Milo and his Microbes

Meet Milo

Milo loves his family, apple slices, and squirrels. He’s a happy, healthy puppy with a life of belly rubs and walks in the woods ahead of him. 

One day, he notices a rash on his stomach. His rash progresses and soon he’s so itchy that he’s having trouble sleeping. 

His family is concerned, so they take him to the vet. Depending on the diagnosis, Milo is likely to be prescribed some combination of:

• Antibiotics

• Medicated shampoos, topicals, wipes

• Antihistamines

• Antifungals

These medications might help Milo with his rash in the short term, but soon, his rash returns and worsens.

He tries multiple medications, but it seems like he’ll never get back to being healthy. He struggles with side effects while his family struggles with his growing pile of vet bills…

We hear stories like Milo’s every day from loving owners who are desperate to help their suffering pets. 

The truth is: these medications don’t work because they don’t take into account Milo’s microbes!

Like all dogs, Milo’s health depends on a healthy microbiome - a collection of beneficial bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live in his gut, in his mouth, and also, crucially, on his skin.

In fact, Milo’s skin microbiome is an important part of his immune system.

 The microbes that make up his skin microbiome:

• Fight off pathogenic invaders (1)

• Keep each other’s populations in check (1)

• Work with Milo’s skin cells to keep his skin strong and working well (2)

Milo’s rash means that his good skin microbes need a little help in their fight against the bad microbes that are causing the rash. 

Conventional medications often kill microbes indiscriminately - destroying Milo’s good microbes along with the bad ones. 

His skin microbiome has been compromised, and his skin is now more vulnerable than before. 

Luckily, there is something that will relieve Milo’s symptoms, restore his microbiome and bring his skin back to health: Coat Defense!

The Coat Defense difference: 

• Skin pathogens need moisture to thrive. Our paste and powder keep skin dry and draw residual moisture, inhibiting pathogen growth.

• Non-toxic, alkaline ingredients target pathogens while allowing good microbes to survive and perform their essential roles: restoring skin barrier integrity and microbial balance.

• Gentle formula soothes inflammation, providing immediate symptom relief. 

By choosing Coat Defense, Milo’s family gave him the chance to truly heal by restoring his skin microbiome for the long haul. He now has healthy, resilient skin. 

When Milo sees the Daily Preventative Powder bottle, he goes belly-up - he knows a good thing when he sees it! 

At Coat Defense, we pride ourselves on providing safe and natural solutions to everyday skin and coat issues so that we can all go on to live healthier, happier, and longer lives.

This blog is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute veterinary advice.

Citations

1. Lee HJ, Kim M. Skin Barrier Function and the Microbiome. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 28;23(21):13071. doi: 10.3390/ijms232113071. PMID: 36361857; PMCID: PMC9654002.

2. Uberoi A., Bartow-McKenney C., Zheng Q., Flowers L., Campbell A., Knight S.A.B., Chan N., Wei M., Lovins V., Bugayev J., et al. Commensal microbiota regulates skin barrier function and repair via signaling through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Cell Host Microbe. 2021;29:1235–1248.e1238. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2021.05.011