A Yorkie is a small, loving, energetic dog breed popular among most homeowners. Having it in your home makes the house lively because of its playful and warm nature. It usually has silky coat skin. Similar to other dog breeds, a Yorkie is susceptible to getting dandruff.
It appears when your Yorkie’s sebaceous gland excessively generates oil known as sebum. Although it’s beneficial to your dog’s health, if over-created, it leads to an imbalance, leading to dandruff.
It makes your Yorkie’s skin look scaly since the dead skin cells are often visible on your dog’s hair surface. It can cause significant changes to your Yorkie’s skin, leading to discomfort.
You may notice your Yorkie is scratching, having visible rough patches on the skin, losing hair, and emitting strange odors. You could try to use safe, holistic care methods to help heal your Yorkie’s dandruff, such as light therapy.
For more information on how it works, you can read further to get additional info on how the treatment can help alleviate your Yorkie’s dandruff symptoms. It also helps to know the typical causes and other remedies you can undertake with your Yorkie’s dandruff. Read below for details:
Causes Of Yorkie Dandruff
As a Yorkie owner, you should know the causes of dandruff on your furry friend’s skin. And these are some of them:
1. Bacterial Or Fungal Infection
If your Yorkie gets a bacterial or fungal infection, it can quickly weaken its immune system. When such happens, it even affects the skin, making it flaky and leading to skin conditions such as dandruff.
2. Parasites
Fleas and mites are some major causes of dandruff to your Yorkie because of their long hair, which can quickly trap these parasites. It can make your furry friend uncomfortable due to the bites they can get. They can also cause swelling, redness, and hair loss.
3. Lack Of A Nutritious Diet
Your Yorkie needs specific diets for the skin cells to stay healthy and avoid exposure to dandruff. When you give your Yorkie salty foods containing oils and then it comes into contact with natural skin oils such as sebum and sweat, it causes dandruff.
4. Stress
Considering a Yorkie is responsive to the human touch, being away from it can make them feel stressed. And when they’re distressed, your dog risks getting certain skin diseases which can also lead to dandruff. Thus, even as a busy owner, you must look for ways to take care of it while away.
5. Excess Bathing
Bathing is essential to your Yorkie; however, doing it excessively can dry its skin and make it susceptible to dandruff. Thus, as much as you’d like to wash your Yorkie, you can do it once a week.\
6. Allergy
Certain foods or environments can cause allergies to your Yorkie’s skin and make it have dandruff. It could be allergic to eggs, artificial flavoring, dyes, pollen, dust mites, laundry detergents, shampoos, carpets, or chemicals such as ammonia or chlorine.
7. Humidity
Freezing temperatures can lead to dandruff on your Yorkie’s skin. The absence of humidity in the air during cold seasons strips a Yorkie’s skin of moisture, causing dandruff.
Remedies Of Yorkie Dandruff
After knowing the possible causes of dandruff in Yorkie, it helps to know the remedies you can take to alleviate the different skin conditions. They’re as follows:
1. Gentle Shampoos
Some shampoos can cause harsh reactions to your Yorkie’s skin. Thus, when buying shampoo from the local store, read the labels for precautions to avoid making your pet uncomfortable. Also, look for products suggested by the vet since they know which ones are good for your Yorkie’s skin.
2. Healthy Diets
Your Yorkie needs foods rich in proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins to sustain healthy skin. Thus, if you’re giving your Yorkie canned food, ensure it contains protein from fish to decrease soreness in the body.
Include supplements in the diet to help improve their skin’s health. In this case, omega-3 fatty acid diets suffice. If giving your Yorkie homemade foods, ensure they’re tested and proven safe for use by your vet. Along with maintaining a healthy diet, your Yorkie should take enough water because dehydration can lead to dandruff.
3. Grooming
Scrubbing your Yorkie skin is beneficial not only because it helps with detangling the hair but also brings any hidden dandruff to the surface. You can try doing it instead of washing your Yorkie. Thus, when brushing, it’s advisable to check beneath this skin so you can look for any signs of dandruff and treat the condition before it becomes major. So, ensure you maintain grooming.
4. Humidifier
If you don’t have a humidifier, it might be time to consider having one. Low humidity can make your Yorkie’s skin dry out, and the humidifier can help add moisture to the air. It can also assist in removing the flakes on your Yorkie’s skin.
5. Coconut Oil
It’s a natural supplement to alleviate your Yorkie’s itchiness. You can apply it regularly. Coconut oils can help with getting rid of pests on your Yorkie’s skin and improve its appearance.
6. Treatments For Underlying Medical Conditions
If you notice the dandruff is too extensive and causing significant symptoms to your Yorkie, you should take it to the vet to assess it. Sometimes the signs you see could be symptoms of an underlying disease that needs prompt medical attention. Also, before you use any meds, speak to your vet first.
Conclusion
Dandruff is a common occurrence with a Yorkie. Thus, you ought to know the signs to look out for and the causes that lead to such skin problems. When you alleviate your furry friend’s symptoms, it’ll be comfortable and return to its lively and playful nature. Only try out treatment options that have been proven safe for use.
