Pets Blog

Posts Tagged ‘German Shepherd’

The attractive coat of the German Shepherd can unfortunately be quite attractive to parasites too. Beneath the coat on the skin itself, hot spots can be created by skin infections, which can arise from a poor diet or from an infected cut.

Other posts on this site discuss:

• looking after the coat of the German Shepherd
• maintaining a good diet (within the “coat” article), and
• caring for German Shepherd ears.

Flea and similar parasite infections are best dealt with by regular flea treatments from the high street or pet shop. The other main precaution is to make sure your dog gets a bath and/or thorough brushing after swimming or running near bushes, etc.

Minor lesions in the German Shepherd skin will usually heal quickly. They can be treated with antiseptic cream but in many cases a few licks from your dog will heal them quickly. If an infection hasn’t been discovered previously, excessive licking is usually the first clue of something more serious, and if it is not a parasite then it could well be that a “hot spot” has been created through infection of the lowest skin layers. Common antibiotics will normally cure these but any difficulty arises through your dog’s continuous licking of the area.

The most practical solution is to cover the area in a way that prevents your dog tearing any covering off, which can be a challenge. Depending on where the cut is, either wrapping and taping the area with gauze may work, or a sock on a foot or leg, or even a jumper or tea shirt to cover the torso. The other common solution is to apply the cone-like collar to prevent your dog getting at the infected spot.

Callouses are the other common skin problem but usually only form in older dogs through constant rubbing, often due to the dog’s posture when sitting or lying against or on a hard surface. Although callouses can be treated and discomfort eased with creams or veterinary treatment, in many cases they will simply reform and become a fact of the older dog’s life without being a major problem.

German Shepherd coats have two layers, more pronounced in the long-haired variety. The inner layer is dense and quite soft to keep your dog warm whilst the outer, more coarse and longer layer serves to keep bushes and other objects away from the interior.

The sheen of the coat is a good, visible indicator to your dog’s health. Grooming and brushing are almost secondary to maintaining the coat’s condition through a good diet. Sources of high protein and high fat, the latter through a good-quality kibble are best. The prime source of protein should be meat in the form of beef, chicken or lamb. German Shepherds will eat and benefit from vegetables such as carrots and small amounts of greens but these should be in kept in moderation for the GSD as its origin is primarily carnivorous.

Brushing your German Shepherd should be done at least twice per week and depending on the type of coat, it’s best to use a range of brushes, ranging from the metal rake type and good quality stiff brushes to finer ones with a small pair of round-edge scissors in reserve to cut out any mats that form, especially near the ears and lower sides of the face in long-haired varieties. Mats in the coat itself will be found more easily by initially brushing against the direction of the fur. Whilst most brushing is done in the fur’s directiopn, this will more often than not cover small mats as they are forming.

Bathing your German Shepherd is needed to reduce odours and especially after swimming, but must not be overdone as this will reduce the natural oils essential to the coat condition. Depending on the variety of your dog and the thickness of its coat, a little trial and error may be required to find the right shampoo to use, even amongst good quality ones or dedicated dog shampoo. I found with the long-haired GSDs I had that a baby shampoo worked very well, used sparingly on  some occasions depending on the state of the coat. In all cases, it is important to ensure that the shampoo is thoroughly rinsed out, or dandruff and temporary deterioration in the coat will occur.