My dog has been scratching a lot lately, what should be done during grooming?

Excessive scratching in your dog is an important warning sign and requires special attention during grooming. First, it's critical to determine the cause of scratching because it could be allergies, parasites, skin infections, dry skin, or stress. Before grooming, your dog's skin needs to be carefully examined, if there is redness, rash, open wounds, flaking, or abnormal spots, aggressive cleaning should not be done. If open wounds or signs of infection are visible on the skin, grooming should be postponed and veterinary examination should be done first. Special sensitive skin shampoos should be used for scratching dogs, perfumed or chemical-containing products should be avoided. Oatmeal-based, hypoallergenic, or veterinarian-recommended shampoos should be preferred. Water temperature should be lukewarm because very hot water can increase itching and further irritate the skin. Brushing should be done very gently, hard brushes can cause more irritation in scratching areas. Drying is also important, it should be completely dried as moisture can increase skin problems, but very hot air should not be used. During grooming, your dog's behavior needs to be observed, if they react excessively when certain areas are touched, those areas should be handled with a more sensitive approach. Avoiding chemical perfumes, artificial colorants, and aggressive cleaning agents is important. In some cases, special therapeutic shampoos can be used with veterinarian recommendation. After grooming, let your dog rest in a comfortable environment and monitor whether scratching behavior continues. On the VetPI platform, you can find specialists experienced in skin problems and allergic dogs. These specialists apply special approaches to dogs with sensitive skin and are knowledgeable about appropriate product selection. Through the platform, you can check the specialist's experience in cooperation with dermatologist veterinarians and prefer specialists from whom you can get veterinary referrals when needed. Specialists experienced especially in allergic reactions know how to act in case of any worsening during grooming and can take necessary precautions.