Dog question - what to do for very dry skin?

[always quiet]

Our little furball, Tazz - a Pom-Chow mix, has got VERY dry and itchy skin. When you brush hi, his coat fills up with flakes. He is extremely itchy too. I have used treatments to help with the itchy and have purchased shampoo for dry skin but nothing is offering him relief. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Is there a supplement that you can give your furbabies that could stop the dry skin before it starts? I had asked the sales person in Petsmart a couple weeks ago and she really wasn't of any help. Just suggested the oatmeal shampoo. It's tough when you shampoo him too...the book we had got when we first got him recommends using a hair dryer after his bath because if you let him air dry, it takes so long because his coat is so thick, he could develop hot spots!! When you use the hair dryer...it dries the skin!!


PLEASE HELP MY POOR LITTLE HAIR-BALL!

 

[TiggerTails57]

Talk to your vet.............mine gave me some capsules for my cat who had the same thing. It also could be some kind of allergy.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

How often do you shampoo? We really don't shampoo our dogs unless they get into something that requires it. We try and spot clean if we can get away with it.

What dog food do you feed him? I would start there, esp. if this is year round and not seasonal. There is something missing in his diet or he may have a medical condition?

Now my dogs are shedding we brush them daily and it is bringing out the oil into their coat, making it shiny.

Lots of dog owners on this board, I hope they can help you. I am a newbie and just learning myself.

 

[Skatermom23]

I just had our Pom at the groomers and she suggested I mix in 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil with his food. I haven't tried it yet but will tomorrow morning.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Bathe him in Tide powdered laundry detergent. Our dog had an allergic reaction to a flea dip and lost all of his hair which made his skin dry and flaky. Tide worked wonders.

 

[DVC Sadie]

We shampoo one of our labs with oatmeal shampoo and oatmeal skin conditioner,. She also takes Omega 3 capsules she gets from the vets which seems to help a lot. HTHs

 

[damo]

I suggest the Omega 3 as well.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We have forced hot air in our house and in the winter we often see dry skin as you've described on our dogs. Our vet suggests adding a bit of oil to their food (olive or vegetable). When we do that it helps. I agree be careful about overbathing, it can take the natural oils away. (LOL, I'm not sure about the Tide either ).

 

[Magickndm]

My grey had very dry skin when we got him which is very common in the breed. I did some research and found that Missing Link was what many owners who had the same problem used.
After just a week or so his coat was soft and shiny and the dry skin was not a problem.
Here's a link to it:
http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=170

edited to add that you can pick this up at PetSmart and probably any pet store.

 

[always quiet]

Hmm...we also have forced hot air heat!! We went out today and bought a liquid for dogs to take that contains the Omega oils...along with a bunch of other "natural" oils. He hates taking pills so we thought the liquid form would go down easier...one tsp. per day. Thanks for the advice!!

 

[goofy4tink]

Not so many baths, some Omega 3 oils or Linetone. The Missing Link product has been suggested to me also.

 

[ZachnElli]

When I was growing up we had a lab that had dry skin. Our vet at the time said to give her an egg a day. My parents made her an egg every morning and it cleared right up and we had a VERY happy lab!

 

[lewdyan1]

We have done the egg every third day and a little olive oil mixed in the food daily. It should help!

 

[paigevz]

We rescued a Boston with this problem. The vet prescribed Prednisone.........said it was likely an allergy. He still has issues with it, but not as bad as before the medicine.

 

[tuckerkeys]

we have 2 golden retrievers, 1 with very bad skin & allergies. you need to help your dog FROM THE INSIDE OUT! #1 try fish oil pills ( you can get a big bottle from costco or bj's for $10, or walmart or cvs) for the omega 3's #2. if you can, switch his food to a holistic brand....he is most likely allergic to something in the conventional dog food. our dog is allergic to wheat and cornmeal... eagle pack is a holistic brand, so is back to basics and wellness. they DO NOT sell this at the petsmarts, but at the smaller, local pet food places. the closest place we have that is a "chain" type that sells the eagle pack food is called pet value. we have our girls on the duck and oatmeal base. lots of dogs are also allergic to other animal proteins ( beef and chicken) so if they are eating an animal protein that they have never been exposed to before, then this is good for their skin. i have seen kangaroo meat, duck, anchovie base, the stuff gets weird, but it works!!!!! a 30lb bag sells for 30-35$. it is exp. but i have not had to use steroids for her itching, no shots, and she is doing %100 better! no hot spots for almost 3 yrs too! good luck!!!

 

[lovetheparks]

My pups take 3V tabs - they are full good stuff to make their coats shiny. My 1 yo rat terrier gets incredibly flakey if I don't give one (sometimes 2) daily.

Best price I found was vetamerica.com - These were vet recommended but they want 13.99/bottle there as opposed to the 7.00 I can get online.

 

[Disney Doll]

Fewer baths. Add some oil to the food. Give the dog some fatty stuff once in a while too. My DH will prepare chicken, and take the "schmutz" (you know, the slimey stuff that you trim off and usually throw away) and put it in a frying pan with some oil and fry it till it's crispy and we give it to the dog, maybe 1/2 cup worth, every day. His coat is great when we do that.