Dog Allergies & Skin Rashes

Dogs often present with allergies and skin rashes. Dogs suffer from the same types of allergies as humans, including food allergies and environmental allergies, such as dust and mold allergies. Food and environmental allergies and mites, among other diseases, can cause skin rashes. To clear up a skin rash, you must first determine what is causing the skin rash and treat that problem, or else the skin rash may return.

  1. Food Allergies

    • Many dogs suffer from food allergies. The most common food allergy in dogs is to plant matter, such as wheat or flax products that are an ingredient in most commercial dog foods.

      You can have the vet test for food allergies, but the testing is often expensive. Alternatively, you can feed the dog an elimination diet. Elimination diets are easier to follow if you feed your dog home-cooked or raw meals. Kibbles, with the exception of some high-end dog foods, contain some form of wheat or flax. If you must feed kibble, choose a kibble that does not contain any type of plant matter.

      Food allergies, environmental allergies and mange often result in scratching and licking, causing a skin rash and loss of hair. Rashes start out as an irritation of the skin and quickly turn into bright red splotches on the skin, often accompanied by hair loss. The rash may develop pustules, and eventually, it could become infected.

    Environmental Allergies

    • Dogs suffer from environmental allergies as humans do. A dog might be allergic to a certain type of plant pollen, or it might be allergic to a chemical used to clean the house. If an elimination diet or treatment for a food allergy does not clear up the symptoms, your dog might have an environmental allergy. If you use chemicals in the home, remove them. Clean with vinegar. Do not use carpet fresheners. After removing all chemicals, if you want to test a specific chemical, such as carpet freshener, add it back into the environment. If the allergy symptoms return, remove the chemical from the environment.

    Mange

    • Mange is a skin rash that is caused by mites. There are two types of mange: sarcoptic mange and demodectic mange. The sarcoptic mite is similar to a chigger. It is contagious to both dogs and humans. The sarcoptic mite burrows into its host's skin, causing hair loss, skin irritation and inflammation, which can sometimes lead to infection. If your dog has sarcoptic mange, treat all other animals in the house at the same time.

      Demodectic mites destroy hair follicles. The hair loss shows up in patches. The rash becomes infected and difficult to treat. Demodectic mange is not seen as often as sarcoptic mange and is not contagious. It is mostly seen in purebred dogs.

      Both types of mite live on the dog, but when a dog's immune system becomes compromised by allergies or other illnesses, the mites multiply and cause skin problems, including rashes and infections.