Is Your Pet Scratching a Lot? Soothe the Itching

Every other step your pet stops to scratch or they stop and scratch after every gulp of water or in between eating. Or your pets’ foot knocking on the floor when they scratch is waking you up at night. Constant scratching means something is really itching your pet, whether it’s fleas, dry skin, or allergies. Itching isn’t serious, but it can result in hair loss and skin infections. To give your pet a break there are a few things you can do to soothe their itching.

Although some dogs hate baths, give them a nice cool bath anyway. It will soothe the itching and keep their skin clean. One flea bite can cause your pet to itch for days. You can use medicated shampoo to help cut back on fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects. You can use oatmeal when giving them a bath. Oatmeal shampoos like Aveeno work great or you can even use the oatmeal you eat just mix it in the water. If you pet has been scratching or licking his paws constantly, try giving them a paw soak. Get a large bowl big enough to put your pet in, fill it with cool water, add two cups of Epsom salt, and put your pet in the bowl. You can also spray or powder them with insect fighting spray or powder.

To sooth dry skin that may cause itching, make sure you keep your pet’s skin moisturized. This can be done two ways. You can spray your pet with a moisturizer or you can give them a bath by filling it with a gallon of water and putting one tablespoon of an oil moisturizer like Keri Oil in the water. Another way to soothe the itching is to make sure you keep the grass mowed and the yard racked to prevent a multitude of insects from congregating in your yard and on your pet. You can also soothe the itching by giving your pet over the counter treatment like Benadryl. Make sure you contact your vet to find out how much you need to give your pet. Most vets recommend giving one to three mgs of the medication for every pound of pet.

What does the itching mean? Where your pet itches can tell you what is causing your pet to scratch. Pets with fleas will scratch near the back of their bodies, especially above the tail and the back of the legs. If your dog has hay fever, they will each toward the front of their bodies. However if your cat has hay fever, they will scratch all over and you’ll notice little bumps underneath their fur. If your dog is itching and scratching all over, that may indicate a food allergy and cats with food allergies will scratch on their face and neck. Some pets that itch and scratch all over may have a case of dry skin. Whatever is causing them to scratch profusely you can help your pet soothe the itch.