Nutritional management of skin disease in dogs

Canine dermatological disorders comprise a substantial proportion of cases seen in small animal practice. Nutrition has a vital role in the management of these disorders:

• Some cases are associated with food allergy, which are completely nutritionally responsive.
• Diet has the potential to significantly modify inflammatory responses and impact on pruritic and allergic skin diseases, whatever the underlying cause.
• Diet is crucial in providing nutrients to maintain epidermal integrity and optimise skin healing.

FOOD ALLERGY

• Food allergy (food hypersensitivity) is reported to contribute to up to 23% of non-seasonal allergic dermatoses.
• The most common allergens in dogs include beef, dairy products and wheat (together reported to account for around 2/3 of cases) with other allergens including chicken, eggs, lamb and soy.
• Fish-based limited antigen diets have been used successfully to diagnose and manage canine food allergy, as fish has rarely been implicated as a cause of food allergy.

This graph shows the most frequently tested single-ingredient food challenges and the percentage of positive responders among 58 food allergic dogs. More than half of the dogs reacted to more than one protein source.

OTHER ALLERGIC DERMATOSES

• Atopic dermatitis is a genetically predisposed cutaneous hypersensitivity to environmental allergens, such as pollens, moulds and house dust.
• Canine atopy may affect 3 to 15% of the population, but up to 30% of these dogs are also food allergic and up to 80% are also flea allergic.
• Flea allergic dermatitis is the single most common cutaneous hypersensitivity disorder in dogs, but multiple allergies (fleas, atopy, food) are common.

MULTIPLE ALLERGIES AND THE "ALLERGIC THRESHOLD"

The multiple allergies characteristic of many dogs with allergic skin disease appear to have an "additive effect" with cutaneous signs being manifested once a "threshold" has been reached. This means that managing one allergy (e.g. the food allergy) may reduce the "allergic threshold" such that signs of other concomitant allergies may no longer be manifested.

PRURITUS AND INFLAMMATION NOT ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD ALLERGIES

Irrespective of the involvement of dietary allergens, dietary long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may significantly modify cutaneous inflammation and pruritus in allergic and pruritic dermatoses:

• Long chain omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA are incorporated into cell membranes where they replace some of the arachidonic acid.
• During inflammation, EPA and DHA compete with arachidonic acid as a substrate resulting in the production of reduced quantities of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids and increased quantities of less- or non-inflammatory mediators.

CLINICAL ADVANTAGES WITH THE USE OF CANINE DRM

Canine DRM is formulated to support canine dermatoses through:

• A very limited number of unusual protein sources (blue whiting and rapeseed), specifically designed to minimise the risk of food reactions.
• High levels of long chain omega-3 fatty acids (to control inflammation) and omega-6 fatty acids (to promote a healthy epidermal barrier).
• High levels of excellent quality protein to promote skin repair and maintenance for healing, for fibroblast formation, and for collagen synthesis.
• Added micronutrients to support the epidermal barrier and immune function including proline, glycine, lysine, arginine, zinc, omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin A.