Our dog has dry skin - any advice?

[CMC122]

I give my girls a treat of olive oil once a week with their food. They absolutely love it and their coats look awesome

[leonardtowngal]

Originally Posted by CMC122

I give my girls a treat of olive oil once a week with their food. They absolutely love it and their coats look awesome

How much do you use? My dog is 20 pounds.

[CMC122]

Originally Posted by leonardtowngal

How much do you use? My dog is 20 pounds.

The girls are 40 pounds and I give them 2 teaspoons mixed with their food on Sundays

[CalvertNewbie]

Originally Posted by CMC122

The girls are 40 pounds and I give them 2 teaspoons mixed with their food on Sundays

I'm sure Jake would love it, too! Thanks for the idea.

[sanchezf (Premo)]

Also try washing Jake with an oatmeal based shampoo, it cuts down on dry and scaly skin and itching...

[DAMCAM]

I have been giving my dogs raw eggs for over 16 years and never had a problem. Two of the three dogs I own now are on a raw diet. If it wasn't for my other dog having food allergies he would be on it as well. Dogs digest food different from us because their digestive track is much shorter. The chance of them coming down salmonella is not great at all. You would be surprised to find that most dogs carry salmonella to begin with and shed it in their feces. I'm sure this will stir up a hornets nest but tell me your dog has never gotten into the trash, counter surfed, or found a dead animal and ate it.

RAW BONES ARE FINE - COOKED BONES ARE DANGEROUS

I grind all of my chicken, but cant grind turkey..... bones are too big I have been feeding raw for about a year now and have had no problems, my dogs teeth are whiter than white, no doggie breath, healthy and shiny coats, less poo .... the only thing is its a little more time consuming - but I don't mind.

As for the absorption problem.... egg whites are said to be the culprit but the yolk carries a great amount biotin. I also do supplement with Omega 3, 6 & 9 oils and other various vitamins.

I work at the vet/emergency hospital and in all my years I have never seen any animal present with salmonella. All of my vets I work with and the holistic vet my dogs go to are supportive of the raw diet. I will admit I was worried and cautious when I started it and now a year later I will never turn back!

I do agree with don't do steroids unless it is necessary! And make sure you feed a PREMIUM DOG FOOD! (not Ol' Roy, or Pedigree)

[keekee]

Originally Posted by DAMCAM

...And make sure you feed a PREMIUM DOG FOOD! (not Ol' Roy, or Pedigree)

Can you (or anyone) recommend a good brand of dog food for a dog with skin problems? ...I don't have time to cook for my dogs. I have a little Jack Russell/Dachshund/Beagle mix, and she gets skin infections every summer. I usually end up doing antibiotics, because that's what the vet says to do. I've never felt really good about pumping meds into her all the time. And last time I took her in, Dr. Macubbin (sp?) at STM Vet ticked me off when I asked whether there was something else I could use, maybe something topical. She was pretty condescending, in fact I was so ticked I was thinking about switching vets when I left there! So I've been reading on the web and it sounds like diet can really help if not totally get rid of the skin infections. I currently feed my dogs Iams Chunks.

Any "anti-skin infection" dog food suggestions?

Thanks!

[CalvertNewbie]

Thank you, everyone, for all the great suggestions. I have to leave for the Caps game but I'll be going to the store tomorrow for some fish oil caps and some oatmeal based shampoo. Jake has an appt with the vet tomorrow - I think I'll avoid any sort of meds for now and try the other suggestions first. Talk to you all tomorrow!

[godsbutterfly]

Originally Posted by keekee

Can you (or anyone) recommend a good brand of dog food for a dog with skin problems? ...I don't have time to cook for my dogs. I have a little Jack Russell/Dachshund/Beagle mix, and she gets skin infections every summer. I usually end up doing antibiotics, because that's what the vet says to do. I've never felt really good about pumping meds into her all the time. And last time I took her in, Dr. Macubbin (sp?) at STM Vet ticked me off when I asked whether there was something else I could use, maybe something topical. She was pretty condescending, in fact I was so ticked I was thinking about switching vets when I left there! So I've been reading on the web and it sounds like diet can really help if not totally get rid of the skin infections. I currently feed my dogs Iams Chunks.

Any "anti-skin infection" dog food suggestions?

Thanks!

Science Digest for Sensitive Skin. We had a little Pembroke Welsh Corgi and her hair was literally falling out from dry skin. The vet put her on this and it worked wonders for her! PetCo has it.

[CalvertNewbie]

Originally Posted by sanchezf

Also try washing Jake with an oatmeal based shampoo, it cuts down on dry and scaly skin and itching...

Well, we brought Jake to the vet yesterday and she also recommended using an oatmeal based shampoo. She gave us a supplement (basically oil & vitamins) to put on his food daily.

She drew blood to test for a possible thyroid issue (he's 9 lbs overweight) or any other issues - she said that could cause fur loss in a symetrical pattern and he has 2 patches, one on each side. She said that he appears to be in good health. Now that we finally finished putting our fence up he'll be able to run around even more and shed a little weight.