We often think about a dog’s skin in isolation.
Is the dog allergic to something? Is the shampoo causing irritation? Is there an underlying skin condition?
But increasingly, veterinary research is asking us to look at a much bigger picture. What is happening in the environment around the dog?
A recent review by veterinary dermatologist Rosanna Marsella, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, explores the changing environment in which modern dogs live and how factors such as pollution, chemicals, urbanisation and reduced microbial diversity may be contributing to the increasing prevalence of allergic and inflammatory skin disease.
And it raises an important question: are we paying enough attention to what is already sitting on the dog’s skin and coat before we begin the grooming process?
Dogs don’t just live in the environment. They move through it.
Our dogs walk through the same increasingly complex environment that we do. Traffic pollution. Dust. Pollen. Chemicals. Plastics. Cleaning products. Agricultural residues.
But there is an important difference. Dogs are much closer to the ground.
Their noses are close to pavements, roads and grass. Their paws are in direct contact with surfaces. Their coats brush against vegetation. Their bodies collect whatever is present in the environment around them.
And unlike us, they don’t simply walk through these environments wearing shoes and clothes that are removed when they get home.
Their coat is exposed.
Every walk has the potential to leave behind traces of the world they have travelled through. Fine particulate matter from traffic. Environmental dust. Pollen. Smoke particles. Chemical residues.
Some of these particles are microscopic. And while we may not always be able to see them, that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t there.
Pollution doesn’t just affect the lungs
When we hear the word pollution, we often immediately think about respiratory health. But environmental pollutants can affect much more than the lungs.
Marsella discusses how pollutants and environmental chemicals may disrupt epithelial barriers. The epithelium is essentially the protective interface between the body and the outside world. This includes the skin, respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract.
When these barriers are repeatedly exposed to environmental stressors, the consequences may include:
- Damage to the skin barrier
- Increased permeability
- Low-grade chronic inflammation
- Changes to the microbiome
- Increased penetration of allergens
- Greater potential for allergic sensitisation
In simple terms: the environment may make the body’s protective barriers more vulnerable.
This is particularly relevant when we consider dogs with compromised skin barriers or those already predisposed to allergic skin disease.
The skin isn’t simply a passive covering. It is an active barrier constantly interacting with the world around it. (PubMed)
The modern dog is exposed to more than we might realise
Marsella’s work highlights how dramatically the lifestyle of both humans and dogs has changed.
Dogs have increasingly moved away from rural environments and into urban lifestyles. They spend more time indoors. They are exposed to different chemicals. They encounter pollution from traffic. They come into contact with plastics, surfactants, detergents and numerous other environmental compounds.
At the same time, they may have less exposure to the microbial diversity associated with natural environments.
This is where the concept of the exposome becomes particularly interesting. The exposome describes the totality of environmental exposures an individual experiences throughout their life.
For a dog, this isn’t just what they eat. It isn’t just the shampoo used during grooming. It isn’t just whether they have pollen allergies. It is everything.
The air they breathe. The surfaces they walk on. The grass they roll in. The products used in their home. The pollution they encounter near roads. The dust that settles onto their coat. The environment surrounding them every single day.
And all of these exposures may interact.
What does this have to do with grooming?
Potentially, a lot.
By the time a dog walks through the door of a grooming salon, they have already been exposed to their environment. Their coat may be carrying traces of whatever they have encountered since their last bath.
Think about a white car parked near a busy road. Leave it for a few days and eventually you can see the evidence of the environment settling onto its surface.
Dogs are no different. Except their surface is made up of thousands — sometimes millions — of hairs. A complex structure designed to interact with the environment.
So perhaps we need to start thinking differently about the beginning of the grooming process. Because before we start cleansing the coat, conditioning it, styling it or applying additional products…
What exactly are we washing?
We can see dirt. But what about what we can’t see?
Traditional grooming often focuses on visible cleanliness. Mud. Oil. Odour. Grease. Staining.
But environmental exposure is not always visible. Fine particulate matter, airborne pollutants and microscopic environmental debris don’t necessarily announce themselves.
A coat can look clean and still have been exposed to the urban environment.
This doesn’t mean every dog is covered in dangerous levels of pollution. And it doesn’t mean pollution is responsible for every skin problem. That would be an oversimplification.
