Dog in need of dog grooming?

Question

My 4 month old Shiba Inu is on Frontline plus and still has some fleas on him occasionally, on top of that I see that he has dry skin. When I pet him I see flakes of skin. I also am noticing that he is losing fur, maybe shedding? I know shibas shed 2 times a year...
SOOOO....would it be a good idea to take him to a dog groomer to get him professionally bathed/flea dipped to help with dry skin?
OR would it be too harsh on him to get a flea dip since he has dry skin?
Don't tell me to take him to the vet to get him checked out...he has an appointment on Friday anyways...

Answer 1

Hello, as a professional groomer for 11yrs I'd like to help.
My first question is..
1. what do you feed your dog? what type of food?
Usually discount brands, the ones sold in grocery stores and Pedigree are basically like feeding your child Mc Donalds everyday. They can cause dry skin (obesity, internal problems and more) from poor quality ingredients.
A premium dog food like Solid Gold, Innova, Natural Balance may be a nice start.
You can also drop a 200mg vitaimn E in the dogs food (or in a treat) everyday.
2. Shibas "blow coat" 2 times a year and yes, professional grooming will help. Groomers use a "forced air dryer" which is a high forced blow dryer, it will blow out excess shedding hair much more so than brushing ever will. A regular schedule with a groomer (every 4-5 weeks will help even more)
3. K9Advantix works better than Frontline but Frontline is fine.
Fleas can be on your dog with the frontline on him, it doesn't kill them immediatly. If there are fleas where your dog is (they can live in your carpet, furniture etc) so you need to treat your home as well.
4. Flea dipping is awful for dogs. A real dip is NOT washed off. The dog is dipped the left to dry with the chemicals on him. (a flea bath will only kill what is on the dog, when he enters the home fleas can jump right back on) A dip will kill fleas that jump on but also dry out the skin.
Your vet may try to sell you expensive products (omega 3 tabs ext..you don't need them)
In closing..
A food change to a high quality food (solid gold had omega 3 fish oils and human grade ingredients) a vitamin E tab once a day, a regualr schedule of professional grooming and frontline or K9Advantix every month (wait a week after or before application for a bath) will do your dog a world of good.

Answer 2

Some say that the topicals, frontline and advantage and advantage plus, are losing their edge on fleas. I sure hope not. I hate the thought of dipping a dog in pesticides... so any kind of flea bath, unless there is absolutely NO other way, would never be a choice for me.

The flakes may be from diet. Most grocery chain foods are really just junk. They may meet the alleged daily requirements, but they do little more if that.

Dogs, like people, come in grades of skin... dry to very oily. The object is to feed a food that is of high grade with no corn, wheat or soy and with the first three ingredients being meat or meat meal (not by-products). Most of these better foods also have either flaxseed in them (I get flax and actually fresh grind it in the coffee grinder... note, use a separate grinder for coffee!) and add to their food. It's cheap and easy and fresh this way.

Other times, you can use fish oil caps, but be sure to get human grade caps and research carefully the product. They are not all alike. I think it was Consumer Affairs who did a study on fish oil caps a while back and for me it was an eye opener. Also, pierce the capsule when giving it to the dog.

There are shampoos designed to help correct skin problems, and while these are good often, remember that overbathing can do more harm than good.

So no, a groomer and flea bath would not be an option for me.

Good luck.

Answer 3

2 things:

1) the Frontline MUST get on the skin when you use it, don't let it get on the fur, as much as possible.
2) You need to treat your house. Frontline Plus will only kill the fleas, eggs and larvae that are on your animal - if you've already got them in your house, which is likely, you'll still see them.

I don't think groomers are a help with flea problems. They just use flea shampoos, which are not helpful, and as you say, not a good idea if he has dry skin too. Talk to the vet about all this on Friday.

Chalice

Answer 4

My suggestion I would suggest waiting until your dogs vet appointment. teh dry skin may be something needing special treatment ( more than likely it's the weather we have been having) if there isn't a health problem a groomer who is trained ( I went to school where many don't) they would know what kind of shampoo,conditioner would be best. I actually don't bother with flea dips and they shouldn't be used with frontline. Dips if you're lucky will only last 1 week.
A good groomer would also blow dry the hair and blow out a lot of the dead hair.

Answer 5

1. If he's already been treated with Frontline, do not get him a flea bath. You risk a chemical interaction. You also risk the chemicals in the flea bath drying his skin out more.
2. You could still be seeing fleas on him because the fleas could be hatching in your house. It takes getting on the dog and biting it in order for the Frontline to work. I recommend purchasing some Zodiac brand (tired and proven) flea upholstery spray and treating your house (don't forget hardwood floors, they live in the cracks just as much as carpet fibers). This will help kill the eggs before hatching and breeding.
3a. Dry skin- as another poster noted, look into your diet. The dry skin could be cause by one (or more) of many factors including diet and weather (low humidity). Anything you can buy at the grocery store is crap. Plain and simple. Try a high end food like Eagle Pack, Flint River, Dick Van Patens, Innova, Pro Plan etc. Brands I recommend avoiding are Iams and Science Diet.
3b. When bathing your dog, do NOT use people shampoo. Try a dog shampoo that is designed to moisturize. If it's really bad dry skin try a tar/sulfur bath (it's stinky, but effective) and follow-up with Neem-oil conditioner. Other wise try a tea tree oil shampoo and let soak. After shampooing, let soak in an oatmeal protein conditioner.
3c. When you brush your dog, see if maybe the bristles on the brush are hitting the skin. That too could be causing the flaking.
4. Other ways to deal with dry skin is to add oil to their food (fish oil, flaxseed oil, etc).

Best of luck!

Answer 6

try using a different flea treatment. I use the K9 Advantix. Works great. Fleas are gone with in 12 hours! You can get it pretty cheap on dog.com
I also have a dog who has dry skin. It acts up when the air is dry. Try a moisturizing shampoo, with avocado oils or oatmeal. You can also look into the type of food he eating. Some are formulated for skin and coat
Even the clerk at the pet store can help

Answer 7

It is good he has a vet appt. have the vet do a skin scrape and see if he has mange ( which is from flea bites) and have him dipped ( if they will do it at the same time) Also start him on a supplement/vitamin with omega 3,6,&9 fatty acids in it. it helps skin and coat. I also give my dog peanut oil to help with her skin.( about 1/2 a teaspoon should do the trick in food)

Answer 8

I would get a shedding blade (you can get them at Petco/Petsmart) They are a tear drop shaped rake looking brush that removes lose hair and undercoat from pets. They work really well.

Also, after a bath (towel dry first) or dampen his coat with a wet cloth inbetween baths and apply unscented lotion.

Veggie oil in the food and a high quality food should also help with the skin.

Answer 9

The groomer would probably know if it is ok to dip him, plus she might have something to moisturize his skin.