Dry skin in dogs is sometimes caused by canine atopic dermatitis or atopy as it is sometimes referred to.
Atopy is like human eczema, and dry skin can be an early symptom, in combination with other symptoms.
The condition of dry skin in dogs shows as dandruff in the coat of your dog.
If you scratch at the skin of your dog with your finger nail, skin cells will flake off.
Many canine skin problems are due to a faulty skin barrier that binds the surface layers of the skin.
This is where the similarities with human eczema exist.
There is a parallel between the causes and symptoms of atopy and eczema due to water loss from the skin.
The outer layer of the skin has a barrier.
If you imagine the outer layer of the skin is like a brick wall where the cells are bricks and between the cells is a layer of "mortar" called ceramide.
Ceramide is made up of lipids and proteins that form an impermeable substrate.
In a dog with a barrier defect, the ceramide is missing sphingosine.
The ceramide crumbles like old mortar.
This layer normally traps moisture in the skin.
Dry skin in dogs occurs when water escapes through this faulty ceramide barrier.
Atopic dermatitis occurs in many breeds of dogs.
Dry skin in dogs therefore occurs in dogs with atopic dermatitis.
Many breeds are affected.
Dry skin in dogs with atopic dermatitis is the first symptom of the trouble to come.
You may notice flakey skin in the first year of the dogs' life.
This is the beginning of the "allergy march" towards more serious canine skin problems Many dogs with a faulty skin barrier will go on to develop canine skin problems.
An itchy, red rash may develop in areas where there is no hair covering the surface of the skin (the bald areas), such as the groin, abdomen, arm pit, the feet and on the inside of the ears.
The skin barrier defect that allows water loss also allows allergens and bacteria to cross the skin surface.
Allergens such as pollen and dust mite cross the skin and trigger an allergic reaction.
An inflammation and red rash will develop once sensitisation develops.
If your dog did not have skin problems early in life and went on to develop a rash and itch between twelve and twenty four months of age, it may have atopic dermatitis.
The time delay is because it takes time for the allergens to sensitise the immune system.
Dry skin in dogs is often the first symptom you will see in the "allergy march".
You need to start treating the skin barrier immediately.
Delay in barrier treatment will lead to a lifetime of skin problems for your dog.