An important part of your dog’s pet care routine is grooming. It not only makes him look better, but it also helps to prevent certain diseases and contributes to his overall well-being.

Brushing your dog regularly is important, especially during the shedding season. If you do not keep on top of this task when your dog is shedding, you will find it frustrating trying to brush his severely matted fur later. Trying to brush your dog when his fur is extremely matted can also be quite painful for the dog, and you surely don’t want that to happen.

Brushing will keep his coat clean and shiny, and will result in helping to prevent some canine diseases. A dog’s shedding fur can be quite itchy, and he will scratch frequently to try to relieve his ‘itch’. This can quite often cause him a lot of skin irritation, even to the point where he will scratch until he bleeds. If this happens, it can even become infected and cause other skin problems

It is important to use a brush or comb made especially for dog grooming. Some ‘people brushes’ may be too soft to do the job properly, or others, like a wire brush, may be too harsh to use on your dog’s skin.

While moving your hand over your dog�s coat you might occasionally feel a bump under the skin. Chances are that if you have been able to locate one, a veterinarian will be able to find a few more since he is skilled and trained. Dog skin problems like bumps in the skin is as common an occurrence as feline acne and feline hair loss. Even though these conditions are common, they should not be treated carelessly. Such problems should not be considered as minor conditions of pet hair and coat disorders like canine and cat dandruff.

But spotting a bump on your dog need not be a cause of panic also. In most cases, bumps turn out to be harmless mass of fatty tissue. Such non-cancerous lumps like cysts, warts, infected hair follicles and swellings filled with blood can cause discomfort to the dog. But they are localized skin problems that have little impact on the overall health of the dog.

There are many reasons why these bumps appear on dog skin. Sebaceous cysts form due to plugged oil glands under the skin. Cysts that are a combination of dead cells, sweat or clear fluid often disappear on their own.

A house without a pet just isn’t complete. Whether the ideal animal companion is a cat or dog, proper pet grooming is essential. Purebred or mutt, exotic or domestic, eventually that same constant sidekick will need to be bathed. The responsible pet owner will now need to determine if it is time to bring in the pet grooming professionals or to attempt this project under their own discretion.

If the house pet happens to be a cat, many individuals feel that bathing is an unnecessary undertaking. True, a cat will commonly clean themselves to the best of their ability, however environmental and household conditions can determine the need for a full bath. Store-brand cat litter can often hold odor more discerningly than that of premium quality. This litter box odor eventually begins to permeate the general smell of the family pet. Upon noticing this condition, the cat owner will need to “freshen” the feline. This can be best achieved by pouring baking soda under lukewarm running water into a large sink or washtub. Once the baking soda has dissolved, carefully grasp two of the cat’s paws in one hand, while doing the same with the other paws. Slowly lower the feline into the waiting water. The owner must take care in their own demeanor and remain calm and soothing during this process.

Cats can have latent problems that are not always apparent if you are not a trained person. It is a good policy to keep yourself informed and educated about your pet and the problems that they may face. Information and knowledge can help in dealing with issues when and if they do occur.

Before you bring a cat home the first thing that you should do is to get the animal checked by a veterinarian. Many cats can have cat skin problems. Some infections like parasite infestations are contagious and can be passed on to other cats in your home. Some infections can even pass on to humans.

One of the common skin conditions in cats is feline acne. It usually appears like ringworm but is actually a skin and hair problem in cats. The symptoms of feline acne can mimic those of ringworm and therefore a trained hand is required to assess the exact condition that exists. Feline acne is commonly called chin acne as it almost always occurs on the chin and lips.

Being the largest and the most exposed organ of the body, pet skin is likely to be affected with mild to severe conditions. One of the major dog skin problems arise from allergies. Allergies can cause canine or feline acne. Allergies may arise from contact with an allergen or from food that does not suit your pet.

Before starting treatment for any type of allergy it is of paramount importance that you establish the cause of allergy. It is erroneous to assume that only new foods cause allergies and consequent itching. The truth is that any food can cause an allergic reaction in dogs – new or old. The commonly known skin condition of �hot spots� can develop if your dog becomes allergic to his routine diet that he is no longer able to digest.

Food allergy often forms a typical distribution pattern and your veterinarian is the best guide in this matter. You can suspect food allergy in your dog in conditions where:

* there has been poor response to treatment for mange
* there is little or no improvement on administration of steroidal treatment
* the dog has not previously experienced any seasonal allergies

Of all the body organs, the skin is not only the biggest but also the most problematic organ of the cat�s body. Most medical conditions demonstrate symptoms that relate to skin and coat. In addition external factors like physical trauma and parasites can also affect the skin in a significant manner.
Like dog skin problems, cats can also suffer from skin disorders that are self limiting and chronic conditions that require treatment over a protracted period of time.

