Skin & Coat Problems in Dogs

Skin & Coat Problems in Dogs - The skin is an organ and its purpose is to keep out foreign bodies from the dog’s system, regulate its temperature, produce vitamin D; and contain its sweat glands.  The skins pigments also protect the dog against ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

A dogs coat consists of three types of hair; guard hairs as the top layer to keep the dog waterproof; wool hairs that keep the dog warm; and sensitive hairs such as whiskers that are alert to touch and help the dog find its way around obstacles.

Dogs normally moult hair in the summer and grow a new thicker coat in winter. A dogs skin is sensitive to parasites and infections and care should be taken to monitor and quickly treat any unwanted conditions.

This section describes some of the more common skin and coat conditions that affect dogs including alopecia, enteritis, fleas, food allergies, mange, mites, pyoderma, ringworm, seborrhoea, tapeworm and ticks.

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