But it does mean we should be increasingly aware that the condition of the skin and coat is influenced by more than the products we apply during grooming.
The dog arrives with an environmental history.
The coat is the interface between the dog and the outside world
This is perhaps one of the most important things for groomers to consider.
We often talk about the skin barrier. But the coat also plays a crucial role in the dog’s interaction with its environment.
It collects. It traps. It protects. It filters. It holds onto environmental material.
And the type of coat may influence that interaction. A short, smooth coat exposed directly to the environment is very different from a dense double coat designed to trap and retain material. A long flowing coat brushing against pavements, grass and vegetation experiences something entirely different again.
The environmental burden on the coat isn’t necessarily the same from dog to dog. Lifestyle matters. Location matters. Coat type matters. Frequency of exposure matters.
This is why I believe we need to move away from the idea that every dog should receive exactly the same preparation before bathing.
Are we missing a step?
This is the question I’ve increasingly been asking myself.
Should certain dogs have their environmental exposure addressed before we move into the traditional cleansing stage?
Not because we should become fearful of the environment. And not because we can eliminate exposure completely. We can’t.
Dogs need to be dogs. They should walk, explore, sniff, roll and experience the world.
But understanding exposure gives us an opportunity to think about grooming differently.
Perhaps the first stage of bathing shouldn’t always be about immediately choosing a shampoo. Perhaps, in some cases, we first need to think about what the dog is bringing into the bath with them.
What has been sitting on the coat? What has the dog been exposed to? What environmental material are we trying to remove? And how can we support the skin and coat without unnecessarily adding further stress?
This is where the grooming conversation needs to evolve
For years, the grooming industry has focused heavily on the visible outcome. Whiter coats. Fluffier coats. More volume. More shine. Longer-lasting fragrance.
But skin science is asking us to think deeper.
The condition of the coat is influenced by the condition of the skin. The condition of the skin is influenced by the barrier. And the barrier is influenced by the environment.
Marsella’s work reinforces something incredibly important: dogs do not exist separately from their environment. They are affected by the same changing world we are.
Urbanisation. Pollution. Climate. Chemicals. Changes in biodiversity. Changes in lifestyle.
These aren’t abstract concepts happening somewhere else. They are part of the dog’s daily life. (PubMed)
Perhaps the future of grooming starts before the shampoo
I don’t believe grooming should become unnecessarily complicated. But I do believe it should become more informed.
We should understand that every dog arrives with an environmental story.
A dog who spends its days in rural fields may arrive with a very different collection of exposures than a dog living beside a busy city road. A dog walking through pollen-heavy grasslands experiences something different from a dog walking predominantly on pavements. A dog living in a highly fragranced home encounters something different from a dog living in a low-chemical environment.
The point isn’t to obsess over every possible exposure. The point is awareness.
Because when we understand the bigger picture, we can make better decisions about the smaller details. The products we use. The order in which we use them. How often we bathe. How we prepare the coat. And perhaps most importantly… what we are trying to remove before we begin caring for the skin and coat.
A new way of thinking about the bath
The bath shouldn’t always begin with the assumption that the dog’s coat simply needs washing. Perhaps we should start asking: what has this dog been exposed to?
Because modern dogs don’t just bring mud into the salon.
“Dogs don’t just bring mud into the salon. They bring their environment with them.”
And as our understanding of environmental exposure, skin barriers and the canine exposome continues to develop, I believe this will become an increasingly important conversation within professional grooming.
We cannot control the air our dogs breathe. We cannot remove every pollutant from their environment. We cannot protect them from every exposure.
But we can recognise that those exposures exist. And we can start considering what role grooming plays in helping to manage what the modern dog encounters every day.
Perhaps that is where better skin and coat care begins. Not simply with what we put onto the dog. But with a greater understanding of what the dog has already been exposed to.
References
Marsella R. Environmental factors are responsible for the rise of atopic dermatitis in dogs: veterinarians should focus on modifiable influences. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2025/2026. (PubMed)
Marsella R. Theories and mechanisms of environmental factors that cause allergies in dogs: veterinarian involvement in lifestyle choices to support long-term well-being. American Journal of Veterinary Research. 2025/2026. (PubMed)
0 comments