Dandruff

[vicarrieous]

Anyone have suggestions on how to eliminate dandruff in my 4 month Kip? He's a tri so it is very noticable. I only bathe him about every 2 week since I heard that it can dry out their sensitive skin. I use an oatmeal shampoo and creame rinse but the little specs are EVERYWHERE! I dont see him scratching alot so I dont think its an irratation and his skin is not red. We live in WI so our winter air is VERY dry.

Thanks for your input!

[shippers]

Perhaps you could try bathing Kipling less often to encourage the oils to stay in his coat. I would take him to the vet because there could be a mite in there which he needs treatment for. Also fish oils such as salmon oil from pet shops is good for the skin. I would definitely consult your vet though to be sure. Sometimes allergies can cause skin irritation too. Hope this helps.

[vicarrieous]

We were just at the vet last week and they were not concerned. They did not think it was allergies or mites of any sort. They suggested the creame rinse and said to bathe once every 2-3 weeks.

[Caraline]

It may not be true dandruff which I think is now believed to be caused by a parasite in the skin (not 100% sure about that). It could simply be dry skin and it is natural for skin to shed its old layers. It does look unsightly though.

I'd probably add a little Omega3 & Omega6 to the diet. This can be obtained naturally from the skin of fish, but also from supplements like fish oil & flax seed oil. I am pretty sure there are a number of oils that contain these. Don't use cod-liver oil though, as this can be toxic in certain quantities.

[Barbara Nixon]

I'd only bath when a dog really needs one, as grooming will usually clean them up nicely. Have you tried a fish oil or fishskins ? My springers always had scurfy coats, if they didn't get their daily oil.

[Karlin]

A few thoughts -- puppies often just have dry skin that goes away as they get older; sometimes 'dandruff' is actually flaky skin caused by rabbit mites but if he had this he'd also be itchy; washing every 2-3 weeks is far too frequently for most dogs IMHO. Especially puppies with their shorter coats don't need this much bathing and the bathing strips out protective skin and coat oils. Most vets recommend once every three-four months max to use shampoos and only ever dog specific shampoos as their pH is different from human pH and human shampoos would be especially harsh. If you feel he is grubby you can just rinse in warm water and towel dry and that takes out 95% of any dirt on the coat. If you are blow drying every two weeks that is very hard on skin too.

[vicarrieous]

You are probably right when you say dry skin. I am using an oatmeal based puppy shampoo and creame rinse but we will hold off on the bathing for awhile.

Thanks