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Dog nose dry and hot and wont stop chewing and digging at herself

Written by amoe3399

Help!!! My dog Maggie, she is such a joy, but her mood has changed. And i cant figure out what is wrong. I hope someone can help me and give me some advice on what to do. Her nose has been hot and dry for a couple days now, and it seems like all she wants to dig and chew away at herself, i have checked her for fleas and found none. And when she isnt chewing and digging she is sleeping. She normally never does this until summer time, but this year it seems worse. She just looks like she doesnt feel good and she hardly plays with any of her toys, when normally she was begging us to throw them for her to fetch.

Any ideas on what i can do for her without paying the vet a visit, i will if i have to but i thought i would see what you guys had to say

Thanks

Wed, 07/09/2008 - 21:54 — Marcie Whidden

Amoe, Maggie may have a seasonal allergy if this is a repeat problem you are noticing in the summer. It could either be from something she is inhaling, coming in contact with or something she gets differently this time of year that does not agree with her like a shampoo, different food or possibly a flea treatment. It is possible for her to have fleas with out you seeing them. Fleas only spend about 10 % of thier time on the animal feeding. One flea bite can cause a dog to scratch for hours if they have a flea allergy.

With out a vet visit, it will be hard for you to know what is causing her scratching. With all the chewing and digging she is doing she could also end up with a 'hot spot' which is an area on top of the skin that gets wet (from chewing), gets bacteria in it (and hair) and gets infected (which brings a nasty odor). Hot spots can be quite uncomfortable and you usually end up at the vet anyway. I hope Maggie feels better soon!

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Marcie Whidden
PetDoc.com

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