Dry Flaky Skin

[stripes 401]

I have a young dog with a lot of dry skin, clearly visible even through his coat, after many medicated shampoo washes the problem still exists,, do i attack this from his diet, maybe some oily fish any other ideas welcome,,,, or do i rub a oil into his coat and skin, like baby oil, which would be the most effective, thanks.

[Sirius 1,391]

I have a young dog with a lot of dry skin, clearly visible even through his coat, after many medicated shampoo washes the problem still exists,, do i attack this from his diet, maybe some oily fish any other ideas welcome,,,, or do i rub a oil into his coat and skin, like baby oil, which would be the most effective, thanks.

 

I would recommend you worked from the inside as topical washes etc are not really going to get to the cause. I assume from your post its not irritated or inflamed, just dry and scurfy. Its also quite common in young dogs as they are growing at rate where the skin is constantly changing and shedding, and with dark dogs its far more noticeable.

A good diet is key which contains plenty of fresh meat and veg and some oily fish from time to time will help. If you want add anything supplement wise a good quality Evening Primrose Oil is good for skin health and helps with dry scurfy skin. Cod Liver Oil can also be useful just not too much in the hot weather.

 

Good luck Sirius

Edited May 1, 2013 by Sirius

[stripes 401]

Thanks mate, that has been a good piece of advice, youre right sirius its just very dry it looks for all the world like dandruff,,,, if you rub the dogs coat against the grain you really see how bad it is.. atb stripes.

[beast 1,884]

those are wise words from sirius, plenty of oil in the diet, i have always used cod liver but there are others as the man said which may be better. plenty of grooming too, at least twice a day for a few minutes, can help to stimulate the tiny blood vessels in the skin and will let you see what progress is being made

[steve2507 522]

I had this with my deerx and a lad on another site advised me to rub olive oil mixed with lemon juice all over the area after a week of this i seen a difference hope this helps atb Steve

[sandymere 8,263]

Some dogs, like some humans, are more prone to skin problems than others and this can be exacerbated by molting in spring and autumn. Fish oil may well help when added to the diet.

I would imagine rubbing oil into the coat/skin may have an effect similar to humans using moisturizers if done sensible, the baby oil for the whole dog sounds as good as anything or perhaps another perfume free human product like Diprobase or E45 might work for localized areas (dependent on what it contains as dogs unlike humans may well like a bit off).

Its one of those things where cure isn’t necessarily a long term outcome but management to minimize the symptoms is.

Not sure about the lemon juice.

 

A 2010 narrative review of the evidence for various approaches to treating canine skin allergies concluded that there was some evidence that fish oil supplements can improve coat quality and reduce the dosage of steroid medications needed to control itching, but that these effects are small and not great enough to substitute for other therapies. There is also not evidence to support the use of any particular source, dosage, or formulation of fish oil over any other. (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ )

 

http://www.webmd.boots.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/news/20130430/evening-primrose-oil-eczema

Edited May 14, 2013 by sandymere

[nicola1804 114]

Took one of mine to the vet last year for this as I had tried everything . She gave me some shampoo and told me to give her a daily dose of piriton said it is a seasonal alergy. I have started her on the tablets again this year and so far so good.

[Diana Curtis 0]

I can highly recommend a natural shampoo to aid with the dry flaky skin. I have been recently introduced to it for one of my Estrela Mountain Dogs (double coated breed. He started with it on and off anout two years ago and all investigations have come up inconclusive. Perfectly fine in himself, just think he's one of those dogs! ) Anyway, I prefer natural rather than chemicals/steroids etc, so did some investigating. Introduced to company at a dog show called MD-10 and purchased some of the'Capturine' Calendula - for itchy and irritated skin. Don't bath the dogs as a rule, but used this to calm things down and clear off anything that may be on the skin or in the coat. Fantastic results!!! Very next day skin was softer/smoother, less aggravated, coat was shining. I did this bath at the beginning of June (they recommend using it neat to start with) and he's not had another, but results are still there. One happy dog and one happy owner!

[onion jonny 527]

perhaps its scurf often called walking dandruff get some seleen shampoo leave it on for 10min then rinse, you said it looked like dandruff and so does this but its actually a mite that moves so slowly the naked eye doesnt see it, worth a try