Dog Skin Problem - Six Main Reasons Your Dog Can't Stop Scratching

Your dog skin problem is driving you nuts! Your dog won't stop scratching, gnawing, licking, and biting. However, stop and think for a moment. If his behavior is driving you nuts, how must your poor dog be feeling?

By identifying the reason for your dog's itching and scratching, you are one step closer to getting relief for him. Here are the six main reasons for your dog skin problem:

1. Infectious - bacterial, fungal, and yeast are skin and coat pathogens. Fungi cause circular patches of hair loss that usually do not itch. Yeast infections cause greasy, and odor causing sores.
2. Neurogenic - no medical reason for the dog skin problem. Incessant licking characterizes this dog skin problem which is basically, a nervous habit of licking and chewing. This is often brought on by dogs that arent getting the proper exercise or attention they need and they bite, chew, and lick themselves as a nervous energy outlet.
3. Allergenic - an allergic reaction to numerous things; food ingredients, synthetic and natural fibers, medications and pharmaceutical products, plant material and even dust. All other causes must be ruled out before this diagnosis is used.
4. Environmental - itching brought on by what the dog is exposed to in his environment; swimming, digging, romping through fields. If the dog is sensitive to grasses or gets scrapes and cut, the wound often stays moist, bacteria sets in and causes an infection. This is most often referred to as a "hot spot."
5. Nutritional - due to imbalanced diet without proper nutrition. This dog skin problem is often caused by the owner feeding the dog an inferior dog food. Just because a brand of dog food states, "Complete and Balanced" doesn't mean it is a good source of nutrition for your dog. Owners will often opt for cheaper dog food and feel secure that they are feeding their dog a good diet because they fall for false advertising. Remember, false advertising is just as prevalent when it comes to pet products as it is in human products.
6. Parasitic - fleas, ticks, chiggers, deer flies, and gnats are the most common parasites that cause your dog's skin problem. Repeated exposure to these parasites can cause sensitivity and eventually infection. Cheyletiella mites, often referred to as "walking dandruff" and Sarcoptic mites which are called scabies or red mange, are much more serious. These mites cause very intense itching and scratching, hair loss and inflamed skin.

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Dry Skin on Dogs - Know the 3 Main Causes and How To Prevent Them

Does your canine have dry skin? Dry skin on dogs is a warning sign. It is a warning sign that something is not right when your skin is dry and scratchy. So it is with your dog. Left untreated, dry skin can develop serious problems and get infections. To keep this from happening, you need to know what causes the dry skin.

1 - Allergic reactions

Dogs can be allergic to a wide range of things just like humans. Probably the most ordinary things canines are allergic to are fleas and their food. If your canine is allergic to fleas, you will spot pink, swollen spots or patches.  All-around these patches will often be dry skin. Both the swollen areas and the dry patches are irritating to your pet and causes itching, scratching and biting.

If you assume your dog is allergic to fleas, buy a topical medicine from the store or get one from your vet. The medicine must have both an antibiotic or steroid. Brush him properly and trim the hair from the swollen and itchy spots. Trimming the hair lets the spot get air, which helps the spot heal faster. Using cotton balls, apply the medicine. This treatment ought to heal these spots. If it doesn’t, see your vet for stronger steroids and an antihistamine.

If fleas aren’t the problem, your dog's food could also be causing an allergic reaction. Experiment with different brands of foods to see if you notice an increase or decrease in the dryness and different symptoms.

2 -- Bathing and Grooming

Bathing your dog might be the cause of his dry skin. For those who're bathing your dog more than a few times each week that is most likely the cause. The natural oil in your canine's coat not only makes your dog's coat shiny, it also protects your canine's skin. If you bathe your canine too much, you're bathing away this natural protection leaving his skin dry and itchy.

How often you must bathe your dog depends on his breed and dirty he gets. Ask your vet or knowledgeable dog groomer how often you need to bathe your specific dog.

