Different Kinds of Cocker Spaniel Skin Problems and What You Can Do to Help Your Cocker

The two skin issues that seem to cause the most problems for our four-legged-friends are seborrhea and dermatitis.

Seborrhea is caused by an over-production of skin cells. This include fat cells which would ordinarily give your cocker spaniel a beautiful shiny coat, but when they are in excess, the coat then becomes greasy - there will be scaling off of excess skin (flaking) as well as a foul smell coming from the coat (I met a cocker that had that problem and you could clearly smell it on her fur). It will usually occur around the back, the ears and the trunk area (the area between the back, the neck and the shoulders), and it tends to cause quite a bit of itching for our cocker family members.

Vitamin A compounds are used to treat this condition (they usually come in the form of a cream), as well as antifungal creams, as this condition can sometimes be fungal. If you want to keep your cocker from getting Seborrhea, shampoo it regularly with an antifungal shampoo.

Dermatitis is also common - it’s a condition that causes itchiness as well as small lesions on your cocker's skin. Again, if you notice this, you should have a Vet look at it as it can be very uncomfortable. It will usually come as a result of too much humidity – your cocker already has a lot of hair so when it’s hot, sweat and germs will get trapped beneath the skin and they will cause the itchiness and blisters. Because it's hard for them to reach the top of their backs, you may notice your cocker trying to rub themselves against anything they can find.

If your cocker is displaying this behaviour, try keeping them out of the heat for a while until the condition clears. Although this is easier said than done, if you were able to keep them away from the heat for one week or so (exactly how many days may vary - some dogs can begin to clear up after 4-5 days, some make take longer), but if you don’t see a at least a little improvement after 3 days, or if it gets worse, please consult with the Veterinarian. If you notice your friend is feeling really miserable, don't wait. We want them to be happy!

Another common cause of skin problems in cockers is allergies, especially in pups. As you try to settle your pup, you’re going to try giving them different kinds of foods so that you can learn what they like best. Some may cause allergic reactions. As soon as you notice that your cocker spaniel ate something and got a rash, you should think back to what it was and remove it from the diet and see if the rash will disappear. Please refer to the Article titled, “health Problems - Monitor and Inform”, for valuable information.

Allergies can be extremely difficult to pin-point because your pup is probably eating lots of different things and neither you nor your Vet will be able to point out which one is causing the reaction at first glance.

The best way to deal with cocker spaniel skin problems is to make sure that you give your cocker a regular coat trimming, as well as a condition-appropriate shampoo, and of course, re-visit what he or she is being fed – nutrition is crucial. If allergy or potential nutrition problems have been eliminated, then make your shampoos more medicinal than cosmetic so that each time your cocker has a bath, germs that were on the coat or skin can come off. If the skin condition seems serious, you should see your cocker’s Vet as soon as possible.

My cocker Troy, developed allergies when he was around 13 years old, and to this day (he passed 2 years ago at the age of 15) I still don’t know 100% what he was allergic to. There was some discharge coming from his nose along with a very foul odor. His skin became dry and scaly. The problem is that at this point, he was being given medication for other health related problems so it was a complicated situation to deal with. But hindsight is 20/20 as they say, and today I know I should have taken him to a holistic Veterinarian immediately.

We had to isolate him from every type of food, and only feed him a particular food. For instance, we started with chicken only. He could not eat anything else – no treats, no little tastes from our food, nothing. It was so hard! Once the chicken test was done, we moved on to beef, and so on... At the end of the experiment, we still didn't know since the medications he was on could also have been causing it, and he couldn't go without it. He was an old little man at this time, so we just bathed him regularly with the medicated shampoo the Vet prescribed, cooked all his meals, and gave him lots of love. He was very happy.

For more information on Cocker Spaniel Care, please visit www.cockerspanielcare.com