As dachshund owners, we all face skin-related issues once in a lifetime. Dachshunds have sensitive skin, which makes them prone to many skin-related issues. Among them, we all face some skin diseases repeatedly; many of these even have the chance to affect your dog’s health. Some skin problems happen due to nutritional deficiency, and others due to serious internal illness. In this blog, I will share some dachshund skin problem that we need to recognize and treat as early as we can.
Reason behind dachshund’s skin condition
Nutritional deficiency
A deficiency of your dog in some essential nutrients for the skin leads to skin problems, such as dryness. Nutrients like omega-3 fatty acid plays an important role in keeping your dog’s skin healthy. If they aren’t provided enough omega-3 from their diet, there is are higher chance of having skin problems occurring, including excessive itching. Dry, flaky skin is the most common symptom of Omega-3 deficiency in your dog.
If you see any sign that indicates omega-3 deficiency in your dachshund, you can also supplement them with good omega-3, but only after consulting with the veterinarian.
Allergens food
Food like chicken, beef, and grain can cause allergies in your dachshund. If your dachshund is sensitive to food sources like chicken, beef, or grain, you can replace it with another food source.
Body structure
Their long back and short leg body structure makes them prone to many types of skin infections. Due to their short leg, their skin often brushes against grass, which increases exposure to bacteria, fungi, allergens, and moisture, resulting in skin irritation, hotspots, and infection, especially underside and armpit areas.
They are highly prone to obesity. When they get obese, their skin gets folds and wrinkles, and a warm, moist environment creates a perfect growing environment for yeast infection and bacterial growth.
Parasites
Parasites like fleas and ticks also cause skin allergies in dachshunds when they present in dachshund’s coats, which can cause excessive itching, leading to rashes on the skin and redness.
Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) is an allergic reaction when flea saliva comes into contact with the skin of dachshunds.
Hormonal imbalance
Hormonal imbalance significantly affects their skin health. Hypothyroidism dachshund are prone to it, in which can cause dry skin, flaky skin, or thickened skin.
Overproduction of stress hormone called hyperadrenocorticism, which also significantly affects their skin and nail quality, causing thin, fragile skin that bruises easily and causes skin issues.
Poor grooming and hygiene
Your dog’s skin health depends on your grooming and hygiene habits. If you do not properly care for their coat and skin and are not regularly groomed, they may develop skin infection.
Without regular brushing and bathing, dirt, oil, and dead skin increase, which negatively affect their skin quality, causing folliculitis (inflammation of hair follicles), bacterial and fungal growth, bad odor, dandruff, and a greasy coat.
What are the common skin problems that every dachshund owner faces once in a lifetime
Allergic dermatitis
Allergic dermatitis in a dachshund is a skin condition caused by an allergic reaction, leading to itching, redness, inflammation, and other skin problems. The cause of allergic dermatitis is hard to recognize; it happens for various reasons such as flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), which is another allergic reaction caused by flea biting, environmental allergies, food allergies by such as chicken, beef, grain, and soy.
In allergic dermatitis, your dachshund shows various types of signs and symptoms like intense itching and scratching, having red, inflamed skin, hair loss, especially around the belly, licking or chewing paws and limbs so much, and even an ear infection.
Yeast infection
Yeast infection is one of the most common skin issues, which is caused by the overgrowth of malassezia yeast, especially in moist and folded areas like the ears, arms, underarms, and belly. If your dachshund’s skin is infected by yeast, their coat may be greasy, flaky, and have thickened, discolored skin, and itching and redness may appear on their skin.
Bacterial skin infection
This is also the most common skin illness caused by Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. It lives in a dog’s coat naturally and can multiply when the skin barrier is damaged.
Bacterial skin infection works as a secondary infection. It can happen for various reasons, for example, if your dog has food allergies, environmental allergies, or flea allergie, which can also trigger bacterial skin infection like. Many other reasons can trigger bacterial skin infection. Other causes like folding skin, excess moisture or poor hygiene, scratching, licking or biting, and hormonal imbalance can also trigger bacterial infection in dachshunds.
Hot spot
Hot spots are one of the most common and fast-developing skin conditions among dachshunds. The reason behind this skin issue lies in the dachshund’s behaviour. They are frequent lickers. They tend to lick their skin frequently. This makes their skin moist, which is a golden area for bacteria and other fungal growth.
