How can I tell if my dog has dry skin or fleas?

Question

We shampoo our dog (german shepherd mix) every week with flea shampoo and put flea stuff on once a month. She has started to itch A LOT today (bathed her yesterday). She does not have flakes and her fur is so thick its hard to tell if she has fleas. She is scratching constantly. How do you tell the difference and what can we do to help her?

Answer 1

Sounds like you are drying her skin with that much cleaning. Dogs need to have some oil on their coats, for weather protection. You may be washing this off her coat and skin causing it to dry. I would cut back on the bathing to at least once a month, and try a different shampoo. Maybe one that has conditioners for her skin. The medication in the shampoo to kill the fleas may also be causing an allergic reaction.

Answer 2

Move her fur a bit and see if you can see her skin. It should be flaky if it's dry, but if you notice small blood stains and little black dots jumping around it's fleas.

Answer 3

I thnink the shampoo is drying out the dog skin. Ask your vet about this.

Answer 4

See a vet. She may have had an allergic reaction to something. Unless you have a professional look at her you won't know for sure. It may be something that will be easy to combat if caught early. Get professional advice.

Answer 5

YOUR DOG HAD FLEAS OR DRY SKIN THE DOG WOULD BIT
HIM SELF (NOT HARD DON'T WORRY) AND SKETCH IN WEIRD PLACES.

Answer 6

conditioner helps till thier skin makes oil.

Answer 7

Maybe you didn't get all the soap off! Wash her again and rinse well.

Answer 8

take him to the doctor.