How To Stop Dog Scratching

Dogs scratching themselves as they stretch or maybe even yawn is something quite normal. Humans tend to do it themselves quite often. But when does it become a problem? When your dog runs around scratching itself incessantly but you find no obvious culprit, i.e fleas or ticks and you start to worry that he is hurting himself, you should definitely start looking for a solution. It is important that you try to identify the reason behind his itch. Since it is not the fleas, it could be that your dog is allergic.

First of all bath your dog in cool water as it will help to soothe irritated skin. Use shampoo meant for dogs which has only natural products. This would help to rule out any allergy to chemical products. Make sure you rinse your dog well as shampoo residue may cause dog’s skin to itch.

You could also try to give your dog a bath in colloidal oatmeal as it will help to further sooth skin irritation. Another home remedy that you could try is mixing apple cider vinegar with your dog’s bathwater and allowing him to soak in the mixture for about 10 minutes. Once his bath is done, pat him dry with a clean towel. Do not rub him as it would only further irritate his skin.

It is important to brush your dog as brushing helps stimulate hair follicles to produce more oil which would not only make your dogs coat look healthy it would also help relieve skin irritation. Daily brushing would help your remove excess hair which could be causing your dog’s itching.

If you find that your dog still has dry skin, you could apply essential oils like lavender or tea tree on his skin. Not only does it smell great, it would also help relief itching skin on your pet. Tea tree oil is a very good anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent that does not irritate skin.

Do not allow your dog to lie or roll around in the grass as that might be the reason for his allergy.

Food is also a very important consideration when it comes to your dog’s itching skin. Make sure that the food you are giving your dog is of a good quality. A proper well balanced diet is necessary for the dog to be healthy therefore it is not advisable that you feed your dog human food as he might be getting all the nutrients needed. You could also supplement his diet with multivitamins to ensure your dog is getting everything required for a healthy immune system. Fish oil is also recommended to be added to his diet as it has Omega-3 which is not only great for his coat but also reduces skin inflammation which could be the result of itching.

If the scratching continues, take your dog to the vet as there maybe some other underlying cause for the itching.