Healthy skin is much more than just skin that doesn’t itch.

By Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD

This dog has beautiful skin, but many Shar-Peis do not. They, like a few other breeds (and dogs in some lines in some breeds), are genetically predisposed to skin problems.

When the dog’s skin is healthy, we don’t give it a second thought. But when it is out of whack – greasy, itchy, smelly, flaky, bumpy, or raw – it becomes the center of attention for our dogs, and us, too. There is no more miserable dog than one with a serious skin problem.

The skin is the epithelial and connective tissue covering of the body. Skin is also referred to as the “integument,” a term meaning “a covering or investment.” Cutaneous is also used to describe the skin. …

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