Site Accessibility Features: Skip to page menus

Site Menus Section Skip to page content

Town and Country Veterinary Services | Auckland, New Zealand

Contact Us

257 Great South Road Auckland, New Zealand Phone: 09 294 8779 Email address: reception@druryvets.co.nz Make an Appointment

Site Content: Skip to page footer

Aug 31 2021

Itchy skin and ear infections

Home » Itchy skin and ear infections

Around springtime, we often see an increase in itchy skin (dermatitis) and ear infections in dogs and cats.

How to spot itchy skinYou should know almost right away if your cat or dog has dermatitis. Here are a few of the common signs:

Constant scratching, licking, or chewing at the skin
Flaky, scaly, or greasy skin
Unusual and excessive hair loss in isolated or large areas
Inflamed, swollen, broken, or bleeding areas of skin (usually caused by scratching, chewing, licking)
Hives or red bumps or rashes
Unpleasant smelling skin (especially in dogs)

Areas most commonly affected in both cats and dogs include the ears, ankles, underarms, groin and lower abdomen, around the eyes, and the muzzle region of their face.

What causes itchy skin? There can be many causes of dermatitis in dogs and cats. Some of the more common causes include:

Allergies (caused by dust mites, mould spores, pollen, grasses, plant sap, household chemicals, etc.)
Parasites like fleas, ticks, and mites
Generally dry skin
Skin infections (like eczema, ringworm fungus, yeast, and other bacterial infections)
Foreign objects (i.e., a grass seed, thorn, splinter, or other foreign matter stuck in your pet’s skin)
Boredom or anxiety (chewing and licking the skin due to boredom can upset the skin’s natural balance and lead to greater irritations)
Wet or damp fur for prolonged periods of time
Poor nutrition
Hormonal imbalances

Most of these conditions have very simple, effective treatments, including dietary changes, parasite control treatments (topical and ingested), pet-safe moisturisers, and grooming.

Does your cat or dog have an ear infection? Look out for these common ear infection symptoms:

Constant or unusual shaking or tilting of the head
Constant or unusual scratching or pawing of the ears
Swelling or red skin around or inside the ears
Unpleasant smelling ears
Brown, yellow, black, or green discharge in or around the ears

There are many different causes of ear infections in pets:

Heat
Foreign objects (dirt, grass seeds, etc.)
Trapped fluid (water from swimming or playing)
Ear mites
Excessive wear wax
Allergies

Some breeds of dogs with floppy ears are also very prone to ear infections. We recommend regular ear cleaning to prevent infections; speak to us and learn how to do this safely and comfortably for your pet.

If you are worried your pet has an ear infection or dermatitis, please book an appointment online, or give us a call on 09 294 8779 so we can diagnose the problem and recommend a quick and efficient treatment.

townandcountryvsnz | Pet Articles

Pet Health

Location Hours Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 8:00am – 5:00pm 8:00am – 5:00pm 8:00am – 5:00pm 8:00am – 5:00pm 8:00am – 5:00pm Closed Closed During these hours, please phone to make an appointment. In the case of an emergency we will see you immediately. `; footerBottom.parentNode.insertBefore(paymentButtons, footerBottom); } });

Your Results

In human years, your ${petType} is...

${humanAge} years old

and would be considered an...

${category}

by a vet

Find out more about how to look after your pet Find out more about how to look after your pet Find out more about how to look after your pet Find out more about how to look after your pet ACCESS SPECIAL OFFERS FOR SENIOR ${petType}S NOW! ACCESS SPECIAL OFFERS FOR GERIATRIC ${petType}S NOW! Recalculate

Share your results!

`).show('medium'); $('#ds-form').hide('medium') }); // Show or hide the dog size form group based on the selected pet type $("input[name='pet-type']").on("change", function () { if ($(this).val() === "dog") { $("#dog-size-group").show(); } else { $("#dog-size-group").hide(); } }) function calculateDogAge(age, unit, size) { // Convert age to years if it's in months if (unit === "months") { age /= 12; } // Calculate the dog's age in human years based on the size and age let humanAge; for (let i = 0; i dogAgeTable[size][i].age && age catAgeTable[i].age && age

Site Footer: Skip to top of page

RSS
Facebook

Site Accessibility Features: Skip to page menus

Reset Website Accessibility

Site Menus Section Skip to page content

Contact Us

Site Content: Skip to page footer

Itchy skin and ear infections

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Site Sidebar: Skip to end of sidebar

Share

Make an Appointment

Pet Health

Your Results

${humanAge} years old

${category}

Site Footer: Skip to top of page