Dogs can itch and scratch for many reasons.
Dogs can become itchy and begin to scratch for many different reasons. However, allergies of various types are among the most common causes.
Canine Flea Allergy Dermatitis
An allergy to fleas is one of the most common reasons dogs become itchy. When a flea bites a dog, it injects a substance into the dog’s skin which causes the allergic response. For a sensitive dog, one flea bite can make the dog extremely itchy. One of the most difficult things to understand is that often no overt evidence of fleas is present even though a flea allergy is the reason for the dog’s discomfort. This inability to find evidence of fleas stems from the fact that only one flea need be present and bite the dog in order for the allergic reaction to occur. In addition, dogs frequently groom themselves and remove the evidence of the fleas through their grooming behavior. Therefore, not being able to find fleas does not rule out a flea allergy as a cause of itching in a dog.
Canine Atopy
Canine atopy is a type of allergy that causes a hypersensitivity reaction to environmental stimuli, such as dust mites or pollens. It is a common disorder in dogs and typically causes scratching and itching. Finding the source of the allergy in these cases can be challenging.
Food Allergies in Dogs
Food allergies are another common cause of itching in the dog. Food allergies can result from reactions to any ingredient within the food but beef, chicken and wheat are some of the most common culprits.
Bacterial Skin Infections in Dogs
Bacterial infections in the skin, commonly called bacterial dermatitis, are another common cause of itchiness in dogs. Bacterial skin infections frequently occur as complications to canine allergic skin disease and are usually a secondary disease. Bacterial dermatitis must be successfully treated with antibiotics in order to evaluate and control the underlying allergic skin condition.
Canine Yeast (Malassezia) Skin Infections
Yeast skin infections most commonly involve a specific type of yeast known as Malassezia. Like bacterial skin infections, yeast infections are generally secondary to another underlying disease, often allergic in origin. Antifungal medications, such as ketoconazole, are needed to treat canine yeast infections.
Most Common Causes of Itching in Dogs
The three most common causes of itching in dogs are flea dermatitis, atopy and food allergies. Any of these three types of allergies can be complicated with secondary bacterial or yeast invaders resulting in bacterial and/or yeast skin infections in affected dogs. These skin infections can become quite itchy in their own right and cause extreme discomfort and distress for the infected dog. Less commonly, other causes, such as canine ringworm (dermatophytosis) or sarcoptic mange may cause itchiness and discomfort as well.
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My Australian Shepard bites his front legs continuously. He has flea protection on. I have changed his dog food 3x from chicken to salmon and now lamb base. I buy it at Costco and I heard it was a good quality dog food. He is an outdoor dog but mostly indoor. What to do.
Perhaps it’s time for a visit to the vet for some advice. There are lots of things that can cause your dog to bite his front legs.
My beagle is constantly scratching, rubbing his chin on the carpet and licking his feet. Sometimes he scratches with his back feet but the foot does not even touch his skin any where. When he is active the scratching is all but nonexistent but when he is inactive or at night he scratches. He sleeps well but once awake the scratching starts. I have used science diet for allergies(vet), oatmeal shampoo, shampoo for sensitive skin (vet), topical cortisone(vet) (this worked well but you can’t keep it up beyond the recommended time period). He does not have fleas or ear mites (vet). We have washed his bedding in vinegar, steam cleaned the carpet (no soap), vet gave him antibiotics, a sulphur drench (vet) but nothing has worked and we are wits end. He is 18 months old and we have had him since he was one year old. The day before we got him we visited the breeder and he was fine. We were 500 miles from home and so we spent the night. The next day we went to pick him up, after the breeder had taken him to the vet, had him checked over, microchipped etc, we noticed him scratching. The breeder picked him up and looked for fleas. None, she thought it was from the bath the previous day (didn’t rinse the shampoo well) and we brought him home. He has scratched ever since. I have taken him to my vet several times (see above treatments) and we are stumped.
Hi Ralph.
I’m sorry to hear about your beagle. It sounds like your veterinarian has tried quite a few things and you’ve done a lot at home to help him as well. Is there a veterinary dermatologist near you that you could consult? It might be worth considering. Some of the things that I would be suspicious of would be a mite infestastion (i.e. demodectic or sarcoptic mange) or a possible food allergy. But that’s just a guess. I really can’t tell much over the internet, unfortunately.
Good luck to you. Let us know what happens.
I guess that is my next step and probably should have seen a dermatologist before now. Thanks for you insight. I will let you know what the final outcome is. Fortunately he doesn’t have any hot spots or hasn’t/doesn’t scratch any parts of his body red nor is he losing any hair. Thanks again.
Good luck, Ralph. Hopefully, the dermatologist can help you get to the bottom of it and offer a resolution.
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