I have 2 dogs. I don't give them baths on less they need 1. I don't know y they keep scratching... Please Help! :(

What type of soap or shampoo are you using? Also there are coat and skin conditioners available. Your dogs may have a skin disorder, or disease. See your vet.

Maybe they have mosquito bites... depends on where you live. I don't know. My dog always scratches because of mosquito bites.

I don't use dog shampoo or dog soap and I haven't given them a bath in a long time

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Originally Posted by shoe_lovin_freak

maybe they have mosquito bites...depends on where u live. idk. my dog always scratches because of mosquito bites.

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I hope your dog is on heart worm prevention.

Ummmm don't think so. But the mosquitos are going away now so I don't know.

Not giving them baths is a good start. If you do have to, you should use a dog shampoo. I think I have had the same bottle for over 10 years. Pull back the hair at the base of the tail and look for dark reddish specks. If you see or feel any, your dogs do have fleas even if you haven't seen any. Get them on a good flea preventative and treat the house and yard with something that kills both fleas and their eggs.

What are you feeding? Most dogs will thrive on most commercial chows. Occasional dogs need more linoleic acid. The easiest way to remedy that is to add a little corn based ordinary cooking oil. Soy will work, but corn is the richest of all the vegetable oils in the linoleic acid.

Spend 5 minutes every day brushing them with a soft brush.

You may also want to have your vet check for mange. I know, it sounds gross but it's really not that bad if caught early enough. I think my almost 6 month old rottie has a form of mange but I will know for sure when we go in for a skin scraping on Thursday. He's we'll say 'lacking' a little bit of fur in areas on his hind legs and back and been scratching ferociously. There are different types of mange so it's nearly impossible to diagnose it yourself. Mange is caused by mites that can only be seen under a microscope and they cause a dog to itch and scratch and munch themselves. This could explain why you don't see fleas, but see the symntoms. This is a link to get some general information about mange. Dog Owner's Guide: Mange

Good luck!

Katie brings up a good point. What I should have said in my post was that if in a month or 2 of what works for me, your dog still itches, see the vet. Mange is just one of a number of things it takes a vet to identify and treat.

Unfortunately that link takes you to a site that has a lot of garbage. The mange advice may or may not be valid. For most medical matters, I prefer American Veterinary Medical Association. I have also found most of the stuff at http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/articles.htmlto be reliable.

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Originally Posted by labman

Not giving them baths is a good start. If you do have to, you should use a dog shampoo. I think I have had the same bottle for over 10 years. Pull back the hair at the base of the tail and look for dark reddish specks. If you see or feel any, your dogs do have fleas even if you haven't seen any. Get them on a good flea preventative and treat the house and yard with something that kills both fleas and their eggs.

What are you feeding? Most dogs will thrive on most commercial chows. Occasional dogs need more linoleic acid. The easiest way to remedy that is to add a little corn based ordinary cooking oil. Soy will work, but corn is the richest of all the vegetable oils in the linoleic acid.

Spend 5 minutes every day brushing them with a soft brush.

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My roommate has a dog that scratches all the time. The dog is on heart worm and flee medication so I too wonder sometimes why the dog scratches all the time. My roomates dog only seems to scratch during the spring and summer months. Maybe the heat bothers my roomates dog and that is why the dog scratches.

Why would not giving a bath to a dog be a good start? I have never heard of anyone using people shampoo on a dog, but that doesn't mean a person wouldn't do that.

Why does it matter what kind of food a dog is fed?

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Originally Posted by snowflake22

Why would not giving a bath to a dog be a good start? I have never heard of anyone using people shampoo on a dog, but that doesn't mean a person wouldn't do that.

Why does it matter what kind of food a dog is fed?

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I'm sure labman will have a better way of explaining things, but in the meantime...
Bathing a dog takes away his natural oils thus drying him out and making him itchy. People skin is much different than dog skin. They are covered in fur so the skin that's under there is naturally more sensitive than ours is. The less you bathe a dog, the better off his skin is. As far as food goes, ever hear of 'you are what you eat'? Well it's sort of true. What you put in your body has a great deal to do with your overall health. To include your skin. Same goes for dogs. For example, if you take say, 500 mg (which is a bit much) of niacin (a vitamin), your skin will turn red like a lobster and will be very hot. You may even swell up. Different food items contain different vitamins, minerals, and proteins that may effect dogs differently.

Even the shampoos formulated for dogs strip out the natural oils from the dogs skin. The more often you bathe them, the drier and itchier their skin. So by not bathing them, it reduces itching.

Some of the cheaper chows are a little short on the essential fatty acids for dogs skin and coats. They may lack some other things too. Most dogs will do fine on most chows. The biggest problem comes from the dogs eating too much other stuff. Often people will insist in replacing part of the carefully formulated dog chow with something that isn't the complete and balanced diet dogs need. So fed a good chow, brushed regularly, and seldom if ever bathed, most dogs do fine. There are some medical conditions that requires a vet's attention.