Pruritus: The Itchy Cat

Itching brings forth almost an amazing array of changes in a cat�s skin. Constant itching can make it impossible for the veterinarian to ascertain whether the skin condition has caused the itching or whether the excessive itching has caused the skin lesions. Besides itching, pruritus causes symptoms like symmetrical feline hair loss, damage to skin due to intense scratching and Miliary dermatitis. Miliary dermatitis relates to appearance of multiple crusty lesions that are greasy and filled with cat dandruff. It can also lead to Eosinophilic granuloma complex, a condition where linear inflamed crusts are accompanied by oozing red areas near the chin and the trunk.

Hot spot prevention – why should a new dog parent to a puppy care about it? Although most puppies don’t get hot spots (unless they get truly horrible puppy care), all puppies can be susceptible to dog hot spots as they begin to grow up. Learning hot spot prevention now can save your puppy (and you) misery later.

Otherwise known by vets as staph infections, eczema, ALD or lick granulomas, dog hot spots can cause pure misery for canines. And once a dog breaks out in dog hot spots, it can be tough to get the problem under control.

Preventing hot spots begins with understanding what causes hot spots. Although there are many situations, chemicals, and illnesses that can lead to hot spots, hot spots have four main triggers:

–Toxins and allergens. Substances that are toxic to puppies or to which puppies can become allergic can be found in poor-quality dog food or treats. Toxins are also found in a puppy’s environment (like dog parent’s cigarette smoke, for instance), and in topical pest-control chemicals.

–Suppressed disease. Diseases that were not treated well and never cured (for example, a treatment merely covers symptoms but doesn’t address the cause) can sometimes erupt and discharge through the skin.

As in humans, skin is the largest organ in your pet�s body too. But unlike humans your pet�s skin is concealed by a coat that hides any changes that may be occurring beneath it. And though humans easily detect small changes that may occur on the skin, certain pet skin ailments can only be detected by understanding pet behavior.

Excessive itching and scratching is the first give-away symptom that can help you to understand that there is something wrong with your pet. Most of the times, it is this behavior that turns minor problems like cat dandruff and feline acne into serious skin problems like excessive feline hair loss and eczema.

Dogs run an increased risk and dog skin problems are among the most common health disorders that dog owners have to deal with.

A healthy skin and coat is a good indicator of the overall health of your dog. And you may have noticed that the first thing that veterinarians while examining pets is to run their hands over the coat of the pet. The skilled hands of the veterinarians can detect infections and distortions on the skin better than we can. They can notice infestation of parasites and many other disorders that may lead them to the final source of the problem.

Cheyletiella dermatitis is commonly known as cat dandruff. Even though the itch caused by cheyletiella dermatitis is mild in nature, it compels the cat to scratch, which can lead to substantial feline hair loss.

Out of the three common species of cheyletiella mites, Cheyletiella blakei affects cats the most. This external mite lives on the outer layers of the cat�s skin and can be observed as white specks moving around scales. This gives the disease, cheyletiella dermatitis, its name �walking dandruff�. The back of the cat is most affected but the cheyletiella dermatitis may also appear around the head and neck.

Signs of cheyletiella dermatitis include formation of scales (dandruff), large number of mites moving on the skin, mild irritation, crusts and small papules. A good combing using a flea comb will help in detecting the infestation. In some cases a sample of skin scrapings may be needed for confirmation through microscopic examination. During self grooming cats may ingest mites. As mites are passed on undigested through stool they can sometimes be seen in the feces also.

The condition of the skin and coat is an indicator of the general health of your pet. Other than specific skin conditions like cat dandruff and feline acne or serious immune mediated cat and dog skin problems, internal health issues also reflect on the skin and coat of your pet.

Most of these health conditions lead to canine and feline hair loss. The situation is more challenging if you have a canine pet since most reeds shed hair naturally to a large extent during certain times of the year. Natural hair loss combined with hair loss due to ailments can pose a major problem for pet owners. Cleaning floors, carpets and furniture can become a more arduous task than it already is. Vacuum cleaners are the obvious choice for house cleaning but many times it has been noticed that the cat and dog hair do not get completely sucked up by the machine. Some useful tips for removing pet hair can save you time and money.

With a vacuum cleaner.