Twelve to twenty percent of dogs have allergy-induced skin problems. Another significant proportion suffer from keratinization defects, pyodermas and other conditions that also require the regular application of shampoo. Shampoo therapy has moved to the forefront as a component in the treatment of all but the rarest skin disorders. It involves the use of cleansing, moisturizing, anti-seborrheic, degreasing, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-pruritic shampoos. Specific products and protocols usually are selected on the basis of the presenting morphologic characteristics, such as dryness, oiliness, scaling, inflammation and associated pyoderma. The mechanical process of bathing (even with water alone) helps remove scales, crusts, organisms, dander, loose hair and other debris. For example, bathing a cat or dog frequently -- as often as daily in difficult cases -- helps lessen the effects of allergy-causing animal dander or airborne substances such as ragweed for both humans and animals. All such shampoos should be pH-adjusted for dogs, which have the highest skin pH of any mammal (6.2 to 7.2), including humans (5.6). The epidermis turns over every 22 days in the normal dog. Epidermal turnover time in dogs suffering from idiopathic seborrhea, more common among cocker spaniels, may be as little as three to six days. The different chemical components and their mechanism of action are discussed in Dr. Melman's book Skin Diseases of Dogs and Cats, A Guide for Pet Owners and Professionals, Melman SA, DermaPet, Potomac, MD 20854, USA.
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