Is Heat Alone Enough to Cause Itchy Skin???

I'm just curious if any of you have noticed if just the hot dry summer temperatures can sometimes be the cause of a dog having a bit of the itchies?
Since getting Rusty, I've been determined to make sure he never gets any skin problems going on...I hate it when I see a dog with red itchy sore hot spots, and such. It looks like it's so uncomfortable and miserable for them. So I've been doing everything to keep his skin in good condition. And thankfully, it is. In fact, his skin and coat look great. I'm careful what I feed him, keep him flea free, give him Linatone supplement for his coat and skin, and bathe him once a week with Avoderm shampoo.
But the thing I've noticed is that he will get itchy sometimes. Not horribly so, but more than I would like to see. Especially his tail, and at the base of his tail. He doesn't go absolutely nuts with it, but sometimes will just get to acting like it's irritating him, and will chew a little and pull at his tail. And the only comon thing I can pinpoint is that it seems like it happens when it is hot and dry. I live in the Pacific Northwest, in N.W. Washington. It doesn't usually get that hot here, it's usually mild. But over the past couple of months, we've had a few hot spells with temps in the upper 80's and 90's (I know to some of you, that would probably be cool!) And it's so dry.....which is especially uncommon for here.
Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you have ever noticed if that kind of thing can cause dogs to be a little more itchy than usual

 

My dog Grace gets really itchy on her belly and the arm pits (Do Dogs have arm pits? ) anyway, her underside. She has really pink skin, so I think that's why she's so sensitive. But the heat and laying in the grass does it to her. So maybe Rusty is more sensitive to grass, if you have it, more so than heat. Or like Grace, just sensitive to the combination of the two.

 

one year my Shepherd got a horrible rash and had to be shaved down and I had to spray her with a steroid product. The vet she goes to told me (this was 2 summers ago) that 80% of the dogs they saw in that 2 week period were being treated for the same thing - a severe heat rash basically.

Also there is such a thing called "Swimmer's Itch" that dogs can get...I don't know much (well anything) about it but I've seen it mentioned on another dog board.

 

Maybe it is a combination of the grass and heat, now that you mention it....because another thing I notice is that he seems to do it more right after we get home from picking him up from daycare, and I know she lets them play out in the yard and has the sprinkler going to keep them cool, and I can tell he's been playing in the grass and dirt.
And it's funny you mention the swimmers itch, Mary....I'm taking a couple of days vacation right now and it's hot and sunny today, so we went to Green Lake in Seattle and took Rusty swimming for the first time. He really had a blast, he's sacked out sleeping right now...but on the way home we were talking about whether the lake water might make him itch or not...I'll be keeping an eye out for that

 

Dryness could be a factor as well. Do you notice the itching having any correspondence to baths? Like worse before the bath, or worse after? Weekly baths seem like a lot to me. Too many baths can dry out the skin by removing oils.

 

Maybe it is from being a bit dry, but I try to combat that by using the Avoderm shampoo (it has avacado oil) and the Linatone supplement.
I also try to go longer than a week between bathing when I can, and sometimes I do go 2 weeks--- but the little beast can just get so doggie smelling sometimes!! :-& He plays so hard whenever he is around other dogs, and likes to be a such a rough and tumble little mutt when he's outside, he seems to find a way to get himself pretty smelly~
And of course since he's such the spoiled little booger, he sleeps on the bed, goes everywhere with me in the car,and so on--- so I tend to need to give him baths a bit more often than I usually would. But I'll see if I can try going longer-- maybe I can get by with just a wipe down every couple of days rather than a full bath.

 

LOL! What an awesome use of that emoticon.