Why does "Buddy" scratch so much?

[osiris]

I have a shih tzu. He is 14 weeks old. Problem is he is always scratching. He has been to the vet twice. There is no evidence of fleas. I don't know what else to do. I even tried the 0atmeal shampoo to moisterize his skin but to no avail. Is this something he will grow out of?

[Moo]

Where is he scratching? Do you notice anything about the skin where he is scratching? Is it dry, flaky, red, bumpy?

It could be an allergy...

[erdog3]

Is the coat oily as well? Shitzu's can have allergies and also an overproduction of oil from their skin causing them to itch.

If it keeps going after puberty you may need to get it treated by a specialist vets, depending on the cause.

[happy]

It could also be nerves. When Quincy gets nervous, he scratches. Apparantly that's a common thing, my dog trainer told me about it.

[osiris]

I haven't noticed anything unusual about his skin.

[mischa's mum]

my pup scrathes too, but only around her neck as she is only 10 weeks and isnt use to having the collar on her.

[eXile]

Hmm...i was thinking it was the collar. How often do you bath her? Most people that own small breeds tend to wash them ALOT more then big boys. Its normal. If you do wash your dog alot, stop that. Put it to once every 3 weeks. My cousin owns a shih tzu and his only problem is his face area and his butt. He likes his lips alot and it gets like crusty so they need to use a wash cloth on his face everyday. And when he poohs, sometimes the pooh gets stuck on his hairs around that area. Both can be minimized by keep his hair short.