Your dog’s kisses won’t feel the same thanks to the cold, wet nose that presses up against your face. When your dog’s nose gets dry and cracked, you become concerned with more than the quality of their kisses. Just as the overall health of your dog is important, so is the health of its nose. Are these symptoms a reason for a vet visit?.

What does it mean when a dog’s nose is dry?

Having dry nose symptoms is irritating for your dog, and if things get worse, it also becomes painful. A dog dry nose can be a symptom of a serious illness, but in other cases, it can be triggered by both environmental factors as well as your dog’s age. Usually, senior dogs, 7 years or older, are at a higher risk of having dry noses due to medical conditions.

Here is how you can help your dog to get relief from a dry nose:

Remove potential allergens

If your senior dog has allergies, it might be the leading cause of dry nose. The complicated aspect of allergies is the fact that different dogs have dissimilar sensitivities. However, there are a few known contributors that you can take away to see if it makes a difference. The number one potential allergen for dogs is plastic, which often causes a dry, crusty nose. If you feed your dog in a plastic dish or plate, switch it for a stainless steel bowl.

Other potential allergens include certain types of dog food or treats as well as household products you use around your home. Try to pinpoint the changes in the environment at the time when your dog’s nose dried out. From there, you can change or remove these elements and note the difference they make.

Diseases that can cause dry nose in dogs

Some conditions are known to cause a chronic dry nose in dogs. Auto-immune disorders like the pemphigus or lupus can change the surface of your dog’s nose causing cracking, dryness, and bleeding. These disorders can be diagnosed with a blood or urine test as well as a biopsy of the nose. They are less serious and treatable with some immunosuppressive medications, such as prednisone.

Keep your furry friend hydrated

If getting up has become tough on your dog’s aging joints, chances are they would rather stay relaxed on the couch instead of going through the agony of getting up and struggling to walk to their water bowl when thirsty. For this reason, senior dogs run the risks of being dehydrated, and if they don’t drink enough water, there isn’t enough moisture to help keep their nose as moist or wet as it should be.

Ensuring there is plenty of water nearby is vital to help your senior dog’s nose stay wet. However, if that doesn’t seem to be enough, well, nature is so full of safe.

What can I put on my dog dry nose?

There are natural effective ingredients that help soothe and heal your canine nose. Shea butter, almond oil, coconut oil, and olive oil are some of the non-toxic ingredients that can help improve skin elasticity, moisten the skin, and relieve irritation.

Dog dry nose treatment

If your dog’s nose doesn’t get better after making these changes, it might be time you pay a visit to your veterinarian. A specialist can help conduct tests to check what’s up with your dog, or if it has a more serious condition and prescribe treatment accordingly.