The 6 Causes of Dry Itchy Dog Skin

1. Environmental Dermatitis

As the name implies, this skin condition is caused by some specific environmental factor that your dog is being exposed to. Although nutritionally and physically, your dog is in excellent health, he is being irritated by any one of numerous outdoor factors. The most common factor is excessive exposure to moisture over a long period of time.

Let me give you an example...

If your dog has thick or long fur, chances are it becomes matted quite easily. Additionally, if he's scurrying through a pond, wet grass, gopher holes or mud on a regular basis, the matted fur retains moisture and this wetness is held close to the skin for long periods of time.

This specific scenario results in an environmental dermatitis called "Moist Eczema". It's also commonly called a "Hot Spot" in many veterinarian circles. What basically happens is, the moisture in combination with any kind of everyday skin irritation (scratches or abrasions) creates a small lesion by way of bacterial infection.

These small lesions are incredibly itchy and lead to the continuous biting and scratching. The real shame is that all the scratching can actually spread the infection and that can create a dangerous situation if left untreated .

2. Nutritional Dermatitis

This is your best case scenario because the fix is as simple as changing your dog food. The quality of the pet food you buy has a direct correlation with your dog's skin and coat. If you're buying low quality dog food, change it up and see if it makes a difference.

Always ensure that the first ingredient listed in your dog food is meat or beef. You can also look for nutritional supplements on the market to give your dog for an improved coat and skin appearance.

That said, if you are feeding your dog quality dog food, you simply won't need to give him supplements on top of it. Keep his diet on track and you will see this form of dry, itchy dog skin disappear within a week.

3. Parasitic Dermatitis

There are any number of culprits for this category of dry itchy skin. Chiggers, deer flies, mites and especially fleas are among the top offenders. For the sake of this brief discussion let's used the most common scenario...fleas.

There's no getting around it. Fleas are everywhere. Understanding their lifecycle and nature will help you avoid them and know exactly how to wipe them out.

In the Dog Health Guide linked through this site, you'll learn specifically what to look for in determining whether or not you're dealing with a flea problem and exactly how to handle it.

Believe it or not, picking up just any old flea shampoo off the market won't put this problem to rest overnight. There are specific steps you must go through and the Dog Health Guide on this site explains them all in detail.

I don't want to delve too deep into parasites here because there's so much information to cover and quite frankly, I go into much greater detail on other pages of this site. In the case of dry itchy dog skin, just keep them in mind as a potential threat and learn how to deal with them if they ARE in fact the root cause.

4. Infectious Dermatitis

Okay, this one gets a little gross. Your dog may have dry itchy skin due to bacterial, fungal and yeast organisms running amuck in its skin. Let's start with the fungus living in your dogs skin...yeah, I know...ewwww.

The fungal organisms are commonly called dermatophytes. You may recognize them by circular sores in your dog's skin. This gives them the name "ringworm".

Dermatophytes are stubborn little buggers simply because they're so incredibly contagious. Dogs can catch them from rubbing against other dogs and occasionally even humans are susceptible to the infection.

Another type of infection is called a skin yeast infection in dogs. These infections are typically quite odorous and inflammed. General causes of yeast infection in dogs are Hypothyroidism, an overdose of cortisone medication or dietary fatty acid deficiency.

Oftentimes, overuse of a particular antibiotic can bring about skin yeast infections in dogs. The medicine will kill a dog's healthy bacteria, allowing for the overgrowth of yeast fungus in the system.

The biggest threat to these infectious dermatitis conditions is that your dog will continuously try to lick away the infection, consequently never giving it time to heal and furthering the spread of the dangerous bacteria.

Generally, for these infections, the patch of fur surrounding the infected area will be clipped, allowing the infection to dry out and heal. A topical may be applied to stop the itching and most often a veterinarian will prescribe an oral antihistamine to neutralize the fungus or bacteria.

5. Allergic Dermatitis

It's ironic that your dog may be allergic to something considering how many people are probably allergic to your dog. This can be a worst case scenario considering the limited number of options you have.

The first step is eliminating the other 5 dry itchy skin triggers as possibilities to ensure that your dog does in fact suffer from Allergic Dermititis.

Once that's been established, your dog may be allergic to nearly anything. It could be as simple as pollen in the air, sensativity to a shampoo or something as obscure as an allergy to flea saliva.

Deterimining the cause of the allergic reaction can be nearly impossible. Vets around the world invest millions of dollars every year trying to uncover the mystery of how to link dogs with their specific allergies.

Ultimately, your best fix is finding the right ointment to soothe your dog's itch. Additionally, dog owners who deal with this condition give their pets medicated baths to calm the dry, itchy sensation of the skin.

There is no cure-all for Allergic Dermatitis, but the Dog Health Guide on this site does give you natural remedies to treat this condition and relieve the symptoms that are making your dog restless.

6. Neurogenic Dermatitis

This is a sad condition to watch your dog suffer through. Because the constant licking, biting and scratching is triggered by a mental or behavioral tick, a trainer who specializes in behavioral therapy may need to be recruited.

It's a sad thing to see your dog go through because he's essentially self mutilating his body with repeated scratching with no specific cause other than his own obsessive compulsive disorder.

Much like Allergic Dermatitis, this specific category of itchy dry skin is a rare one and you should certainly explore all other options before committing to the idea that your dog has a neurological problem.

If in fact this is the root cause of your dog's continuous scratching, it's most important that you understand the ointments and natural treatments that will keep his wounds clean and away from infection.

Once again, the Dog Health Guide on this site comes to the rescue and shows you exactly how to make your dog as comfortable as possible.