Dry Skin or Allergies?

Charlie is 3 months old today! He's such a blessing...

Anyhow, for the last few weeks, Charlie has been scratching his body and biting his legs quite a bit, especially right after he wakes up. I noticed that he has pretty dry skin, and it some spots very large flakes (dandruff). I took him to the vet for his 2nd set of shots recently, and they couldn't find a reason for the dry skin, and ruled out mites/lice etc. (we gave him a topical ointment just in case).

I bought him Omega 3 fish oil from the drug store (for human consumption, but my vet said it was ok for him too) and poured one into his breakfast for the last 4 days. I also bought a spray called Avena Sativa which is supposed to help with dry itchy skin. I also put on the humidifier because it’s awfully dry in here.

I was originally concerned that maybe he had an allergy to his food -- he is on Eagle Pack Holista Chicken Meal and Oatmeal. Would this cause the itchy skin? Or, is it likely this is caused by the dry air?

Anyone else run into a similar situation?? Anything else you would recommend doing?

Thanks in advance.

I haven't had a chance to install my camera software yet, so no pics yet again...I'll try this weekend!

Yup my puppy is a walking flower girl throwing confetti all over my house!

I am brushing her to try and stimulate her natural oils, using puppy wipes with skin conditioners etc.. I thought about food allergy but the petstore suggested waiting because her digestive system is not fully developed. They felt most food allergies cause loose stools with the dandruff and since hers were loose but the recent switch firmed them, to not switch again. I also read the fish oil takes a few wks to a mth so give it time. If it doesnt help then maybe consider the food.

Wesley is the exact same. I'm giving him the fish oil tablets now and things are finally starting to improve. He really knaws at his right leg a lot. And his back is very flakey.

what strenth fish oils do you give your pups?

I give Zoey a 1000mg capsule of Fish oil in the morning, the a 600mg capsule of Flax/fish/borage oil combo in her food at night. It has worked WONDERS on her coat. It is incredibly glossy when two weeks ago it was dull and SUPER flakey. Good luck!

I'm giving Charlie 1000 mg of fish oil a day (an anchovy/salmon/mackeral mix) which is 180 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA. I may add some to his supper too. The vet said flax seed oil is good too, so I might add some of that...

I just feel awful for Charlie. Poor little guy looks like he might chew his leg off sometimes. I'm praying this works!!!

If you have bathed Charlie, make sure you completely rinse the shampoo off, otherwise that could make him itchy and flaky.
Hope he's better soon! :flwr: :flwr: :flwr:

Cathy Moon said:

If you have bathed Charlie, make sure you completely rinse the shampoo off, otherwise that could make him itchy and flaky.
Hope he's better soon! :flwr: :flwr: :flwr:

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And don't use perfumed shampo either as this will make it worse :?

You could also try tying up some oatmeal in some muslin and soaking it in warm water then using the water as a final rinse - don't wash it out!

This is very soothing for inflamed, itchy skin. You could also ask the Vet about anti-histamines although I really am not sure what age they can have them from.

Did your Vet do a skin scrape for Cheyletiella mites? They cause 'dandruff' and itchy skin in dogs. I remember my breeder phoning me in panic the day after we brought Maxx home, telling me to get him to the vets and get him tested as one of her older dogs had them. You can't see them with the naked eye, they use a microscope.

Have you been itching after holding him at all?

Did the vet tell you how much fish oil to give?

I use fish oil and give 3 x 1000mg a day (vets advice) the dogs love them and have had them from being 6 months old.

I would also suggest an oatmeal based shampoo and conditioner or leave in conditioner. Make sure you rinse very well though.
I use virbac episoothe shampoo and resisoothe leave in conditioner. Not sure if you can get these in your area ? The episoothe you can use in between baths also to soothe.

Brush, brush and brush again this helps to stimulate the skin, I give the boys a good groom everyday. It also helps as you can check the skin at the same time and see if it is getting better or worse, if its more hot than normal or pink etc ?

The scratching associated with food allergy is usually mostly around the face, ears and neck. Are these problem areas aswell as the legs ?

The spray for dry skin you are using, is that for humans ? If so I would maybe rethink its use or check with the vet as a lot of what is good for human skin is very bad for doggy skin as they have a different ph.

If after a bit of trial and error with grooming, shampoo's and fish oil you still feel there is a problem or if the problem starts to get worse I would suggest keeping a diary, record exactly what is eaten when for the day, environment eg, playing in the grass in garden or sleeping on carpet this sort of thing and times of scratching, duration and where on the body. This can be very valuble when diagnosing this sort of thing.
Hopefully it is something simple. Good luck with it all.

I went to Tail Blazers today and picked up Charlie a bottle of Cold Water Fish Oil, because opening the capsules was starting to be a pain. I also decided to change his food -- he is going on Raw! I did a lot of reading about it and am comfortable, so I bought him his first pack of Bison patties. He'll get his first in the morning. He scratches/bites everywhere he can, poor baby. If it is an allergy, this should help.

The spray I bought was from the vet. But, after spraying him, I realized I would only be covering up his problem. He doesn't like it much, but it seemed to help a little.

I haven't bathed him yet. I don't want to until it's absolutely necessary. I have been looking for shampoos, but have yet to come across one I want. I think I will have to order online. I will definitely try an oatmeal one with no perfume.

OH!!! and I bought a Furminator today! It works great...so much better than a regular brush.

At the vet they said they could do a skin scraping, but couldn't find a good spot (apparently there needs to be a scab or something???). He did have the topical Revolution, which they said would get rid of any parasite. He's still itching, so I don't think that was the problem. Good to note for the future though....

Thanks for all the advice, I'll keep you updated.

If the cold water fish oil doesnt help I'll let you know if I have success with something I bought this weekend. Its called Dr Maggies and a few vets around here recommend it. Its all just omega 6 and 9's - Kodee just licks it right off the spoon. Its Canadian but sold in the U.S. too. http://www.drmaggie.ca I wont know if it works for about 3 wks I think.