Why is my dog constantly scratching
Why Is My Dog SO Itchy - the 5 Big Causes! - Dog Health Vet Advice
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if your dog has started scratching then
this video is for you as I answer the
question why is my dog so itchy by
running through the five main causes of
itchiness in dogs I undocked relax the
vet behind our pets health calm where my
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so let's jump into the five main causes
of itchiness in dogs and the first one
is going to be infections so this can be
a bacterial infection or it can be a
fungal infection or a yeast infection is
the other one there is often an
underlying cause so that can be some of
the other things that I'm going to be
talking about so it's important that if
you think your dog has got an infection
then they get a proper diagnosis because
otherwise it will likely come back or it
will be a recurrent problem further down
the line now like I say these can be
bacterial infections so you'll get
things like hot spots maybe which could
have patches of really wet moist
inflamed and painful skin you can also
get ear infections as well so there are
you know often caused by the same things
that can cause other skin infections it
might just be that there's an infected
cut or a bite or something like that
that's become a little bit nasty and
causing that itchiness so infections is
my first main cause of itchiness in dogs
now the next problem and number two is
going to be anal gland disease so the
anal glands have two sacs either side of
the back passage and if they become
really full and enlarged then that can
become quite irritating and
uncomfortable for a dog now some of them
will scoot their bum along the ground to
try and relieve that irritation but
others will chew and nibble and lick and
scratch much like an itchy dog would so
it definitely looks like they're itchy
when perhaps there may be just more
uncomfortable but that itch enos will
more be focused around their back end so
their thighs around their tail base
around the the very kind of back part of
their spine and they'll be chewing and
nibbling and they can make that quite
sore and they can then actually cause an
infection in that skin just because of
the damage that they're doing to
themselves okay so my third cause of
itchiness in dogs is going to be
parasites and this is a really common
one so flea
these are the most likely here they're
common throughout the year so it's not
just I'm in the warmer months although
they are more prevalent then and their
numbers are higher but as our houses are
getting better insulated and the heating
is better then even in really cold
climates fleas can be a problem in the
middle of winter obviously if you live
in somewhere a little bit warmer then
these are a year-round problem and
should be treated as such and we should
certainly be kind of thinking about flea
prevention as a year-round issue and
also if your dog has started itching and
they haven't had a recent flea treatment
then that's probably the first thing to
try and do if you can't see anything
else wrong with them because it's a very
common problem and really it's a
frustrating trip to the vets if all your
vet does is say well I can see fleas and
give you a flea treatment that could be
something that you could have applied
yourself and saved you the cost of a
consultation fee but as well as fleas we
can also see mites so the big one here
is going to be sarcoptic mange the mange
mite that causes really bad itchiness it
causes thickening of the skin will often
get a lot of skin damage as a result of
the scratching that the dogs doing
because it's really that bad but there
are a number of other mites as well and
then lice is another problem that we
don't see quite so much it's not very
common but more certainly in the areas
where I've I've worked but in your area
may be more prevalent or it's certainly
something to think about and parasites
are the third cause of itchiness in dogs
at number four we've got actual skin
conditions themselves so that could be
dry skin it could be greasy skin that's
causing itchiness it might be that
there's an underlying hormonal
abnormality that scauses converts
causing itchiness or it could also be a
problem with the diet so for example a
diet that's not got enough essential
fatty acids in it causing the skin to be
dry and that's kind of the cause there
and then at number five we've got
allergic skin disease so this is another
big one and I'd say along with parasites
allergic skin disease is probably the
most common cause of itchiness in dogs
so we've got a number of different types
of allergy that our dogs can suffer from
so we've got a flea allergic dermatitis
and that's actually an allergy to the
flea saliva so even when there's only
one or two fleas present that wouldn't
normally cause a really severe problem
we've got if your dog's got a flea
allergic dermatitis then they will have
an intense really severe reaction to
those bites just because of the allergy
to the flea saliva ATP is another cause
of allergy so that's actually in an
allergy to the environment or pollens or
other things within the air so much like
we have hay fever that causes us to UM
sniff and sneeze and be all snotty so
ATP is a bit like a hay fever for dogs
but rather than getting no symptoms
they're getting really itchy skin and
then we can also have a food allergy now
that's not maybe as communist you might
think or you might have heard but it is
something that we see on a not too
irregular basis and that's often an
allergy actually to the protein part of
the diet so that's I'm your chicken or
your beef being the most common and then
finally you can get allergies so contact
allergies where something comes into
contact with the skin a chemical or
something like that that causes a real
itchy reaction and then you can also
have insect bites and an allergy to
insect bites where you get really itchy
nosov itchiness and you can get inflamed
hive type reactions where you get little
swollen bumps or just general swelling
over the skin where those bites were so
really those are the five main causes of
itchiness and dog so we've got
infections we've got anal gland problems
we've got parasites we've got skin
conditions and then we've got allergic
skin disease it's important that we do
get a proper diagnosis because a lot of
these conditions will need ongoing
management to try and prevent them too
from becoming a real problem in the
future to prevent them from getting
worse and to keep them under control so
it is important that we get a proper
diagnosis so if your dog is really itchy
and you've got no idea why then a trip
to your vet is never going to be a bad
idea okay so I hope you found this
useful if you've got any questions
please leave them in the comments down
below
remember to subscribe it until next time
i'm dr. alex this is our pets health
because they're family
