Why Do Dogs Scratch?
If you are like millions of other dog owners out there. you may be frustrated by your dog’s need to scratch. However, why do dogs scratch so much? Today, we are going to explore the reasons why your dog could be scratching their life away, so that you can determine if it is a serious problem that needs to be controlled.
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6 Common Causes of Dog Scratching
There are many different things that can cause your dog to scratch away. Although it can be annoying most of them are not harmful. Most of these are also very easy to fix. Following are six common causes of dog scratching, so you don’t have to ask anymore “why do dogs scratch?”
Allergies
Dogs and people are a lot alike: we both suffer from allergies. Dogs suffer from a wide range of allergies including allergies to various plants, dust, and other severe allergies that can cause skin problems. These skin problems lead to severe itching and scratching. Luckily these are mostly things that you can control very easily.
Infection
Some dog breeds are extremely susceptible to infections. There’s a web wide range of causes of these infections including fungi, yeast, and even bacteria. In order to determine if your dog has an infection, you should look for greasy sores, bald patches, red swelling, or any combination of the three. Most of the time if your dog gets an infection, treatment will require a visit to the vet.
Nutrional problems
Just like people, dogs need a lot of nutrients. If they don’t get the right nutritional balance in their diet, they can develop a lot of skin problems such as eczema, sores, dry skin, even bad hair. These lead to dryness, which will cause their skin to itch, and will lead to a lot of scratching.
Environmental Issues
There are also a wide range of environmental issues that could be causing a problem. These could be from eating too much, playing outside (usually this is related to the allergies that we’ve mentioned before) and even too much water from swimming. These can all leave your dogs feeling the need to scratch away endlessly.
Parasites
There is a wide variety of parasites that can cause your dog to itch. These could include gnats, mites, flies, ticks, and those nasty little fleas. If your dog gets some of these parasites, you will need to take them to the vet. There are a wide range of medications that you can treat your dog with, all of which will help you control the itching, and can even kill the parasites that are infecting them.
Neurogenic Scratching
Neurogenic scratching is probably the hardest one to get under control. This is because it is more mentally motivated then physically. Neurogenic scratching comes from a nervous issue that can be caused by excessive licking and chewing. A lot of this nervous energy comes from not getting enough exercise or mental stimulation. It can also be caused by separation anxiety, which is a common problem with many housebound dogs.
As you can see there it are a lot of possible answers to the common question “why do dogs scratch?” Follow these tips, and you can determine why your dog is scratching. If the scratching is out of control, you may want to consult your veterinarian, and asked them for help in determining the cause of the scratching.
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