Bathing your canine with the wrong shampoo can even trigger dry skin. Shampoo your canine's coat with shampoo made particularly for dogs. If that is what you’ve been utilizing and your dog nonetheless has problems, your dog could also be allergic to the shampoo. Look around at your pet retailer for hypoallergenic dog shampoos and see if it offers him any relief. Additionally, try using a moisturizer made for dogs. These can greatly help with the dry, itchy skin problem.

In between baths, make sure and groom your canine at the least once per week with a mild brushing. Giving your canine a gentle brushing helps spread his pure oils throughout his coat and skin and protects it from dryness.

In the event you're not bathing your canine too typically or using the wrong shampoo, this most likely is not the cause of his dry skin problem. It could possibly be a normal health problem.

3 - Health

Because of misleading advertising and lack of quality food, it's difficult to feed your dog food that that gives him all of the nutrition he needs. Simply to be on the safe side, it's best to consider giving him vitamins. Even if your canine appears healthy to you, it's best to get the professional opinion of a vet. By telling your vet what and how much your dog eats, he can inform you if he's getting sufficient nutrition.

To ensure your canine is getting correct diet from his food, ensure you feed him food made specifically for his age, measurement, breed and any special medical issues he could have. Additionally, ensure your dog food isn't low-cost and made with too many kinds of filler. Dogs need plenty of protein and this needs to be the main ingredient.

Be careful for fillers. These are listed as ground corn, corn gluten meal, floor wheat, peanut hulls and plenty of more. Feeding your dog low-quality meals stuffed with fillers means your canine is not getting the vitamins he needs to be healthy and this can cause skin problems in dogs.

Guarding against flea and foods for allergic reactions, bathing and grooming your dog properly, and being certain he's getting the correct vitamin along with his meals and canine supplements, is a good start to putting an end to dry skin and skin problems on dogs. Use this info to determine what's causing problems for your dog's dry skin problem and put an end to dry skin on dogs.

Dog Ticks: Recognize the Lyme Disease Symptoms in Dogs

Can you recognize the Lyme Disease symptoms in dogs? Lyme Disease in puppies is dangerous and at times life threatening. If you have a dog that frequently goes outside where it can pick up deer ticks, you need to recognize the conditions to get your dog treatment as soon as possible.

Lyme Disease Symptoms in Dogs

Lyme Disease symptoms in dogs come in two phases - early and late. In the early phase, before your dog is even diagnosed, you'll note a number of or all these symptoms:

Muscle and Joint Pain - Lyme Disease usually causes lameness due to muscle and joint tenderness. Your dog may have many of the same symptoms as arthritis and have enlargement in the joints. You'll notice this because your dog will have difficulty walking, walk laboriously or not want to walk around much at all.

Enlarged Lymph Nodes - If your dog is limping and showing pain when it moves or walks, check the lymph nodes to see if they are swollen. Lymph nodes are little glands that assist the immune system function. Check for the lymph nodes in your dog's neck and the joint of their legs (similar to the armpits and groin in humans). If you feel swelling or enlargement this is a sign your dog has some type of infection, illness or possibly Lyme Disease.

Chills and Fever - Dogs can have fever and chills just like humans. Some dogs with Lyme Disease develop fevers anywhere from 103 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fatigue - You may notice your dog acting tired and sleeping a good deal more than usual.Lack of appetite - A sudden loss of appetite is another sign of Lyme Disease.

Depression - Lyme Disease affects the nervous system and can cause depression in dogs. Suddenly, your happy and playful dog is acting sad or wants to stay away from family members.Necessarily

Bad Breath - Breath with a strong ammonia-like smell is a good indication your dog has Lyme Disease.If your dog shows any of these signs or symptoms, you need to take him to the vet for a checkup. Bear in mind, your dog will ordinarily have a number of of these symptoms -- not just one. And just because your dog has one or more of these symptoms doesn’t absolutely suggest your dog has Lyme Disease.

Your dog is valuable to you and is part of your family. To be absolutely sure whether your dog has Lyme Disease, you need to get a positive prognosis from your vetrinarian. Only then can you begin therapy for your dog to put a stop to long-term injury or even death. Familiarize yourself with these Lyme Disease symptoms in dogs and be able to know them to keep your dog out of harm's way.