By Sunny Gandara, CHPHC, CPCN | Holistic Canine Nutritionist & Pet Health Coach
Every summer, the same ritual plays out in my house. The sunscreen comes out, the hats go on, and we head outside to make the most of the long days. For years, there was one member of the family I never thought to include in that ritual: the dog lying belly-up in the grass, soaking up the warmth without a care in the world. It turns out that dog was the one I should have been paying the most attention to.
Dogs can get sunburned. They can develop sun-related skin conditions, and in certain cases, chronic sun exposure plays a role in skin cancers that are largely preventable. Most pet parents have never been told this, which is exactly why I want to share this blog post.
What I find most interesting, though, is not the part you can buy in a bottle. It is the more powerful layer of protection that begins with what goes in the bowl.
Can Dogs Really Get Sunburned?
With repeated exposure, the picture can move beyond a simple burn. Prolonged UV contact has been linked to solar dermatitis and to certain UV-related skin cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and the cutaneous form of hemangiosarcoma. That second one sits very close to my heart, because I lost my dog Nacho to hemangiosarcoma, and that loss is the reason this work exists at all. The skin form is distinct from the aggressive internal kind, and when it is caught early it often carries a far better outlook. The connection to sun exposure in light-coated, thinly furred dogs is well documented in the veterinary literature, and predisposed breeds are advised to have their sun exposure limited.
I want to give you the full picture, not just the worrying half. The majority of skin cancers in dogs are not caused by the sun, and sun-driven skin cancers occur far more often in high-UV regions like the desert Southwest than in cooler, cloudier climates. I am not here to hand you a new worry to carry around, but to give you an accurate picture, because awareness is what lets you make calm, informed choices rather than fearful ones.
On the topical side, dog-specific sunscreens exist and have a place, particularly for high-risk dogs and on high-exposure days. The single most important thing to know is that human sunscreen is not safe for your dog. Ingredients such as zinc oxide and PABA, common in human formulas, are toxic if ingested, and your dog will lick whatever you apply. Anything that goes on their skin needs to be made specifically for dogs and free of those ingredients. Pair that with simple, sensible habits, like offering shade and steering clear of the most intense midday sun, and you have covered the outside layer well.
"The outside layer is the part we already know about. The inside layer is where the real resilience is built"
What’s Happening Beneath the Surface
To understand why food matters here, it helps to know what sunlight actually does to skin at the cellular level. When UV light is absorbed by the skin, it sets off a cascade of reactive oxygen species, which are unstable molecules better known as free radicals. These free radicals damage DNA, proteins, and the delicate fats that hold skin cells together. Over time, that damage drives the visible signs of sun stress and, in vulnerable dogs, contributes to cellular changes that can lead to disease.
This is the moment where nutrition stops being a soft, feel-good idea and becomes true biochemistry. The body’s defense against free radicals is a steady supply of antioxidants, and antioxidants come from food. A dog whose diet is rich in whole-food antioxidants, balanced fatty acids, and the right minerals is walking around with a far better internal toolkit for neutralizing that oxidative damage than a dog eating a heavily processed diet that lost most of those compounds to high-heat manufacturing.
Vitamin E is one of the most important nutrients for skin, specifically. It protects cell membranes from oxidative damage, supports the lipid barrier that keeps skin hydrated and shielded, and has a documented role in defending skin against free radicals generated by UV light.
You will find it in foods like sardines, salmon, leafy greens, and small amounts of seeds. Vitamin C works alongside it, helping to regenerate vitamin E after it has done its job, which is a lovely example of how nutrients cooperate rather than work in isolation.
Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, reduce systemic inflammation and strengthen the skin barrier, improving the skin’s ability to retain moisture and remain intact.
Most commercial diets are heavily tilted toward omega-6, which nudges the body toward an inflammatory state over time. Rebalancing that ratio with whole-food sources like sardines and mackerel, or an algae-based option for dogs who do not tolerate fish, is one of the most reliable changes I see that makes a visible difference.
Zinc rounds out the picture, since it is central to skin cell regeneration, wound healing, and barrier repair, and it is one of the nutrients most often lacking in processed foods.
None of this is about chasing the latest supplement or sprinkling a powder on top of an otherwise depleted bowl. It is about building a dog from the inside out, so that when the UV index climbs in July, their skin already has what it needs to meet the moment.
The View From Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine
This is the part of my practice that I love most because Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine offers a way of understanding skin health that the Western model often overlooks.
In TCVM, the skin and coat are governed by the Lung, which belongs to the Metal element along with its partner organ, the Large Intestine. The Lung is responsible for spreading what is called Wei Qi, the defensive energy that circulates just beneath the body's surface and serves as its first line of protection against external influences such as wind, heat, damp, and environmental stress.
When Lung Qi is strong, and Wei Qi flows freely, the skin is supple, well-defended, and quick to recover. When that energy is weak or deficient, the surface becomes vulnerable, and you start to see chronic dryness, a dull or brittle coat, recurring irritation, or a dog who seems to react to every shift in their environment. In this framework, the skin is never just the skin. It is a window into the state of the whole system, and a place where internal imbalance becomes visible.
Food therapy is one of the most elegant tools for supporting this. Foods considered moistening and nourishing to the Lung include eggs, duck, barley, and certain fish, and it is no accident that several of these overlap with the antioxidant and fatty-acid-rich foods that Western nutrition points to for skin.
For a dog who runs hot, with red, inflamed, itchy skin and a warm body, cooling proteins such as rabbit or whitefish help bring the system back toward balance. For a dog who tends toward dryness and depletion, gently warming and moistening foods help rebuild the reserves that keep skin resilient over the long term.
This is the difference between treating a symptom and treating a dog. Two dogs can walk in with the same itchy, sun-stressed skin and need entirely different foods on their plates because their underlying constitutions are different. Seeing that pattern, and feeding to it, is where nutrition becomes something closer to medicine.
"Cook once, from the same seasonal ingredients, for the human and the dog. One kitchen, one philosophy, two bowls"
Bringing It Home
There are several layers to protecting your dog from the sun, and I find that very encouraging, because it means there is so much within your reach. There is the outer layer, where a species-safe sunscreen, a patch of shade, and a little common sense about midday heat go a long way, especially for the light-coated, thin-furred dogs who need it most. Then there is the inner layer, built slowly over weeks and months through a bowl filled with whole, real, antioxidant-rich food that gives the skin the resources to defend and repair itself.
This is the heart of what I call the Parallel Plate, the idea that the same seasonal, nourishing ingredients that protect your skin can protect your dog’s, too. When you roast that wild salmon for dinner, a portion set aside for your dog is doing real work for their skin. When you stock the kitchen with leafy greens and good fats and bright, antioxidant-rich produce, you are feeding two members of the same family from the same intention.
If you want to go further, to look at your own dog’s constitution, their tendencies toward heat or dryness, and the specific foods that will best support their skin from the inside, that is exactly the conversation I have with families every day. The inside and the outside of skin health were never two separate stories. They have always been the same one, and your dog is waiting in the grass for you to tell it.
About the Author
Sunny Gandara is a certified holistic canine nutritionist and pet health coach practicing in Beacon, NY, where she works as an embedded consultant at Full Circle Veterinary Hospital. Her practice, Nacho Average Dog Health Coach, integrates TCVM food therapy, clinical herbalism, medicinal mushroom therapy, and homeopathy. She founded NADHC in memory of her soul dog, Nacho, who died from hemangiosarcoma.
Note: This article is educational and is not a substitute for individualized veterinary care. If you notice any new or changing lump, sore, or skin lesion on your dog, have it evaluated by your veterinarian.
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