My Dog Has A Dry Nose: What Should I Do?

If a dog has a dry nose, many owners worry that something might wrong with the four-legged friend. You can find out below whether this is always the case or whether the dry dog nose can also have a harmless cause.

The main points on the subject of dry dog noses at a glance

• If a dog's nose is dry, this is not necessarily a symptom of an illness.
• Harmless causes of a dry nose in dogs include dry air in heated homes or skin that is dried out from sweating.
• Sometimes old age and a lack of certain nutrients can also be responsible for the dog's dry nose.
• If the dry dog nose occurs in conjunction with further symptoms such as exhaustion or lack of appetite, this indicates a health problem.
• The nature of the nasal discharge can indicate a possible infection.

What causes the dry dog nose?

If a dog's nose is dry, this often has a completely harmless cause. As long as it is just a temporary phenomenon and the dry, possibly warm dog nose is wet and cold again as usual after a few hours, you can normally assume that your four-legged friend is fine.

A dry nose in a healthy dog

It is not uncommon for a dog's nose to be noticeably dry and warm, even when the animal is perfectly healthy.

Possible causes in this case include:

• Dry air in heated homes
• Insufficient fluid intake
• Dry skin due to sweating
• A sunburn on the dog's nose
• Old age

Dry dog nose in winter

In winter, the air in our homes is often quite dry due to heating. This can cause dry skin not only in us humans, but also in dogs.

Installing a humidifier can help prevent the air in your home from becoming too dry during the heating season. Incidentally, this often pays off when the dry heating air has caused not only a dry nose but also watery eyes in the dog.

Dry dog nose due to insufficient fluid intake

If your dog does not drink enough water, this can sometimes be noticed by dry skin and obviously also a dry nose. Insufficient fluid intake has long-term negative effects on the health of the animal.

In order to avoid possible consequences such as kidney failure in the dog, you should make sure that your four-legged friend drinks plenty of water. Incidentally, this also helps to counteract a dry dog nose due to a lack of fluids.

Dry dog nose caused by sweating

As you may know, compared to us humans dogs have very few sweat glands. Some of these are located on the nose of the four-legged friends.

If a dog exhausts itself while running or doing dog sports, sometimes the skin on the nose dries out from sweating. This is perfectly normal and you don't have to worry about the dry dog nose.

However, make sure that your dog does not overexert itself and, when doing physical activities in summer, make sure that the four-legged friend does not get heat stroke.

Dry dog nose from a sunburn

A surprising number of owners are not aware that dogs can also get sunburn. Animals with light skin and short white fur are particularly sensitive in this regard.

When a dog gets sunburned, it's not uncommon for their nose to be dry as a result. Just like with humans, it can make sense for dogs that are sensitive to the sun to use sun protection in summer that is suitable for the four-legged friends.

A dry and cracked nose in old dogs

As is well known, old age does not leave dogs unaffected either. Strength and stamina are gradually decreasing, the four-legged seniors need more breaks and various complaints of old age are increasing. Some old dogs also gets a dry and cracked nose.

This can be counteracted to a certain extent by balanced feeding that ensures an optimal supply of nutrients. However, the ageing process with all its side effects cannot be stopped.

Dry dog nose due to malnutrition? 

One of the positive affects of an adequate diet for dogs is the improved appearance and texture of their skin and coat. Conversely, this means that an insufficient supply of nutrients can have the opposite effect and lead to skin and coat problems.

Last but not least, this also includes drying out of the skin on the nose. Under certain circumstances, it can therefore make sense to pay a little more attention to the nutrition of your four-legged friend and search for good quality food.

Special food supplements such as Shiimun Skin and Bellfor Skin & Coat, can also help to provide your dog's skin with important nutrients and counteract nutrition-related problems.

Dry nose in sick dogs

Unfortunately, in some cases a dog's dry nose can indeed be a sign that the animal is ill. For example, the dog's nose is often dry and warm when a dog has a fever.

You can find out if this is the case by measuring their body temperature. Please note, however, that only a rectal fever measurement provides an accurate result. A thermometer for the ears is therefore not suitable for your dog.

The dry nose and fever can occur in dogs in combination with the following symptoms:

• Lack of appetite
• Apathy
• Weakness
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Heavy breathing
• Fatigue

What nasal discharge reveals about the animal's health

In addition to the symptoms mentioned, the nature of the nasal discharge in particular can provide an indication of a possible disease. If the nasal secretion is viscous and greenish or yellowish in colour, this is usually a sure sign that the four-legged friend has caught a disease.

Which conditions lead to a dry dog nose?

A dry nose in combination with noticeable changes of the nasal secretion can indicate an infection. Maybe the dog just has a cold, or they might be suffering from a more serious infectious disease.

Apart from that, allergies as well as various hereditary diseases and some autoimmune diseases are other possible conditions that include a dry nose as a symptom.

The skin problems in these cases are usually not limited to the dog's nose. In addition, the animals often suffer from scaly, dry and reddened skin in general. Depending on the disease, affected dogs can also experience hair loss.

Dry dog nose: Should I go to the vet?

If your dog has a warm and dry nose for several days and you observe other possible symptoms of an illness in the four-legged friend, such as fever, loss of appetite or digestive problems, a visit to the vet is definitely recommended.

The vet can examine your dog and tell you what is causing the dry dog nose. Depending on the diagnosis, the necessary treatment measures for the dry dog nose and the other symptoms can then be determined.

Natural care for dry dog noses

Depending on the cause, it can make sense to treat the dry dog nose with a suitable care product. This is for example the case if your dog tends to have a dry nose in winter due to heating.

We recommend Bellfor Pfotenschutz (Paw Protection) ointment for this purpose. With its carefully selected ingredients such as insect fat and coconut oil, the rich ointment is not only suitable for the care of stressed dog paws. In addition, it is also a good choice to counteract dry and scaly skin or a dry dog nose.

Get to know Bellfor Pfotenschutz ointment.

Our conclusion on the subject of dry dog noses

As you can see, in most cases there is a perfectly harmless reason for a dry dog nose. However, if you notice any other symptoms in addition to the dry nose, it is quite possible that your four-legged friend is ill.

Although it does not necessarily have to be a serious dog disease, a visit to the vet is advisable to be on the safe side. The veterinarian can usually determine quite quickly why your dog's nose is dry and what treatment measures are necessary.