Has your dog been scratching lately more than usual? There are multiple reasons why it’s been doing it, and it can be any of those:
Your dog has fleas
If your dog has been scratching a lot around it’s head, anus, neck, tail base or the groin area (where fleas tend to stay the most since those are the warmest and safest places), it might have fleas. Check out my post on flea treatment! One other proof is if your dog deposits so-called flea dirt, it’s black and not bigger than finely grounded black pepper. If your dog does have fleas, use flea preventatives like flea shampoo, flea comb, collar…
Your dog has ticks
As awful as fleas, those also need blood in order to survive. It’s best to start treating as soon as possible, since the longer they stay the worse it gets, plus you should know that there can be a second infection wave that might lead to even more irritation. Once you realise that your pet has ticks, start treating immediately with tick preventatives recommended by your vet.
Your dogs has mange
Mange are tiny insects that live in the skin of the dog. The most commonly affected areas are those with less hair, like the armpits, groin and behind the ears area. If you doubt your dog has mange, consult your vet, sometimes it’s enough to maintain good health and a strong immune system, but sometimes medicine is inevitable.
Seasonal allergies
Just like you, your dog might get seasonal allergies that make it scratch more than usual. They usually manifest in spring and fall, but depends on the humidity of the region, since very humid climates can cause allergies even during winter and summer. If your dog is allergic, try limiting its exposure to flowers and blooming trees.
Food allergies
Less possible than environmentally triggered allergies, but still might happen. The most common ones are allergic reactions to beef, dairy, chicken, wheat, corn, rice… It’s a bit difficult to know for sure, so it’s best to consult your vet before concluding your dog has food allergies. After the vet concludes it’s allergies for sure, they will propose a diet fit for your pet.
Some Ways To Improve Your Dog’s Itch
You realised the reason your dog has been scratching so much, but what do you do about it? How do you help your dog and its dry skin?
- Wash your dog with plain water avoiding shampoo, but if you can’t really avoid it, then use a moisturizing type and a moisturizing conditioner.
- Let your dog’s hair air-dry, don’t use blow dryers. Be careful when getting your dog groomed, ask the groomer to don’t use high temperature dryers.
- Feed your dog with moist food.
- Give your dog some probiotic bacteria along with the regular meals
- Give your dog always fresh, clean, possibly filtered water
- Use food supplements like flax seed oil, nutritional yeast, spirulina, spirulina…