Dachshunds used to lick their skin frequently to relieve itchiness or even get out of boredom. In this condition, they have a small red wound on their body or leg. maximum time they happen in the leg, which can cause pain, discomfort, and itchiness.
Mange
Mange is a skin disease caused by mites. They burrow and live on your dachshund’s skin and hair follicles. Leads to redness, hair loss, and other secondary infections. The two types of mange can happen in dachshunds: sarcoptic mange and demodectic mange highly contagious and can be transmitted easily, and demodectic mange doesn’t transmit to humans. They are triggered by weaker immune function. Sarcoptic mange has severe itching and infection, while demodectic mange has mild itching.
Flea allergy
Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) is one of the most common skin problems in dachshunds caused by flea bites. Dachshunds have very sensitive skin. Many have flea allergy, unlike normal reaction to a flea bite. A dog with flea allergy dermatitis has an intense allergic response to protein in flea saliva can cause a severe allergic reaction with just one bite of flea bite.
Seborrhea
This is a condition where your dog’s coat becomes either too oily or too dry, seborrhea oleosa and seborrhea sicca. Two types of skin eborrhea can appear in dachshunds in Seborrhea oleosa causes skin to be overly oily and sticky, while seborrhea sicca causes skin to be too dry, flaky, and dandruffy.
skin tumors and lumps
Dachshunds are prone to developing lumps and skin tumors when they grow old. These can be cancerous and non-cancerous, both; while not all are dangerous, evaluating by a certified veterinarian is a good choice.
How do you identify skin conditions?
Itching and scratching
If your dachshund has itching so much on their skin, and scratching on them they may be a sign of a skin condition.
Redness and inflammation
Redness and inflamed skin are common signs and symptoms of skin allergies. Redness appears on the skin, causing it to become irritated, and it’s a clear sign that your dachshund has skin allergies, whether it’s from food or other environmental factors.
Hair loss
When skin allergies happen in your dachshund, they scratch their skin excessively, which leads to hair loss. Skin allergies naturally make hair dry, which can lead to hairfall. If you suspect any sign of excessive shedding and hair loss, visit a veterinarian for proper treatment of your dog’s condition.
Dry and flyaway skin
Dry skin is the most seen symptom in dachshunds’ skin problems, when their hair loses natural oil, causing dry and flaky skin.
Oily and greasy skin
Opposite of dry skin, oily and greasy skin is also a sign of a skin issue; it is a clear sign of a skin issue in dachshunds. Allergens like food, dust, mites, and pollen can disrupt the skin barrier and cause the body to overproduce oil in response to inflammation.
Hot spot
Having a hot spot is one of the common symptoms of skin allergies.
Bumps or lumps
Having bumps or lumps are most visible and easily recognizable symptoms of skin; they can be both cancerous and non-cancerous.
What can we do to minimize dachshund skin problems?
Regular grooming
Regular grooming plays a crucial role in managing and preventing skin-related issues in dachshunds. Regular grooming activities like bathing them, brushing their coat, removing dirt, and cleaning oily skin. Bathing also reduces shedding by removing dead fur.
Feed a healthy diet
Sometimes your dachshund’s skin becomes infected just because of a deficiency in some essential nutrient. Omega-3 fatty acids play a significant role in keeping dachshund skin healthy. Giving them a diet that is high in omega-3 fatty acids is important to keep their coat healthy.
Manage allergies
Dachshunds are prone to various types of allergies, such as food allergies, environmental allergies, and parasite allergies. To reduce their skin allergies, we need to manage these different types of allergie, which are the main cause of allergies. To manage their allergies, we need to take care of their diet, avoiding grains, chicken, and beef, and manage other environmental allergies by not allowing them to go where allergens are present, like grass and pollens.
Check for parasites and infection
Parasites are one of the common causes of skin infection. When parasites like fleas are present on your dog’s coat, they cause itching and redness when rubbed, which can cause further skin infection in further.
Regular checkups
Regular checkups are important for your dachshund to identify any underlying and chronic health conditions. Skin infection is not only a skin disease, it also points to some dangerous diseases, that is why it is important to regularly check up your pup’s health.
Conclusion
Dachshunds have sensitive skin, which makes them prone to many skin allergies and diseases. Their skin allergies can be triggered by various aspects, such as their diet, other external environmental factors. We can definitely manage their skin allergies by giving them healthy skin food, and keeping them away from common allergens like grass, pollens, which are the main allergens responsible for seasonal allergies.
