Minature Schnauzers?

Question

I have a 9 year old Schnauzer with what the vet describes as Schnauzer skin. She is just sooo itchy. Does anyone know a none medication remedy that might help her?

I will add what we have done so far, the vet changed her food to the Solid Gold Brand that is suppose to be more organic. We did that in August. They put her on an antibiotic for a month and a steroid. She cleared up until the steroid was gone and she has been on a maintenance dose, but can't stay on that forever !.
She does not have fleas and it seems to be her whole back that is affected, but she does scratch around her face. She has bumps on her back.

sorry, a question many of you asked why not keep her on steroids... She also has pancreatitis, so have to watch her fats, and steroids.

Answer 1

Try a half teaspoon of olive oil in schnauzer's dinner. Brush her coat, but do not bathe her too freqently. You should see some improvement in a short period of time.

Answer 2

Tea Tree Oil shampoo for bathing, and also switch to a premium dog food. Depending on the animal, you could use Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice, Royal Canin, or maybe Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard. Nutro will be the best compromise between cost and nutrition, with the Wellness likely being the most expensive. Whatever you switch to, don't feed: Science Diet ANYTHING, Purina Pro Plan, Purina One, or Iams. Also, anything you can find at a local grocery store is crap. The difference in everything I've named is the amount of corn, non-edible byproducts, or other fillers in the food. A lot of those "meals" you'll find in the dog food are made from stuff that wouldn't be edible otherwise, and a dog cannot digest all that stuff. The nutrients that are provided are not complete, it's all just enough to keep a dog in the "healthy" range. With breeds like Schnauzers, Yorkies, Shih Tzus, and others, they tend to have an allergy to corn and by-products, and it usually manifests itself in itchy skin. The premium brands I named use either very little or no corn, lots of human-grade meats for protein, and healthy grain meals such as rice or oats. So once you switch to the good food, after about a month you should see a reduction in itchiness, also her breath should smell better, her poo will get smaller and more compact, and there will be less smell. It's an all-around good thing!

Answer 3

We have owned 2 Schnauzers and they both had terrible skin problems. The first one was on steroids most of her life. She lived to be 18. The one we now have is having all the same problems. These are great little dogs but are prone to Schnauzer skin.

Answer 4

You need to get your miniature schnauzer shaved by a groomer. Also brush him. There are sections of his coat that will be long and you have to brush him every day. I had a miniature schnauzer and she loved getting brushed. I also learned how to groom her myself and the cost for the shears is a very good investment. Do not by any means get the dog stripped. The groomer will always shave the stomach area clean so that you can see the skin and will leave some hair on his little penis.

Answer 5

NAME THAT ITCH
Does your dog flail with hind leg or nibble between his toes?Where your pet itches can tell a lot about what's causing the problem.Pets with fleas,for example,usually scratch the rear half of their bodies,especially above the tail and down the back of the legs.The pattern is like a Christmas tree pattern along their back.If your dog has hay fever,however, it is usuallly the front half that itches.Front-half itching causes face-rubbing,foot-licking,armpit-scratching and neck-and-chest-scratching.If your dog is itching all over,he could have a food allergy.Some pets that itch all over also have flaky skin or greasy coats-a condition vets call seborrhea.But if those flakes of skin start to move,watch out:Your pet may have a case of "walking dandruff" ,which is really a skin parasite called Cheyletiella.

Allergies:

To ease itchy skin:

- a cool-water soak

- vets sometimes recommend adding colloidal oatmeal (like Aveeno) to the bath water

- use a antihistamine, such as benadryl (ask vet first for prescription.Remember it may take lots of diffrent antihistamines before you find one that actually works. Probably a 4 to 6 day trial of each will indicate which works.

- try fatty acid supplements.

- pollen sometimes causes allergies, so try not to bring him outside a lot during peak pollen times.

- make sure the house is always very dust and pollen free.

- give him a foot soak in Epsom salts for a bout 5 -10 minutes then gently dry her feet. Don't let her drink the water as it can act as a laxative.

Now, also before using any of the stuff above, go over it with your vet to make sure it's okay to use.

I hope this is helpful and please keep me updated! Sending wagging tails your way!

However a cool bath should help temporarily while you look over some things with the vet...

Try canidea all life stages...great food no by-products...stay away from Nutro brands, Royal Canin, look for a premium food of www.dogfoodanalisis.com one to six star rated foods with ingredients....you will find a good food here...Royal canin contains ingredients that may cause stress to the kidneys, liver, cause ear infections, yeast infections...allergies, aslo contain an ingredient known as saw dust....???? look into that site...your best resource..

Answer 6

I had a schnauzer mix and he had skin troubles also, but we kept him on the steroids, and he lived to be 15 , so Im not sure why you dont want him on them, if it works, why not.

Answer 7

Flax seed oil added daily (1 tsp) to your schnauzer's food is the best remedy I have found for dry skin. Good luck.

Answer 8

Most health food stores sell Aloe Vera Juice. Buy one that is 100% organic. Put this into a spray bottle, do not dilute it, and apply a heavy mist to the affected areas daily. Lightly rub as to get it onto the skin. It will reduce the itching. I use it on my parrot to ease her itching and dry skin.

Please research at the following:

http://www.lilyofthedesert.com/

Answer 9

My vet had me to add a cap full of vegetable oil to my dogs food & she loves it. It keeps her skin from drying out & makes her coat shiny. My neighbor had this problem with her dog she also gets a viteman e gel and rubs it into her dogs skin it helps alot.

Answer 10

this is going to sound aweful
i would have her clipped down as short as possible by either the vet or the groomer
i mean really short, like with a #15 or #30 short

and get some yogurt into her diet, a tbsp per day

and ask yourv vet for chlorhexaderm shampoo, and with her very short hair, bathe her weekly, in it