What can you do for a dog with dry skin?

Question

I recently adopted a dog a few weeks ago. He's two years old. Tito has very dry skin and is always scratching and biting himself. He's fela free and I bathe him in a shampoo with oatmeal. What else can I do for him? His skin is scabbing up and he's scratching himself raw, I'd like for him to be able to be more comfortable. Thanks! :o)

I feed him good quality food: Nutro Natural Choice-Small Bites

Answer 1

First see a vet. Second, too many baths will dry him further. Third, poor quality foods can cause the condition you describe. Our pets need quality pet food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient. California Natural, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359& more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoods.nsf/$$PetFoodsByRating?OpenForm

Answer 2

I have had a couple of dogs that have had similar problems. One had contact dermatitis and the other was predisposed for skin problems due to his coat color.

Cortisone pills help but are hard on the system but in dire cases it helps.

There are many things that can cause to dogs skin to scale and crust up and it would take a Vet to determine what the cause is. It could be mange also or some kind of mite, a Vet would take a skin scraping and check for that.

It could also be hot spots. A trip to the Vet is the best I can offer. There are just too many things it could be.

One thing that you could do is to take your dog to a groomer and have it stripped so that the fur is not in all the raw spots and it also makes it easier to treat if the coat is gone. You will probably see more spots once this is done but it is a lot easier to treat once you can see where all the spots are.

You can use hemorrhoid medication to stop the itch and irritation or cortisone cream or when you bathe him grind up some oat meal into a fine powder and make a paste out of it and apply a layer on your dog and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Then rinse it off.

Answer 3

WOW sounds like my poor puppy! The vet gave me this to give him and it has worked wonders: Derm Caps ES.
It will take a couple of days to start working but it really has helped my dog. He has been on them for about a year and he rarely ever scratches of bites himself now. Good luck

Answer 4

Start with quality food and Omega 3 fatty acids. Stop bathing him - constant bathing makes the problem worse. Have you addressed the issue with your Vet? Have you ruled out fleas, ringworm, demodex and scarcoptic mange?
Have you had him allergy tested? This would be the next step.
If it turns out to be allergies you can treat him simply with childrens benadryl or your Vet may choose shots.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

My dog has a serious problem with dry skin - but only in winter. during the warm months he is perfectly fine. I have taken him to the vet and spent hundreds of dollars for tests and come up with nothing. I have tried changing his diet, adding supplements, nothing works. So my suggestion, keep him clean. but only bath once or a month - maybe twice depending on how often he is outside and how dirty he gets. Its probably allergy to something - mine is allergic to something in the air that stays cooped up in the air in the winter... with no open windows and furnace on - its environmental.. with yours it depends on situation. my dog has been on antibiotics for infections he causes himslelf, he has been on antihystemines.. but they dont work. not much you can do but scratch him alot when you can so he doesnt dig himself. i just sit with mine at night and let him lay next to me and rub his back and belly - he loves it and it distracts him from the itching.

Answer 7

mix 1 part neem oil with 1 part grapeseed oil, and massage him thoroughly with this. Make it a treat for him by giving him his favorite treat while working with him, like bacon or peanut butter. You can get neem over the internet or in Indian stores and grapeseed oil can be purchased at asian markets. I had a dog that was like that and treated her with betadine before i knew about neem oil and it cured her, but her hair never grew back!! at least her skin was black so she didn't look bad.

Answer 8

Your local pet store should have some supplements you can give him. Ask for Lipiderm products, they are designed for skin and coat.

Answer 9

try giving him one cod liver oil pill per day. my dog chews them up (the inside is liquid and it smells horrible, so you might want to do this outside). the pills can be found in the vitamin section and are fairly inexpensive.

Answer 10

try adding fish oils to it's diet..perhaps a little cod liver oil.............also stay away from the oatmeal soap it works as an abrasive and may actually be harming your pet