Healthy skin, teeth and ears are an important piece of achieving breeding success and that starts with proper grooming in the kennel. Before breeding it helps to schedule a spa day for dogs you plan to breed and perform a comprehensive routine physical exam. It will make you both feel better knowing the male and female are healthy on the outside and inside.

Skin Care for Stud Dogs

When it comes to skin care for a breeding male dog, if his skin is healthy, he will feel better and perform better. Make sure your males are clear of dermatitis, manage, hot spots, acne, and other dog skin problems. Using a medicated shampoo such as Vet Basics^® Sebo Plus helps relieve bacterial skin infections and kills seborrhea dermatitis, demodectic mange and canine acne.

Meanwhile, you want to make sure nothing is transferred to the female during breeding. Check the male for parasites such as mange mites and fleas or small black specks as that may be a sign of fleas. If you see any signs of fleas, use Capstar^® or another flea preventative.

Chlorhexidine shampoos are also a good option if your dog is dealing with ringworm, yeast, pyoderma or bacterial dermatitis. If your dog has an open wound or a severe skin bacterial infection you’ll want to use a medicated shampoo.

Skin Care for Breeding Females

Pregnant female dogs should be bathed a couple of days before giving birth to stop the transmission of contagious skin problems to her babies. Vet Basics^® Chlor 4 Shampoo or Vet Basics ChlorConazole Shampoo work well at this time. Many shelters and rescues find it helpful to bathe pregnant females that have an unknown history, or their skin is not in the best condition just to be sure.

Before breeding, check the female to ensure she isn’t dealing with fleas, mites or other parasites. Most oral therapy is not safe for pregnant animals, so that’s important to keep in mind. But if the animal isn’t pregnant, a combination of topical and oral treatments are generally successful at eliminating skin infections. It’s best to talk to your veterinarian about which oral treatment would be best for your animal.

When to Use Lime Sulfur Dip for Dogs

Topical treatments must be safe, effective, available, and easy to use. Vet Basics^® Lime Sulfur Dip is effective against several skin issues caused by parasites, fungi and bacteria such as ringworm, mange, lice or other types of dermatoses.

Lime Sulfur Dip can be used on nursing females and kittens and puppies as young as four weeks. Just be sure to wipe the dip off of the mammary glands before returning a queen to her kittens. Lime Sulfur Dip is stressful on a pregnant mom, though, so it’s best to avoid it in those cases.

Just remember, lime sulfur has a strong odor that smells like rotten eggs, but thankfully that smell usually goes away soon after dipping. To avoid the need to use lime sulfur dip frequently, Sebo Plus is a great option to continue to use after the first time you dip.

Skin issues in dogs should be treated right away before they spread. Early treatment is much less expensive and less time consuming than waiting to begin treatment. It’s a good idea to take your pet to your veterinarian to get an accurate diagnosis.

If you have more questions on how to prepare a dog for breeding, call our Revival Pet Care Pros at 800.786.4751.