How to Stop Your Dog from Scratching

Here is how to stop your dog from scratching before it gets a serious infection. Whether it is due to fleas, an allergy or a fascination with its skin the scratching can be serious. Complications to the skin can form and your dog will be even more miserable. So in order to stop your dog from scratching, you need to follow the below advice.

What Causes Dog Scratching

There are several reasons for your dog’s nonstop scratching. You have to find out the cause before you can treat the scratching. Skin infections can be caused by different kinds of bacteria, yeast or fungi. Watch for weeping sores, bald spots, or swollen eyes. Neurogenic causes are those that are a nervous disorder cause by constant licking or chewing. This is usually cured by an increase in exercise and mental stimulation. Anxiety is another cause of this disorder.

Food allergies, pollution allergies flea allergies all can cause your dog to scratch. Have your vet do tests for these. Nutritional problems can also cause a dog’s skin to be very itchy. If your dog isn’t getting the right balance of vitamins and minerals from his food, his skin can become very dry.

If your dog’s coat stays too wet for too long, too much digging or getting dirty can also make the dog itchy. Keep your dog’s coat clean and dry to stop your dog from scratching. You can see how important it is to find the exact cause of the scratching so that it can be stopped. Continuous scratching will expose more of the skin to an infection. A vet can also be required to stop your dog from scratching.

When is a Vet Required?

Having your pet checked out by a vet can not only find out the root cause of the itching, but the vet might feel that it is necessary to prescribe a medication for the skin. If allergies are the cause, then antihistamines might be prescribed or if it is an infection then antibiotics is called for. Food allergies can be dealt with by diet. Fleas can be dealt with using flea baths.

Why Neurogenic Scratching is the Hardest to Stop

All of the other reasons for a dog’s scratching can be dealt with through diet or medication, but neurogenic scratching is the hardest to stop. That’s because there is no pathological reason for the itching and it’s hard to find out why your dog feels the need to scratch.

The first thing that you have to do is make sure that your dog is getting enough exercise. Believe it or not, your dog might be scratching out of sheer and simple boredom. It’s almost as though they are in a hypnotic trance. Putting bitter apple cider spray or spray made from cayenne pepper on their skin will stop this action. Check with your vet though before doing this. So there you have the most efficient ways to stop your dog from scratching.