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Articles > HealthSkin Care Other than graying or pigmentation spots on their muzzles, healthy senior dogs should not experience any major coat or skin changes. “The skin is a window to the general health of the animal,” says Rosanna Marsella, a board certified dermatologist at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville. In geriatric animals, she said it is important to provide proper nutrition with adequate essential fatty acid supplementation. “A complete and balanced diet with regular bathing with hypoallergenic products, like oatmeal based shampoo, is usually sufficient to ensure a healthy coat,” she said. Grooming expert Delise Knight of Fort Valley, Georgia, said for elderly dogs, owners need to change their grooming tools and techniques. For example, Knight emphasizes the importance of using only warm water for bathing. “You never want to pour cold water on an older dog,” she warns. “You can actually send their system into shock.” Avoid slicker brushes. The stiff, sharp pins can scratch sensitive skin. A pin brush with bubble tipped teeth is gentler. Clip long coats short. Less hair is less likely to mat, she said, especially in their private areas from urine and feces. Improve your dog’s traction by trimming the hair in-between foot pads. Otherwise, the hair makes walking on floors slippery. Pets that are professionally groomed should only be left at the shop for two hours. Any longer spent in a kennel, surrounded by noise and commotion, is stressful to geriatric dogs, said Knight. While some pets may go through life without experiencing coat or skin issues, others aren’t as lucky. Marsella and her colleagues at the university’s veterinary medical center see about 20 senior dogs each week with one, or multiple types of skin cancer. “We tend to see quite a few dogs with cutaneous lymphoma (skin cancer) that was undiagnosed or misdiagnosed,” she said. Signs include: de-pigmentation on the nose and lips; red itchy and flaky skin, which is often misdiagnosed as allergies; bad breath and gingivitis that does not improve after dental cleaning. Diagnosis is made by skin biopsy. No treatment currently exists for cutaneous lymphoma, she said, but animals can live for months, and sometimes years, with mild forms of the disease. ~ Staff, SeniorDogs.com If you would like to include this article on your site please include the following information with the article:
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