3 Tips For Helping Your Dog’s Itchy Skin

Whether you have a new pup, an older dog, or somewhere in between as a member of the family, it is always hard to watch them suffer through health issues. They all are at risk of numerous ailments, and many of them end up with dry, itchy skin. Whether your dog just naturally has itchy skin or if it is actually a symptom of a different ailment will vary wildly from dog to dog, but there are still common solutions you can try to help them.

How Can You Tell When Your Dog Itchy Skin?

It’s likely going to be quite apparent if your dog has itchy skin, as your dog with obviously be scratching quite a bit. However, there are other symptoms like increased shedding, lots of dandruff, hot spots (displays as a rash) and more.

Visible Signs Of Dry, Itchy Skin Include:

  • Increased licking, scratching and biting
  • Increased shedding
  • Mange-like patchiness of dog’s coat
  • Dandruff
  • Behavioral changes, i.e., nervousness or restlessness
  • Scabs or red bumps on your dog’s skin

Battling with your dog’s dry, itchy skin can be one of the most frustrating things to help with as a dog owner. Itchy skin can be a symptom of a number of things, and it is going to take time to determine what those are. Some things you can try as a dog owner to help troubleshoot & treat the problem are:

  • Try Different Dog Foods

This is probably one of the more common sources of dry, itchy skin in dogs. The reason dog food can impact your dog so much is because many dogs end up with skin allergies to certain ingredients in their dog food. This is most commonly caused by the main source of protein in the food, or it could also be caused by grain as well. For example, many dogs end up with skin allergies as a result of eating dog foods with chicken as the primary source of protein.

If your dog is experiencing dry, itchy skin we highly recommend that you go ahead and try different dog foods for 2-3 months at a time to see if the condition gets any better or worse. It is also a good idea to consult with a veterinarian prior to doing so, as they may have additional advice.

  • Try Different Shampoo

If humans have dandruff & a dry scalp, we most commonly turn to different kinds of shampoo to help combat the issue. While this can be effective in many cases, you’re ultimately not actually treating the source of your condition, merely the symptom. With that being said, if you are currently trying to use shampoo in order to try to treat your dog’s itchy skin & it hasn’t been working, try changing it up to a shampoo that is either oatmeal or coconut oil based to see if that helps.

  • Try Supplements

This is our favorite option, as it gets down to adjusting your dog’s diet in order to give them the nutrition that they need in order to fix the problem, not simply treat the symptoms. Look for dog supplements for itchy skin that are high in omega 3 fatty acids like fish oil, or ideally krill oil (krill oil is proven to be more easily digestible than fish oil).