An itch you can’t scratch
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED a change in your pet’s skin or scratching habits before. Not only is it irritating for you to hear your pet scratching or nipping, imagine how frustrated your pet might be! We chat to RSPCA Veterinarian Dr Sarah Zito about the most common skin ailments that can impact our furry companions.
She says that for dogs, there are a few common issues that pop up: allergic skin disease, hotspots, otitis externa and pyoderma. Cats are similar but also encounter abscesses, usually from bite wounds.
When your pet has an allergic skin disease, they can have a reaction based on airborne particles (atopic dermatitis), food, flea or mosquito bites. Hot spots (acute moist dermatitis) on dogs are painful patches of hair loss due to an irritation. Otitis externa in dogs relates specifically to ear inflammation and infections. Pyoderma in dogs is a bacterial infection of the skin that is often caused by excessive rubbing, scratching or chewing of the skin. Therefore, pyoderma is often a complication of other skin diseases (called secondary pyoderma).
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