My two dogs have extemly dry skin and they will not stop scratching.?

Question

The Vet test for maing, but it was negative. We have tried everthing I can think of for high dollar dog foods and special shampoos. They are on K9 advanticks for pest control.

Answer 1

My educated guess is allergies. I've been through this with my dog and it was a real problem particularly pinpointing what is causing the reaction. Over the years he had several course of antibotics and steriods (Prednisone) which would clear up the problem for a while but it would eventually come back. I had read that if you kept them on the steroids all the time you wouldn't have the skin problems but there were also bad side effects to the steriods. I didn't want to put him on the steriods so I tried everything you can imagine - foods, special diets cooked by me, you name it. In the end he was so miserable I went back to the steriods but gave the absolute minimum possible. I gave him a course of the steriods (2 a day for 3 days, 1 a day for 3 days, 1/2 a day for 3 days) then just watched him closely. If he seemed to be itching he would give him 1/2 pill. Within no time I was only giving him 1/2 pill every 2 weeks or so. I found this to be a happy medium to keep his sypmtoms under control without giving him too much steriods. One thing that also seemed to help with the dry skin was rubbing him with a coco butter cream (for humans) after bathing before drying. The posters who suggested teh essentials oils are also on the right track. The olive oil might be okay but I would suggest something formalated for the skin & coat which you can get at Petco like Nutricoat or Dermcaps. Fortunately for my dog we moved about 8 months ago and since the move he has been symptom free. He was able to swim while we were at work before and he wasn't in the a/c so we think that is what is making the difference. Hope you will be able to find out what is bothering your dogs!

Answer 2

Do NOT take the animal off the advantage as another poster mentioned!!! Getting lyme disease or worms or God only knows what intestinal parasite will be much worse (and much more expensive for you to treat) than a case of dry skin.

Put the animals on a food formulated for dry/sensitive skin. Science Diet makes some good quality ones for pretty decent pricing. Also check your humidifier. Perhaps it is just dry in your home. You can also plug in one of those stand alone humidifiers for a few hours a day if you have one. Also try Fish Oil and/or Vitamin E pills. You can get these really cheap (5-8 bucks a bottle at the grocery store in the medicine/vitamin aisle). Depending on their size, give them one or two pills a day. Dont bathe them more than once every 3 months or so. Dogs have oils on their skin that keep the skin healthy and too much bathing will remove the oil, causing dry skin.

If it persists after another few weeks or months, take the animals to a vet to get an allergy test.

Answer 3

"before you try anything new on your dog - do an allergy spot test
just like you would on a person with sensitive skin".

My dog is allergic to grass, she would scratch herself raw and have horrible dandruff. I tried many, many, many things. The sprays and pills from the vet did not work. Here's what did work:
I washed the dog with dog shampoo (I used tearless shampoo with aloe and vitamin E). Then I put Gold Bond Powder on the red spots and hydrocortizone on the raw spots. Then I put a doggy shirt on her so she couldn't lick the stuff off. I am serious, when I checked her the next day, all of the redness was gone!!! She still has a little dandruff, but I brush her every day and that really helps. I keep a shirt on her when she goes outside and wash her once a week. I also changed her food to Purina Beneful. She loves it and it makes her coat very shiny. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

If its not mange or some other parasite as you suggest, and if the special shampoos etc are not working then I think you have an allergy problem. If both dogs have it, it may be a genetic based allergy to something but if they are not related then have a serious look at their environment. Certain plants like "wandering jew" cause allergic reactions but dogs just love to lay in the cool soft creeper. Perhaps there is something in their bedding material or it may even be the irritating dusty grit that comes off dry/seedy grass. I would go back to the vet to get some sort of lotion/and or medication to relieve the itchiness of the skin and also talk to them about the possibility of an allergy.

Answer 5

Did you try a warm bath with oatmeal shampoo and conditioner for dogs.Also for the itching you can use children's benedryl 25 mgs for a med or a large dog if its a small dog call the vet and get the dosage.It will help with itching.theres more than one type of benedryl the one that dogs can have only has one chemical not two .The chemical is diphenhydramine..ask your vet .Make sure you don't use it all the time just when its really bad .I hate to see it when animals take to much pills .If the dogs fur is kinda wet you can use a cream cortisone it spreads easier in wet hair.I never liked the sprays they seem like they sting.Try to stay away from predisone last the last of the last resort .I think its over used these days and it will just mask whats there and the side effect are not so good. Good luck

Answer 6

Try fish oil pills or cod liver pills. Also, some foods have more fatty acids in them for the coat-try one of those. My dog was itching a bit and I went to a food with more fatty acids and started one cod liver pill every other day-the cahnge was huge. Some types of dogs are more prone to skin issues and with winter and dry heat-they will flare up and itch. It is also possible that they have flea dermititus. Even with treatment-one bite can start a reaction. My cat has this and the drops won't kill fleas on contact so he gets a bite and bam-chewing and itchy. If it is very bad my vet gives him a Benydryll shot to calm him through the worst of it. You may want to consider a Benadryll shot and supplements. Good luck-hope they feel better!

Answer 7

It really depends on the breed But i have a dog who gets rash's and dry skin, This is a dermological problem that may cause Uncomfort for the dogs in question, I advise Moisturizer or go back to the vet and see if you can have a cream or balm to put on the area
Hope this helps

Answer 8

well you should definately stop shampooing them because for one thing.. its probably drying out their skin even more.. especially because its winter time (i'm not sure where you live) but the cold weather (if cold at all) combined with the fact that you have most likely been shampooing them more then usual in order to help their skin problem.. is not helping. its probably making it worse.. i can tell you that if you did shampoo and failed to use conditioner that may be a contributing factor in it.. it's not the biggest deal in the world.. but some skin, maybe more sensitive then others.. you may want to, instead of bringing them to the vet, try bringing them to the groomers.. see what they have to say.. they might actually know better.. goodluck<3

Answer 9

Our Doxie has the same problem. This time of year is really dry and hard on the skin. Last year, we got a humidifier for our home, and it has made a big difference for our dog, and for the people in the house. It just adds moisture to the air and keeps it from being quite so dry.

Answer 10

I have the same problem with my dearest mongrel. I give her each other day the Scott emulsion sold OTC or codfish oil, and she has the most beautiful coat I have ever seen in a dog and does not scratch at all.

Of course, I do that only in dry weather.

Have you had the animal scratch tested for fungi? That may also be the problem.

Good luck to tyou and your critters!