What causes the dog to scratch?

There are many reasons why your dog would scratch itself. Before you can stop that stubborn itch, you need to find out what is causing the itch.

Neurogenic: it is due to excessive licking and chewing. Usually this is because your pet does not have enough exercise or mental stimulation. This can also be due to separation anxiety.

Infections – This is one of the most common reasons that dogs scratch and it is usually caused by yeast, bacteria, or fungi. What you should do is look for greasy sores, hairless patches, or red swelling.

Allergenic – There are many types of allergies that can cause your dog to scratch excessively, such as food allergies, flea allergies, plant and dust allergies, and other types of allergies that can cause skin problems.

Nutritional: When your pet does not have the proper nutrients in his body, he may have dry skin, develop eczema, sores, or he may have dry hair that can lead to scratching.

Environmental – Did you know that too much water, such as swimming, digging, or playing outside, can also cause scratches?

Parasites – Parasites can also be itchy and that includes ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and mites. However, there are medications that can stop the parasites.

As in the previous example, you must first determine why these dogs are scratching before you can stop your dog from scratching.

Visiting your vet

If you want to know where the scratching behavior came from, you should visit your vet and have your dog checked. If so, you should treat it with antihistamines and change your dog’s diet. The parasite can be treated by giving your dog flea baths and medications.

How to deal with neurogenic scratching

When you train your dog to stop scratching, it would be difficult to do so, especially if it is caused by neurogens. The other problems that have been shown can be treated if you have changes in diet, medication, or you can change your exercise routines. If your dog is scratching because of this, you need to know why your dog has the urge to continually scratch his skin.

The first thing you can do is make sure your dog gets enough exercise. Most of the time, your pet is bored and has developed a neurotic scratching tic. You can stop your dog’s boredom by noticing his behavior. What you can do is apply bitter apple spray or cayenne pepper spray to the spot where your dog loves to lick or scratch itself.

A cone is also helpful and you can get one from your vet. It will not allow your dog to reach those itch points. When your dog has stopped trying to scratch and has a more active exercise routine, you can have him return to his activities and have the cone removed.

You should visit the vet when your dog continues to scratch to make sure he can rule out any other type of physical ailment. You may not know it, but infections can grow and thrive in your dog.