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What causes a dog to scratch the side of its mouth with its paw?
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 33 lbs
What does it mean if my dog has been vigorously scratching the side of his mouth with his front paws on and off for the last few weeks?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on December 4th, 2018
This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites.
First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.
If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.
Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc).
Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics).
Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpfulRelated Answers from Veterinarians
Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner
Published on September 18th, 2017
There are a number of reasons for skin problems in dogs. This article does an excellent job of describing them. You could be dealing with allergies (of various types), external parasites (such as fleas or mites), or secondary infections (bacterial or yeast).
https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-is-my-dog-so-itchy/
This is also an excellent article on itching in dogs and the possible causes and treatments.
https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2604
Often the first step is making sure there isn’t any evidence of external parasites that need to be treated. The location that Gizmo is chewing is most commonly associated with a flea dermatitis or a flea allergy. You may still be dealing with a flea allergy even if you have treated the fleas and have not seen any. Once a flea bites a flea allergy dog, that dog can stay itchy for a week. Here is additional information on fleas causing itching in dogs.
https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2455
I would recommend having your veterinarian evaluate Gizmo to discuss your diagnostic and treatment options. They can do some simple skin tests to evaluate for secondary infections that you will need to resolve to control her itching. This can involve topical treatments (like shampoos, wipes or sprays) or may involve oral medications. You can then discuss medication for the itching (which may be prescription or over the counter medication). There are a number of good treatment options for itching, but sometimes it takes a little while to find the right combination for your dog.
Please let me know if that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.1Pet Parents found this answer helpful