You hate to see man’s best friend, your little buddy who follows you around and loves to cuddle and play, itch to the point of misery. It is often a problem with puppies, and many people don’t ever reach out to determine why it may be happening. Rather, they chalk it up to “a dog thing,” saying in their minds that puppies are going to itch and scratch, it’s just something they do. While this is true to an extent, making such an assumption is lazy and foolish, when there’s usually a quick, easy and relatively cheap remedy that will leave your pup feeling relieved of any discomfort, whether it’s a big problem or not.
Here are a few reasons why you might see your puppy scratching a lot…
Fleas
The dreaded little flea… leaves your dog miserable and you grossed out at the thought of tiny little bugs swarming your precious dog and inhabiting your home. If you’re dog is an indoor/outdoor pup, he or she has more than likely picked up some fleas along the way, especially if you haven’t jumped on the flea treatment bandwagon. There are a couple of ways to determine if your dog has fleas, outside of letting a veterinarian investigate – the most obvious (and most difficult) is to track them down with your eyes. Another way? Give your puppy a bath. If the water turns a little bit orange or red, your dog has fleas. We won’t go into the details of why, but it has to do with flea excrement that contains your hound’s blood.
Mange
Mange is terribly miserable for a dog because the itching is literally non-stop. If your dog is scratching hour after hour with no relief, take him to the vet who will determine via a microscopic exam whether or not mange is a factor. It’s contagious, so bear in mind how many visits you’ve made to the dog park lately as you talk things out with the vet.
Ear Mites
The other problem that makes you cringe… ear mites are microscopic bugs that live inside of dogs’s ears, just rolling around and chowing down on skin. Obviously, a veterinarian must diagnose ear mites. Like mange, these little pains are contagious.
Dry Skin
One of the most common symptoms of itchy skin is dry skin. Think about your own human skin – when it’s deprived of the moisture it needs, it flakes, cracks and breaks down, often causing discomfort and significant itching. It’s no different for dogs. Talk to your vet if you notice flaky skin as to whether this problem may be attributed to diet or environment, and make the necessary adjustments to fix it for your pup. Don’t neglect it thinking it will go away; often times pups will continue to scratch until they scratch their skin raw, causing a painful infection.
Don’t assume that your puppy itches because he’s a puppy, and puppies are just “growing into their skin”. There could be something wrong that’s easily fixable and helps make your dog a happier pup!
