Seborrhea in Dogs: Symptoms and Treatment

Seborrhea in dogs is skin condition that causes excessive flaking, scaling, and itchy skin as well as a smelly coat.

What Is Seborrhea in Dogs?

Seborrhea in dogs is affects the keratin production (keratinization) in the outer layer of the skin, hair follicles, and nails. Keratin is a protein that gives skin and hair its form and creates a protective outer coating.

In canine seborrhea, keratin is produced in the wrong amounts—either too much or not enough. Due to this defect in keratinization, seborrhea results in a dog having a coat that’s dry, lackluster, or greasy.

Types of Seborrhea in Dogs

Seborrhea in dogs can be what veterinarians call “primary” or “secondary.”

• Primary seborrhea in dogs—Primary seborrhea is a genetic disease that always causes the dog to produce abnormal keratin.

  • American Cocker Spaniels, West Highland White Terriers, English Springer Spaniels, and Basset Hounds are the most common breeds to have primary seborrhea, but any dog can have this condition.

• Secondary seborrhea—With secondary seborrhea, an underlying issue is causing your dog to make abnormal keratin. Health issues that can cause secondary seborrhea include:

  • Hormonal imbalances

  • Allergies

  • Vitamin deficiencies

  • Immune-mediated diseases such as lupus 

  • Lymphoma of the skin

Symptoms of Seborrhea in Dogs

Common symptoms of seborrhea in dogs are:

• Very dry, dull coat

• Dandruff

• Greasy, oily skin that smells bad

• Crusted, plaque-like (rough and scaly) skin lesions

• Itching that ranges from mild to severe

• Large amount of earwax and ear debris

Generally, all the skin is affected by seborrhea, but the folds of skin between the toes, in the armpits, on the belly and perineum (the area under a dog’s tail), and at the bottom of the neck are usually worse.
 

Click here to download this medical illustration. 

Dogs with lots of skin folds, like Basset Hounds, usually experience more affected skin in those folds.

Seborrhea can also be associated with a strong odor emanating from the skin. This smell has often been compared to the smell of “corn chips” which come from normal yeast and bacteria multiplying on the skin.

Causes of Seborrhea in Dogs

The cause of a dog’s seborrhea depends on whether it’s primary or secondary.

Primary seborrhea is a congenital, genetic disease that typically starts at a young age and gets worse as your dog gets older.

You may be wondering—what dog breeds are prone to seborrhea? West Highland White Terriers, Basset Hounds, American Cocker Spaniels, and English Springer Spaniels are most affected.

Diseases and other health issues that can cause secondary seborrhea in dogs include:

• Skin allergies to fleas, food, and the environment

• Hypothyroidism, caused by an underactive thyroid gland

• Cushing’s disease, caused by an overactive adrenal gland

• Diabetes mellitus

• Mites and lice

• Autoimmune diseases like pemphigus foliaceus, sebaceous adenitis, and lupus erythematosus

• A type of cancer called cutaneous epitheliotropic lymphoma

• Vitamin deficiencies like zinc-responsive dermatosis and vitamin A-responsive dermatosis

How Vets Diagnose Seborrhea in Dogs

Diagnosis of seborrhea starts with a physical examination by your veterinarian to check your dog’s skin and look for other symptoms.

You will also be asked how long it has been happening, if your dog has been scratching, and if there are any changes in your dog’s food and water intake.

Your veterinarian will perform testing to determine the cause of your dog’s skin condition. The following tests could help:

• A skin scraping to test for mites and lice

• An impression cytology (collection) of skin and ear debris to test for a yeast or bacterial infection that looks like seborrhea, such as Malassezia yeast

• Blood work

• A biopsy to look for autoimmune disease or cancer

Treatment for Seborrhea in Dogs

Based on the test results, your veterinarian will have a better understanding of what is causing your dog’s seborrhea. The most important aspect of seborrhea treatment is treating any underlying conditions.

Treating the Underlying Cause

• Hypothyroidism: If your dog has hypothyroidism, they are treated with hormone replacement, an oral medication called levothyroxine that your dog will take for the rest of their life.

• Cushing’s disease: Treatment of Cushing’s disease involves lifelong medication called Vetoryl. 

• Diabetes: Treatment of diabetes requires daily insulin injections. 

• Cancer or autoimmune disease: If a biopsy shows that your dog has autoimmune disease or cancer, they will be started on medication to manage the disease, or your veterinarian may refer you to a specialist. 

• Lice or mites: If a skin scraping finds lice or mites, the veterinarian will put your dog on medication to kill the parasites.

• Fleas: If your dog has fleas, a monthly flea preventative will curb flea allergies that can cause or worsen seborrhea.

• Vitamin deficiency: If your veterinarian suspects vitamin A-responsive dermatitis or zinc-responsive dermatitis, they will recommend additional vitamins in your dog’s diet. 

• Food allergy: If your veterinarian suspects a primary food allergy, they may recommend a hypoallergenic food trial.

• Infection: If your dog has an infection that developed because of seborrhea, then the infection must be treated. Your dog will require a course of oral antibiotics (Cephalosporins) and/or antifungals (itraconazole).

To treat the seborrhea itself, your dog needs frequent baths with anti-seborrheic shampoos, typically every two or three days to start with.

These shampoos typically contain coal tar and salicylic acid.

Frequent bathing is continued for two to three weeks or longer, until the skin improves. The goal of bathing is to remove excess keratin.

Depending on how your dog responds to treatment, bathing frequency may decrease to every one to two weeks, or it may stay at every two to three days.

Additionally, you will need to clean your dog’s ears with a medicated ear cleaner every two to three days. If there is an infection in the ears, your veterinarian will prescribe an ear medication as well. 

Your dog may also be started on prednisone to decrease inflammation and debris buildup. Regular rechecks with your veterinarian, typically every one to three weeks, are important to monitor how your dog is responding to treatment.

Recovery and Management of Seborrhea in Dogs

Recovery and management depend on the cause of the seborrhea. If a primary cause of seborrhea can be found, managing the primary disease is key. 

It can take several weeks for the signs of seborrhea to resolve, and the primary disease-causing seborrhea will need to be managed for life.

It is also important to understand that once seborrhea is present, abnormal keratin placement in the skin will continue to occur.

Using anti-seborrheic shampoos and ear cleaners on a schedule recommended by your vet for the rest of your dog’s life may help to decrease keratin buildup and prevent infections. 

As your pup recovers, your vet may recommend soothing hot spot ointments such as Silver Honey® Ointment Spay to provide relief. Your vet may also recommend additional topical wipes, or sprays as well.

If your dog gets itchier or develops skin lesions, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Management of seborrhea often requires a lifelong routine of bathing and ear cleaning, but with consistent treatment, your dog can enjoy a good quality of life.

To follow a step-by-step illustrated guide on how to safely and properly clean your dog's ears, click here.

Preventing Seborrhea in Dogs

To prevent seborrhea in dogs, make sure your dog is both a healthy weight and lives a healthy lifestyle.

Tthe vitamins, minerals, and supplements offered in an an AAFCO-approved diet may help dogs maintain their health. Diets or supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils) are great to promote a healthy coat and skin.

Make sure your dog is bathed routinely to keep their coat and skin healthy—especially those with thick, long hair that are prone to conditions like seborrhea.

Ensuring that your dog sees their vet routinely for an annual checkup and at the earliest sign of skin disease can help to prevent seborrhea in dogs.

Unfortunately, some dogs have a familial history of the disease, making them genetically predisposed to seborrhea and in that case, there is nothing you can do to prevent it.