Remedies for Dry Skin..

[LizMarie]

I've noticed my dog has been very itchy lately. She's known to have allergies but I noticed that after 2days on her meds NOTHING was working and she was itchy all over (ear, back, tummy, feet, etc / her allergies normally affect her ears). I decided to examine her more closely and noticed her skin is REALLY dry. If you look at her tummy through the hair you can see her skin is flaky very similar to someone that has dandruff. Is there anything to I can do to help her for the time being? I'm planning to take her to the vet as soon as her vet comes back from vacation because he knows us personally and when he sees her face he knows whats wrong. We recently changed her food to Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish from Hills ADD (?) Potato and Veal Diet.

Any advice?

 

[Pepper]

You could try dogs oatmeal shampoo. A lot of groomers use it for dogs with dry skin.

A lot of dogs are allergic to potatoes too.

Have you tried just a chicken based food, like something from wellness? It's grain free.

 

[LeapinLizards]

If you recently changed her food, she is more than likely having an allergic reaction to something in the new stuff. It can get very frustrating trying to pinpoint a dog allergy, but in some cases it's absolutely necessary.

In the meantime Liz, like Sara mentioned, oatmeal shampoos can be very calming for itchy dry skin. I have a Oatmeal and Tea Tree Oil shampoo we use our our dogs that works GREAT for dry skin, plus it makes their coats really shiny and healthy looking.

 

[LizMarie]

My dog always seems itchy. We've gone back and forth between foods and meds and nothing seems to work for too long everything is short lived that the doc is running out of options. He said she might need to get monthly shots if it continues to help her deal. Thankfully her vet has reduced her ear infections from one almost every 3months down to 1-2times a year. I think she might have an issue with chicken too because at first my mom would boil chicken for her against my wishes once I finally got her to stop the ear infections went down.

Thanks for the info all we use is Oatmeal shampoo on her so I'll give her a bath tomorrow morning to sooth the skin. I was actually scared to wash her because I didn't want to wash away her natural oils making the situation worse. Our building was also blasting heat right before the new year even I was itchy was dry skin and running out of lotion because it was getting out of hand.

I wish she could talk. lol

 

[breanna-banana13]

Try fish oil tablets, you can get them from a vitamin store. they are pretty big but in a glob of peanut butter the dog is none the wiser :main_yes:. once a day helped my grams boston terrier. also you could try vit. E oil, just a few drops on their food.

 

[froggz]

Well ground flax seed meal. I add it to Jay's canned food topping and within a month of using it I can see the difference. I add about a teaspoon or less per day, sometimes skipping a day.

 

[LizMarie]

Thanks for ALL the help guys. We ended up taking her to the vet due to her nasty looking ear and it seemed that she still had an ear infection (gr). So she was getting treated for that and was given some derma caps which seem to be the same crap as fish oil tablets, some non-soap shampoo, obviously the antibiotics for the infections and some ear drops. She's acting like a NEW dog and it being a very good girl when taking her medicine! I already see that the dry skin is going away just a little. We continued with the same food and that didn't seem to be the problem since she hasn't itched or anything. The vet asked if we had painted or done an construction and we did have our bathroom redone just before the new year and he mentioned that whatever was used might have sparked an allergy. Cross your fingers because after a $185 vet bill i dONT want to go back for a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery long time.

 

[animalhouse27]

my foster.. a Blue/white Male Pittie.. *Blue pitties tend to have a lot of skin issues* Came to me almost Completly bald on his back..and Spots of Baldness all over. He is on 2000 Mgs of Fish oil.. 2x a day, Plus Dream coat By Halo, Benedryl 2x a day to help his ichies *He rubs his self along my wall when I first got him* And is on Nutro Harring and rice food. And I have had him Close to a month,and he is finally starting to fill in some.. And isn't as flaky or ichy.

Lol So, yea. I do a lot to help my Babies But they are worth it.

What kind of food do you feed the dog?

Also, try to use a Hypo Allergenic Shampoo on the dog.. and limit the baths to 2x a mo. And see if it helps the dry skin.

 

[ctgecko]

HAVE A COUPLE PITS THAT GET DRY SKIN IN THE WINTER AND WE CHANGE THEIR DIET , WE PUT BOILED POTATOES IN THEIR DRY FOOD , SOME TIMES IT WOULD GET BAD , THEY WOULD CHEW THEIR HAIR RIGHT OFF , THE POTATOES REALLY WORK AND IT WAS RECCOMENDED BY MY VET !

 

[ctgecko]

and to many baths will also dry out your dogs skin especially with the wrong shampoo

 

[JordanAng420]

You should bathe the dog no more than once every two weeks...any more will make the skin more dry & prone to flake...

Keep her on the Derma-Caps for the rest of her life...

Benadryl (25mg per 50lbs) can be used for severe flare ups...

This is expensive, but it would be worth it in your case if you could manage it somehow...allergy testing through a blood test will tell you exactly what your pet is allergic to & construct a serum which you inject under the skin weekly to block the reactions to these allergens...

 

[JordanAng420]

I almost forgot...the general rule for switching diets are as follows:
Week 1- 90% old food + 10% new food
Week 2- 80% old food + 20% new food
Week 3- 70% old food + 30% new food
...and so on.

 

[loulovespat]

hi i wondered if anyone could help me...my leopard gecko has dark skin and it was bright does anyone know why its gone dark?? its 80of on the cool side of his tank and also has his heat mat on half way under his hide on the cool side aswel... any idea??