Is it normal for dogs to scratch themselves?

[niccru]

I'm a relatively new dog owner, so please bare with me.

 

A couple years back I moved into an apartment that had a flea infestation. Since then, I am soooo paranoid about fleas. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, and I never want to go through it again. Well, last Thursday I was playing with Abby and I noticed a small flea on her tummy. I tried to grab it, but Abby was too squirmy and it ran away into her coat. I had just put frontline on her a week back, but I immediatly ran to our vet anyway and bought a Comfortis tablet for both her and Holly. Later that evening, I combed out the flea I had seen on her earlier, but it was dead. Since then, I run the flea comb I bought through her coat about three times a day. Nothing every comes out with it.

 

She scratches herself every now and then though, and it freaks me out. I instantly run the flea comb over the spot she itches at, but nothing comes out. I even inspect her entire coat when she's sleeping and I never find anything. Even if I or my husband have an itch, I immediately assume it's a flea. We have not seen any fleas in the house, and I have not seen a flea on her since that one last Thursday.

 

Am I overreacting? It's normal for puppies/dogs to have itches every now and then right? I mean, she's definitely not constantly scratching. Just every now and then, she start scratching at her neck or on her leg or back. My other dog is a chihuahua and has a pretty thin coat, and I haven't seen any fleas on her. She does, however, have demodox mites that I am trying to cure, so she itches every now and then but it doesn't worry me too much.

 

Somebody please tell me I'm overreacting.

[Lizmo]

Yes, it's normal for dogs to have an itch. Just like us humans.

 

If the dog was continually scratching an area of his/her body, then I would be worried and take a look.

[Lenajo]

If the fleas are off her, her skin is clean and dry without scaling or redness, and she can sleep and rest without waking up/doesn't stop playing - to frantically and repeatedly scratch you are probably ok.

 

If she just had fleas on her, remember the bites itch. It will take a few days of no fleas to cool that off.

[niccru]

If the fleas are off her, her skin is clean and dry without scaling or redness, and she can sleep and rest without waking up/doesn't stop playing - to frantically and repeatedly scratch you are probably ok.

 

If she just had fleas on her, remember the bites itch. It will take a few days of no fleas to cool that off.

 

 

Okay, no, she doesn't stop eating, playing, or sleeping to scratch. And I don't see any redness or bumps on her. That's a good sign.

 

I even feel like I've been itching more than what is normal, but it's probably all in my head.

[niccru]

Have any of y'all used the flea combs? They really work, right? I mean, if she had fleas, I'd be seeing them in the comb.

 

Wow, I sound paranoid.

[desertranger]

Dogs scratch and lick any area they can reach, public or private in public and private. If you're worried about itching check the area and see if it's red or swollen. that could be a sig of a parasite. However I don't think you have a problem just a normal dog.

[JBlaylock]

I didn't see this mentioned already, but I may just have missed it. Dog's get alergies too. Could be a skin alergy, could be related to food, climate, etc.

[desertranger]

Yes, allergies can also be manifested as watery eyes and nose. If your not sure take your dog tot he vet and have him checked out. But bear in mind it may something simple like dry skin.

[niccru]

My nightmares have been confirmed. Last night a small bite mark ended up on my face. Tried to shrug it off and not make a big deal outta it. Well, this morning in the span of two hours three more bite marks ended up on my face. Now I start panicking. I go home for lunch, and come back to work and three bite marks end up on my leg. I am freaking at this point. It has to be fleas. And then I find a big, fat flea on my arm. Caught it and killed it. Haven't gotten any more bites since then.

 

Aside from last night and today, I hadn't really been itching. Well, I was itching but I think it was all in my head as there were no bite marks on me. I've checked both of my dogs and see no fleas on them. The frontline and comfortis must be working.

 

Nevertheless, I raced to a pest control store and bought a huge jar of this product called Flea Stopper Carpet Powder and a can of Ultracide. I am planning on bathing my dogs in dawn liqud soap when I get home, taking them out, spraying the ultracide, and then brushing in the carpet powder. I used both of these products two years ago when I moved into a flea infested apartment and they worked like magic.

 

I know it was only one flea that I saw, but I do NOT want an infestation to develop.

 

The only good flea is a dead flea.

[RaisingRiver]

Of note, dogs who are new to wearing collars will often scratch at their neck. Esp when you put a leash on the collar, because the leash makes the collar move too.

 

Good luck removing the fleas. That's one thing I don't have to worry about where I live.

[fotobridget]

I'm a relatively new dog owner, so please bare with me.

 

A couple years back I moved into an apartment that had a flea infestation. Since then, I am soooo paranoid about fleas. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, and I never want to go through it again. Well, last Thursday I was playing with Abby and I noticed a small flea on her tummy. I tried to grab it, but Abby was too squirmy and it ran away into her coat. I had just put frontline on her a week back, but I immediatly ran to our vet anyway and bought a Comfortis tablet for both her and Holly. Later that evening, I combed out the flea I had seen on her earlier, but it was dead. Since then, I run the flea comb I bought through her coat about three times a day. Nothing every comes out with it.

 

She scratches herself every now and then though, and it freaks me out. I instantly run the flea comb over the spot she itches at, but nothing comes out. I even inspect her entire coat when she's sleeping and I never find anything. Even if I or my husband have an itch, I immediately assume it's a flea. We have not seen any fleas in the house, and I have not seen a flea on her since that one last Thursday.

 

Am I overreacting? It's normal for puppies/dogs to have itches every now and then right? I mean, she's definitely not constantly scratching. Just every now and then, she start scratching at her neck or on her leg or back. My other dog is a chihuahua and has a pretty thin coat, and I haven't seen any fleas on her. She does, however, have demodox mites that I am trying to cure, so she itches every now and then but it doesn't worry me too much.

 

Somebody please tell me I'm overreacting.

 

I don't think you're overreacting too much . One flea can lead to a problem, if you don't address the issue. But panicking won't do any good! how serious is the demodex? Libby had it pretty severely, along with a case of ringworm. Thankfully we had a wonderful vet who really helped. We've had one flare up in the past year.

 

Fleas are a big problem in our area, but we have a strategy in place to keep it from getting bad. We have two dogs (one BC one Lab/St. Bernard) and one Evil-cat. We use the K9 Advantix for monthly treatment for the dogs, and we use a product called Capster when needed. It is an oral med that acts to kill any current fleas on the pet. It's not a preventive, but will take care of any investation, and it's safe to use even on our old, debilitated Evil-cat. We also flea bomb in the spring and in the fall.

 

As for the demodex--just to prevent further flareups with Libby my vet suggested bathing her around once a month in Seltsen Blue shampoo (not head and shoulders, as it's a different chemical). It's worked for us!