What Else Can We Do??

Question

WE HAVE A 5 MONTH OLD DOBERMAN, AND SHE HAS SUCH DRY SKIN. WE WASH HER IN AN OATMEAL BASHED SHAMPOO THE VET GAVE US, AND GIVE HER THE PILLS WITH THE OILS INSIDE OF THEM. BUT SHE STILL HAS SUCH FLAKY SKIN. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO, OR ANYTHING BETTER? I GIVE HER A BATH ONCE A WEEK IN THE SHAMPOO AND LEAVE IT ON FOR 5-10 MINS AND GIVE HER ONE PILL A DAY.

THANKS!

YES SHE IS A RED FEMALE

Answer 1

You can quit bathing her all the time. You do not need to bath a doberman weekly, or even monthly. Take a damp cloth and wipe her down with plain water. You are drying the heck out of her skin and coat, and removing the essential oils that are there naturally to keep her from being dry...

Is she red?
Reds tend to have a dryer type coat than the blacks.
It's a harder coat, and the reds won't really feel quite as silky soft as the blacks do. Try to keep her from laying in the sun too much..Don't feed Eukanuba or Iams, they tend to burn the coat..
I would give her a couple Omega 3 capsules daily to help with the coat. Also would add applecider vinegar to her drinking water. Just about a teaspoon to each bowl of water. Helps keep away fleas, blackflies, mosquitos and everything else as well..
But it will help to make her coat as soft as it can be.

You can also take applecider vinegar and put some in water, take a cloth and wipe her down. Smells like vinegar til she dries, but does wonders with the coat.
Also a good natural kibble, without corn, wheat, by products etc. Use the Bragg's applecider vinegar... It's the best for both the drinking water and their wipedown.

Answer 2

Shampooing that much will only make the flaky skin worse, not better. A short coated dog like that should only be bathed when absolutely necessary, once every few months. In between baths you can wipe her with baby wipes. Leaving the shampoo on to 'soak' is probably also making the situation worse.

Are you feeding a high-quality food? Crappy grain-filled kibble will also make this condition worse.

You can buy fish oil from any health food store, and that will help to condition her skin.

Answer 3

I have a short hair dachshund and I use baby shampoo on her, but I don't give her a bath that much. Giving her a bath every week seems to dry her out more. Try the baby shampoo and make sure that you rinse all of the shampoo out. If not that can cause the skin to be dry too. I hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 4

One thing the others haven't mentioned - what are you feeding her? A premium high quality food would be my recommendation - low quality food fed dogs often can be spotted at 20 paces by the dry skin & coat and oil capsils may never make up.
But yeah a weekly bath is definatally adding to the situation.

Answer 5

Vaseline is not good for dogs or people it is made from Petroleum (gas bi-product). Talc will dry out the skin more because it will soak up her natural oils.

My dog has short hair and was always itchy on the hind quarters. I feed her raw meat and all the following (1 capsule): fish oil, flax oil, biotin (2 capsules and my vet suggested this one). I also add raw vegetables to her food. She loves them including kale. She only gets a bath when she starts to smell over powering and then I use natural soap made with essential oils. This has helped her 90%.

Answer 6

My dog has dry skin, and I was told not to bath him too often because the water will dry out his skin. Even though you are using the oatmeal shampoo, I would think that the water is drying out her skin.

Answer 7

The other answers are right- too many baths will dry out a dog's skin something awful! Also, try adding a little bit of olive oil to your dog's meals (not too much- about a tablespoon will do).

Answer 8

She really shouldn't be bathed that often. Once a month tops/ You might want to increase the fat content in her diet, ie oils, grease. Also you might want to have them check her thyroid.

Answer 9

a dog should be given a bath only TWICe A MONTH

Answer 10

comb her with talc and oils each day