ride on our clothes into the house to affect our pets. Keeping your pets on a reliable flea and tick preventative is an important thing to do every single month.

Signs of a Skin Issue

You may notice that your pet is having a skin issue when they start to scratch or itch their hair out. You may see small scabs or large hot spots form on their skin. If you're looking for it, you might even catch the problem earlier, when your pet's coat or skin is starting to get a little dry and brittle. Treating the problem in this early stage can help minimize how bad your pet's skin is and shorten the length of time until they feel better.

Treating Skin Problems

When you take your pet to the veterinarian, they may prescribe antibiotics or antifungal medications, which can have major side effects, like giving your pup diarrhea or episodes of vomiting. You might try treating their skin topically before you get to the oral medication stage. At Jake's Pet Supply, we carry Bannix spray, which is a broad spectrum antibacterial and antifungal spray that can be used on dogs, cats, horses, goats, and just about any critter you've got with fur.

Omega-3 fatty acids supplements can also benefit your dog or cat when they're itching. The omega supplements help decrease inflammation and can make the skin barrier stronger for your pet, which decreases the chances that they'll have a skin issue.

If your pet might have environmental allergies, Herbsmith's AllerQi can be a natural supplement that takes the place of oral antihistamines or other allergy medications. As a supplement, it tends to be very well tolerated and can help alleviate allergy signs and symptoms.

If you have a question about your pet, we at Jake's Pet Supply would love to be able to help you. Contact us today and see what products we have that your pet could use.