Do puppies get cradle cap - Pet Consortium

Puppies are so much cute and they make your everyday life full of fun. From their training to feeding, everything about a puppy is very entertaining.

A lot of puppy owners ask us that do puppies have cradle caps?

What are the symptoms and causes and how can you treat the cradle cap disease?

This is article is a complete guide that will explain to you everything about puppies and the cradle cap disease.

Table of Contents

Can puppies get cradle cap

Yes! Puppies can get a cradle cap.

Cradle cap is a very common yet horrible skin disease that can not only affect humans but also your puppies.

Just like any other human being or animal, puppies also have sebaceous glands in their body and that’s the exact reason why puppies can also develop cradle caps.

In puppies, cradle cap is usually caused when the sebaceous glands in the skin of puppies produce too much sebum. As a result, the puppy’s skin develops flaky, itchy, and scaly caps. This is the reason why puppies develop the cradle cap.

One more reason behind cradle cap in puppies is a keratinization disorder in which the skin fails to replace the outer protective layer of skin with new and fresh cells.

What does a cradle cap look like on puppies

Now as we know that puppies can develop the cradle cap. The next question is that what are the symptoms of the cradle cap in puppies?

Well, puppies will have severe cradle cap infection in areas that have more sebaceous glands such as the skin along the back, armpits, neck, thighs, lips, etc.

Why? Because the skin in those areas is folded and thus has more sebaceous glands present. Therefore, the cradle cap infection will be more severe in these parts of the puppy’s body.

The puppy skin affected by the cradle cap will be swollen and red for most of the time. In some cases, you will also witness that the puppy skin has become too oily at the infection site.

More symptoms include a strong bad smell coming from the puppy skin. You will also observe a lot of dandruff around the areas where your puppy sits or sleep.

We have mentioned all the major cradle cap symptoms that you need to observe in your puppy.

What causes cradle cap in puppies

You must be curious to know about the causes of cradle caps in puppies, right?

Well, here are the major reasons why puppies develop the cradle cap:

1. External parasite

Different external parasites can attack the skin of your puppy and cause the cradle cap.

2. Inheritance from parents

In some cases, cradle cap is inherited from parents to the puppies and may keep transmitting to the next generations.

When it comes to inherited cradle cap, the symptoms start appearing at an early age (like 18 to 24 months) and may remain till the whole lifespan of your puppy.

3. Underlying sickness

Puppies can also develop the cradle cap as a side effect of any underlying sickness.

Therefore, a detailed medical checkup is very important.

4. Humidity and temperature changes

A sudden change of weather, temperature, and humidity may also cause the cradle cap among dogs.

5. Poor hygiene

If your dog is always dirty and lives in an unclean environment then it can also cause cradle cap. Because bacteria, fungus, and other germs

You need to groom your dog regularly and keep it neat and clean.

6. Poor diet

If you are feeding an extremely unhealthy and unhygienic diet to your puppy, then it can develop a cradle cap too.

7. Hormonal imbalances

Different kinds of hormonal imbalances in the body of puppies can cause cradle caps.

8. Due to allergies

Some puppies are allergic to certain things and may develop cradle caps when exposed to those allergens.

How to treat cradle caps on puppies

Is your puppy suffering from cradle cap but you don’t know what to do and how to treat it?

Well, the best option is to take your puppy to a qualified and experienced vet. The reason is that cradle cap is a medical problem and needs to be addressed by a professional. There are not many home remedies that you can try as a quick fix.

So, don’t waste more time and take your puppy to a vet for effective and timely treatment.

Cradle cap treatment for puppies

If you are thinking about how does the cradle cap treatment for puppy works, then here is everything you need to know:

Cradle cap treatment involves different kinds of medicines.

If the infection is caused due to bacteria, then they use antibiotics for treating the infection.

If the infection is caused due to some fungus, then they also use antifungal drugs that will kill the fungus and help treat the infection.

If your puppy has severe cradle cap infection on the skin, then they also use different kinds of oral and topical medicines.

Puppy cradle cap shampoo

Shampooing is very important for treating the cradle cap in puppies.

The tropical treatment for cradle cap also involves regular shampooing after every 3 or 5 days.

Now you may be thinking that which type of shampoo is best for a puppy who is suffering from cradle cap?

Well, experts recommend that you should only use soap-free shampoos that contain salicylic acid and sulfur compounds because they are more effective for treating the cradle cap.

If your puppy’s skin has become too much oily & greasy due to cradle cap – then you are recommended to use a shampoo that contains tar and benzoyl peroxide. It will help you get rid of the oily and greasy content.