Therefore , your dog s scratching So what

Therefore, your dog's scratching? So what! It's what dogs do isn't this? Well, yes, but within explanation! All dogs do scratch, in case it becomes excessive, there's usually a problem which needs attention. Read on for free vet advice on how to give the important pet care whilst avoiding unwanted vet fees.

First of all you need to do a little bit of detective work to find out what's going on.

Itching is what's called a 'non-specific sign' - in other words it can be caused by many different things. If your dog is scratching more than is normal, in a general, everywhere sort of way, then the first thing to consider is to see if he's carrying any 'passengers'. The commonest such things are fleas - fast-moving, chestnut-brown, 2mm or so, and difficult to catch as they contest through the parted fur - they have a tendency to congregate around the neck and rump, but they may turn up anyplace, perhaps even on you!

They have the well-known prodigious ability to jump amazingly with their powerful hind legs. But fleas not necessarily the only itchy skin parasites your dog may have: lice - smaller and even slow-moving, hair-clingers (and their eggs, well-known as 'nits') can be a problem too, particularly in pups and kennel dogs. If you find either of them then that's probably what the is actually, but just because you can't find them doesn't mean to say that's not the cause aid it can take a practiced eye to identify them.

Another parasitic condition, observed usually in younger dogs, is normally mange. This is caused by mites and generally results in redness, some hair loss and even irritation of the lower body, feet and head - these bugs are all but invisible without a microscope, not least because they burrow in to the skin rather than being on top of your skin like fleas and lice. One more bug that causes an itch stands out as the harvest mite, which are free coping with gardens and pasture, particularly inside chalk areas - their larvae feed on the skin of animals and birds usually in July and August and if your pet (or a person! ) pick them up their bites could cause intense skin irritation. Country-living pups will also pick up ticks which may appearance alarming when engorged with your dog's blood, but in fact seldom trigger either an itch or any other problems (you may have heard of Lyme Disease carried by ticks aid it's actually very seldom seen in dogs).

If your dog is scratching just in one area then have a look to verify if you can see if anything's amiss. Scratching behind an ear and brain shaking usually suggests an infection inside the ear - often accompanied by a build up involving wax, redness and sometimes a scent. Infections are able to cause itching too - sometimes it's a scattered frizzy hair follicle infection with little pustules, or it may be something sign company vancouver quite spectacular like a 'hot spot', also known as 'acute moist dermatitis' or 'self-inflicted dermatitis'. This latter condition causes afflicted dogs a lot of acute distress because they are driven mad by a patch regarding skin, maybe about 10cm throughout diameter, which they lick and nibble at intently and pull the head of hair from, leaving a moist, angry, red patch. The condition is caused by an acute infection together with the harm caused by the dog himself. Sometimes, 'hot spots' start with the dog licking in the nearest thing he can reach into a point of irritation - is actually commonly seen in dogs with clogged anal glands.

Allergies are an alternative cause of itching in dogs. Just like a similar condition in humans this can be a 'contact allergy', where your dog becomes delicate to something (termed an 'allergen') in his environment which he is in touch with - such as plants, tar, material treatments, etc - with the impacted skin being that which comes into exposure to the allergen - paws, chest muscles and belly usually. Another sort of allergy seen which causes more of a good all-over itchy skin in pups is 'atopy' which results from a great allergy to something usually inhaled or eaten - this is a difficult condition to control effectively as the allergen is often something you can't eliminate out of your dog's environment. There is however a therapy called Atopica which is very effective within the majority of cases - this is reasonably new and has dramatically improved the particular lives of many affected dogs. Atopica is prescription-only and expensive nonetheless can be bought online at much lower cost.

Just as scratching due to allergies is definitely an outward sign of an inward problem, some other cases of scratching are usually due to internal problems - by way of example some liver conditions can result in a great itchy skin.

Something to remember is the fact that puppies always scratch more than mature dogs - particularly when he receives his first collar!

Fleas and lice can readily be medicated without going to your vet - outstanding flea treatments like Frontline just for dogs are available without prescription and a lot of are also very effective against lice. An essential thing to be aware of is that fleas avoid breed on your dog - that they breed in his bedding and around the home. So treatment consists of treating your doggie with, say, Frontline, and then making use of your vacuum cleaner to remove fleas, eggs and even larvae from around the bedding (night beds and day snoozing places). You can also buy treatments to spray or even fumigate your house which are effective at killing and preventing fleas for a whole year. Unlike fleas, lice reproduce entirely on the dog, so you can eradicate an infection by simply treating your dog.

Since fleas are so successful as organisms, particularly during the warmer summer months, should your dog mixes with others or even spends a lot of time outside you should assume that he will get fleas and so will need to treat him monthly with Frontline, to prevent him getting infected.

Hearing infections will probably need veterinary therapy, but once settled down you can perform a lot to prevent flare-ups by using a non-prescription ear cleaner to keep the ear healthy and free from the wax that often starts a new infection.

When you see that your dog has developed a 'hot spot' (it's amazing how quickly they look! ) then he needs to see a vet, but you can do something before then to stop this getting worse - stop him licking, biting or scratching the affected patch of skin, and even apply a soothing lotion to the spot. If you have a 'lamp -shade' collar, put that on him -- if you don't, and your dog is at risk of developing hot spots, then get one!

Canines which scratch in a general kind of way without there being parasites or perhaps specific infections are just affected by reduced grade skin infection - they will just need a bath! You can get good medicated shampoos for dogs without the need for the veterinary prescription.

It's an important precept of pet care to know whenever you should take your pet to your vet dissimilar to doing things for yourself. Here's a listing of reasons to consult your vet if the dog is scratching:

We vets see an awful lot of scratching dogs within our clinics, and whilst some pet dogs do certainly have lifetime issues, particularly if they have atopy, the vast majority of instances respond to simple treatments and subside quickly. The best thing is that many cases answer treatments you can buy and apply yourself without incurring veterinary fees.