Doggy dandruff - Paw Talk

RSbunny · #1 05-31-2004, 11:32 PM

Well Biscuit has had dandruff since the day I got her but instead of getting better it's getting much worse

She gets fed a natural diet and I'm at a loss as to what to do next!! Last night at training she was just covered in flakes. Could it be because the weather is getting colder? she's not itchy at all so it's not a rash and I've checked her skin and it just looks dry. I'm going to start adding some oils into her diet to see if that helps. I brush her once a week to get rid of all the dead hairs and remove some of those flakes! she only gets bathed once a month or once every 6 weeks so I don't over bath her and when she gets bathed it's with a herbal shampoo that is for dry skin.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! she looks like no-one loves her and that just isn't the case!

Mallory · #2 06-01-2004, 12:34 AM

Aww, Carmen, we know you love her!!

I'm sure no one would ever think that anyways...

I'm not too sure what will help, but Melissa will be full of suggestions... And I think that there is even some other threads about flaky skin that you might find helpful... Try searching, maybe it'll pull them up.

Chinchilla_Girl · #3 06-01-2004, 12:43 AM

That is quite common of bully breeds especially as it starts to get colder and the air dryer...get some Linatone from your local vet or petstore (it's kinda like an oil) and add the recommended amount to Biscuits kibble...this should help greatly with the dry skin flakes. Chances are it may not completely go away (some dogs are more prone than others) but it will keep her from looking like she was out playing in the snow

You also might want to see if you brand of dog food has a formula for dry skin. I've found with Kali and Orion these two things often make a HUGE difference during the dryer winter season. I hope this helps!

Pure14K · #4 06-01-2004, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSbunny


	I'm going to start adding some oils into her diet to see if that helps.

I'm not familiar at all with any of the bull dog breeds, but with my dogs they get lots of different oils in their diet (like I posted before) that are proven coat conditioners. I just got home from vacation, so I don't have time tonight, but I'll definitely look it up for you tommorow & let you know which one's I'd recommend

RSbunny · #5 06-01-2004, 04:38 AM

Thanks nicole!!!
Mandie Biscuit is on a natural diet, like the BARF diet! But yeah the heaters won't be helping it!! We'll be moving soon and we won't have a/c's then so the heat won't be as dry for her!! I still want to get it cleared up though!

Candycane · #6 06-01-2004, 11:46 AM

Sometimes during the winter, we drizzle a little bit of olive oil on Taz's food to keep his skin soft and flake-free.

jmb9101 · #7 06-01-2004, 02:16 PM

Carmen, like Mal said, we have tried tons of different things for flakies since Harlie was born with them...she has always had them terrible. We put Flax seed oil in her food, and it seems to help. We have tried Olive oil too, and it had about the same turn out as the Flax seed oil. With Harlie I notice that she gets a lot more flakes when she is stressed out, or in a different situation that she isnt used to being in...like when we take her to the feed store to socialize her, she gets nervous when people she doesnt know well approach her, and her flakes come alive it seems! Before you know it, she looks like a white dog! We have tried tons of different shampoos and almost none of them even have a small effect...I do know that she has a lot more flakes when its cold...kind of the same as my hair, not flake wise, but static wise...in the winter my hair is always so staticy and I hate it, and I noticed Har's reaction is the dry coat, which flakes and flakes. She has bad days sometimes when she flakes more than others, but for the most part, some oils and a fresh bath help her tons. Good luck!

Pure14K · #8 06-01-2004, 02:28 PM

Your right to offer her some oil like olive. Perhaps you could also try offering her Apricot kernal, sunflower or grapeseed vegetable oil too. (cold pressed ones that you use in massage and definitely not the cooking variety that you get in the supermarkets!!!!) You should not need to apply the oil to her topically as well, it is probally better that she has it internally, otherwise the oils on her coat will atrract dirt - dirt = bathing, bathing =strips coat of oils. Offer her the bottle of the various vegetable oils one at a time (take the top off!). If she sniffs the veg oil and/or licks her lips or mouth then it means she likes that oil and probably needs it. Offer her a little on the palm of your hand or in a bowl, does she lick it up keenly or not so keenly? Does she leave any or seem to want more? If she dosent like the veg oil you offer him she should walk away, turn away, give you a funny look, growl, generally not be interested or gets distracted easily or not sniff it. Let her come to the oils, dont make her smell them. You should be able to tell which oil/s is/are her favorite/s (she might like them all too though!) You can let him have maybe 30-50mls, daily but he may need more or less depending on her size. She should guide you and should not take more than she needs. Offer them to her if you can every morning. The veg oils are better offered to her at this time as they are physical oils.

All of these oils are excellent for the skin and coat and general wellbeing as is calendula (also called marigold) you could try offering her some of this too. If it is dry skin the oils should help her. It works on the princible that the animal chooses it's own remedies as they would have done in the wild, it knows what it needs. Nowadays however animals dont have the accsess to things such as herbs etc as they once would have done in the wild, due to domestication, forest chopping, destruction of natural habitats etc etc. I have used the veg oils on my own dogs and their coats are so shiny I almost need sunglasses when she is in the sun!

I have also had success by in dry bald areas on dogs skin by giving a couple of evening primrose capsules to the dog in question (I pierced the capsules and let her lick the oil off my finger). This also worked with good results, the hair grew back and her skin was no longer dry after about 4-6 weeks.

Good luck

Formula86 · #9 06-03-2004, 05:07 PM

i didn't read all that is above....but penny had dandruff sooo bad, and the flax-seed oil/selsun blue (dandruff shampoo for humans) combo worked really well! no more flakes! make sure you ck with your vet first, though!

RSbunny · #10 06-03-2004, 11:12 PM

ok well I got her started on omega oils 3 and 6 and I've changed her treats. I was training her with commercial treats but the nurse I work with (gives her dog the BARF diet) said that it's probably the preservatives that is upsetting her skin! I bathed her on Wednesday afternoon at work to get rid of all the flakeys and have been using the omega oil and she seems to be doing better. I know it's early but if she keeps up with them real bad I'll start adding more oils into her diet! Also yesterday afternoon she shouted herself to half a bag of Science Diet 'sensitive stomach' dry dog food so I'm sure the preservatives in that won't be good for her!! My boss gave me the bag a few weeks ago cause I was out of natural food and so it was just a fill in for her cause I didn't have time to make anything and it's been in the laundry ever since. Well she didn't eat that night when it was in her bowl but she must've known it was naughty or something so therefore it tasted better!! she came and burped in my face straight after which is how I found out!!! She kept going back in the laundry all last night but surprisingly I'm smarter than her and I moved the food!!! So if her flakes come back with a vengence again I'm going with the preservatives are bad for her skin idea!!!