Thousands
of dogs scratch incessantly, chew their paws and engage in other destructive
behaviors in order to attempt to ease skin discomfort caused by allergies.
Conventional wisdom tells us to offer our furry friends antihistamines,
medicated shampoos and steroids to ease their discomfort.
However, approaching this issue from the outside doesn't do as much good as we
would like. We treat the symptoms and never address the root of the problem.
Cause and Effect
Itchy
skin is symptomatic of the body's attempt to rid itself of disease and toxins.
Our bodies and the bodies of our dogs attempt to 'store' disease or illness in
the organs which aren't essential for life functions - and the skin is an ideal
place for symptoms to fester, because the condition of the skin can deteriorate
and become seriously damaged without too much danger to the major life support
systems. Skin is the largest eliminative organ, and as such our dog's bodies
attempt to utilize this organ to expunge most of the toxins our pets are exposed
to.
And consider that our pets live on our floors, which are cleaned using dangerous
chemicals (many of which have warning labels about skin exposure on the
container!) and on our carpets many of which are made using chemicals, plastics
and emit toxins. Many of our pets are fed processed diets and exposed to routine
application of chemical pesticides. Our dogs are at snout level with the fumes
emitted by cars, so urban dogs are constantly being directly exposed to car
emissions. To top it all off, our dogs have become generationally more
susceptible to allergens and toxins because we have exposed them to these toxins
consistently through their lineage! No wonder itchy dogs are so prevalent!
A
tangential note about multi-generational toxic exposure: Some pets are born with
sensitivities because of how their parents and parent's parents were raised. For
those pets, normal may never be perfect - but there is much to be done to reduce
the symptoms for these pets. For animals in this situation, it is vital to
reduce their overall toxic load.
It is important to understand that almost ALL skin issues are external
manifestations of internal chronic disease (barring insect stings, contact with
poisons, etc).
Re-thinking Allergies
I'd also like to propose shifting the way most of us conceive of allergies.
Allergies are NOT caused by an allergen, rather, when the immune system has
become over reactive for one reason or another (see above!) and then is exposed
to a substance, the otherwise harmless substance can cause the immune systems to
react (or overreact) as if invaded by a toxin. You might have heard someone say
they 'used' to be allergic to pollen/ nuts/ cats, etc. The body is capable of
re-balancing itself when properly supported and the immune system can stop being
hyper-reactive to a former allergen! It is sometimes possible to reverse the
progression of the immune system's reaction to a substance, or at least,
strengthen the immune system to minimize the affect that substance has on a
pet's system.
Vaccines, poor diet, emotional stress and exposure to chemicals, poor air and
other toxins are the major stimulus for causing the immune system to become
overactive (especially vaccines!). Emotional stress also should not be
overlooked and ensuring that your dog has clean water, plenty of exercise, love
and affection can be very helpful.
The Solution
How
to reverse or halt the progression of itchiness?
Diet is the foundation of health - but this is so much more crucial for dogs
with skin symptoms.
Many of us feed out pets whatever is convenient and packaged and so long as they
eat it, we continue to feed it. Unfortunately, the majority of dog foods contain
grains, potatoes, corn and meat byproducts...(See the article
Kibble Kills for a more in depth look at what packaged pet foods
contain)...and our dogs are scavenger carnivores! So, while a scavenger will
eat this so called 'food,' this is not the path to optimum health. Their systems
are simply not designed to handle the digestion of grains, fruits and
vegetables. A dog's digestive tract is primed to digest a raw meaty bone and
offal based diet - and feeding against their nature destabilizes their sugar
levels, instigating chronic inflammation, the over-production of internal yeast
and other subtle processes not immediately visible to the pet's guardian. Over
time, the destabilized sugar levels can cause a chronic systemic yeast
infection, destabilizing and suppressing the immune system.
Unless a dog goes on a raw, unprocessed diet, carnivore specific diet - he will
never be able to be fully relieved of his itching. A grain free diet may be able
to provide some relief or slow down the progression of whatever imbalance
exists, but sadly, feeding a dog with a sensitized immune system products other
then that which he was designed to eat will not allow the system to re-balance
itself.
There are some mild remedies that may sooth the dog as he transitions from a
processed diet to a natural one. I recommend a consult with a veterinary
naturopath to help determine some essential oils to use along with cool water
rinses. Consulting with a traditional homeopath might help aid in finding some
remedies to quell the itching...but skin itching is really only going to be
healed through a raw diet, limiting toxic exposure in the household and the
stopping of all use of cortisone and other symptom suppressants which merely
serve to drive the illness deeper into the animal's system.
Resources:
Veterinary
Naturopaths
Itchy
skin is symptomatic of the body's attempt to rid itself of disease and toxins.
Our bodies and the bodies of our dogs attempt to 'store' disease or illness in
the organs which aren't essential for life functions - and the skin is an ideal
place for symptoms to fester, because the condition of the skin can deteriorate
and become seriously damaged without too much danger to the major life support
systems. Skin is the largest eliminative organ, and as such our dog's bodies
attempt to utilize this organ to expunge most of the toxins our pets are exposed
to.
