[DieselJunki]

So I know I ask a TON of questions but honestly after I google the condition and get so many answers I just feel a whole lot better coming to the Dog Food Advisor community for help.

I had been noticing Moose had been itching an aweful lot lately. I haven’t seen a flea and I have already administered his dose of K9 Advantix II last week. Today while going to the pet store with him I notice a massive amount of dandruff coming off him. I checked the spots I had put the K9 Advantix II to make sure they didn’t look red and his skin looked fine aside from being dandruffy all over. I know it’s not good to bathe often however since I’ve had him I’ve bathed him 3 times total so far. The reason being sometimes he has an accident in the middle of the night in his kennel and ends up laying in it until I wake up at 8am. I tried puppy pads but he just chews em up. I had bought a puppy shampoo at Petco but perhaps this is making things worse? Should I add some kind of coat supplement to his food? Find a better shampoo, maybe get a heavy conditioner?

[dowsky]

I’ll start you off then the rest will help you, switch to a high quality grain free food if not raw diet and also probiotics will keep yeast in check which may be the dandruff, a friend of mine’s dog had “dandruff” turned out to be a over flow of yeast, did the above and after a few weeks it cleared. but these are just suggestions. hope this helps

[DieselJunki]

I feed him Nature’s Variety Instinct: Rabbit with a few spoonfuls of Tripett and an ounce of Raw Goats Milk in the morning and an ounce at night.

I have been looking into the probiotics.

However having a puppy and the problem with him having accidents in his kennel and then laying in it he will need to be bathed. I am looking for advice on a shampoo and conditioner that people have used with success that is gentle and if I should be adding a coat supplement to help things along (Like adding an Omega 3 oil to his food). I read that a high quality expensive hypoallergenic shampoo and conditioner that doesn’t contain soap and is low lathering to gently clean your pet’s coat while adding softness and body is what I need to be looking for but looking online there are just so many and not to many that say low lathering!

I had also read of people putting olive oil on their dogs food and they said it helped tremendously. Anyone have experience with this?

[shelties mom]

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/11/30/harmful-chemicals-in-flea-collars-and-sprays.aspx
Flea meds can cause skin irritation, there are other natural ways to control fleas. First you need to remove the cause, it may be the Advantage you are using. Mercolahealthypets.com have several education articles on the dangers of using these products on your pets.
http://search.mercola.com/search/pages/Results.aspx?k=flea&r=sitename=”AR4BaHR0cDovL2hlYWx0aHlwZXRzLm1lcmNvbGEuY29tCHNpdGVuYW1lAQEiASI=”

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi DieselJunki –

If a dog isn’t getting enough omega 3’s in it’s diet, it can cause skin and coat issues. However, you’re feeding extremely high quality foods rich in omega 3’s so I don’t think that’s the issue. I wouldn’t recommend supplementing with any additional omega 3’s as too much omega 3’s can be just has bad as not enough – the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio should be between 1:5 and 1:10 (omega 3:omega 6). I would try supplementing with a little coconut oil – coconut oil is rich in medium chain triglycerides and can help the skin and coat. The Answer’s goat’s milk you’re feeding does have added probiotics – supplementing with more wouldn’t hurt though. If you can get kefir that would be a great option to rotate with the goat’s milk – kefir is extremely rich in probiotics and most varieties have 10 strains or more. I wouldn’t bathe him too often – that can dry out the skin. Get bath wipes to use in between baths if you need to. My dogs get about 4-5 baths per year. I use Earth Bath shampoo and conditioner and spray them with mink oil afterwards – it leaves their skin and coat nice and soft. From the picture you posted it looks like he’s a pit(?) – pits (unfortunately) are notorious for skin issues.

[DieselJunki]

Thanks for the advice Shelties Mom. I will definitely do some research on that.

He is an American Bull Dog (So part of the bully group) but as puppies they do look quite like Pit Bulls. He has papers and everything stating he is a pure bred American Bull Dog. I actually had a gentleman in Petco last week tell me that if I was me I wouldn’t be bringing that thing into stores and referred to Moose as a Pit Bull. I was sure to give him a piece of my mind and educate him on the fact that my dog wasn’t a Pit and even if he was he had a lot of nerve speaking to me like that. Some people…

I’ll see if any stores sell Kefir around here. Looking it up it sounds like it would be a great addition to his diet. If I can’t I’ll go ahead and get some Probiotics from Mercola and try a half dose? I think I remember reading somewhere that people use half the dose if feeding a good food.

It looks like Earth Bath shampoo sells quite a few things for puppies including wipes. I like the fact that they are parabens, phosphates, pthalates, DEA, synthetic dyes or perfume free.

[DieselJunki]

The wipes work well and smell nice! I have gotten the coconut oil and give in a spoonful of that in his breakfast only. Hope this isn’t to much or to little.

I have to say 2 weeks ago I did have to give him a bath. There was no getting around it. He must have had an accident in the middle of the night because most of it was soaked up by his fur! It was disgusting. His tail was dripping while heading into the bathroom. I felt so bad that I must not have heard him crying to go out in the middle of the night like I usually do. No amount of wipes would have taken that stink out. However I did use the Earthbath puppy shampoo instead of the stuff I was using.

He is still itching and has dandruff. His skin doesn’t seem inflamed. It’s almost like the problem I’m dealing with right now with dandruff (I really do hate winter!), except my scalp doesn’t itch like he seems to itch. It’s frustrating as I wish I had a fix. He will sit there and scratch with his back leg and look at me and make this noise (I don’t know how to describe it but you can tell he’s so fed up with itching when he makes it.) that makes me want to just snap my fingers and fix it all if I could.

Maybe a humidifier. I don’t have a humidity gauge anymore to see but maybe it is to low.

Is there anything else I can do for him?

[DogFoodie]

Hi DieselJunki,

I bought some Mercola dog shampoo and found it’s definitely low lathering. For me, it didn’t work out the best because my Golden has a long, thick coat; but, for my Cavalier with a thinner, silkier coat, it did work better. If your guy is a Bull Dog, I would think it would work well for him.

I think I just generally feel really confident in Mercola products. In looking at their website, it looks like they have 10% off through today for their President’s Day sale.

Asking a lot of questions is how we got lots of help and answers, isn’t it! It works for me, too! : )

[NectarMom]

I use Earth Bath ( Tea tree and Aloe) This works awesome for my girls when winter weather can dry out their skin. I also use Mercola products but I find that just treating internal isn’t enough so using the Earth Bath helps a bunch. You puppy is too young for yeast problems but if he has it when he s adult Dr Karen Becker recommends 2 cups of white vinegar to 1 gallon of water. I just soaked one of my Chihuahuas feet in this mixture and then towel dried her feet ( do not rinse) and be careful not to get into the dogs eyes. My girl hasn’t licked her feet yet.

[Katie K]

Whatever shampoo you do end up uskng, make sure oatmeal isn’t one of the ingredients. Most people think of it as soothing (and it is to us humans), but it is not good for dogs. Oatmeal is a grain, and just like grain in food, It will make yeast spread. I use Vital-ketodine shampoo on my westie. It has chlorhexidine and ketoconazole in it. And if you’re using the right shampoo, it won’t dry out your dogs skin. People used to say that back when everyone bathed their dogs with human shampoo. Out pH levels are different than dogs so they shouldn’t use the same shampoo we do. When Finn is having a flare-up, we bathe him between once and twice a week. One reason why I really wanted to respond to this though…

You mentioned goats milk. I give my dogs goats milk every day too. I recently heard that goats milk soap works miracles on dogs skin! A customer of mine was selling it and another customer of mine bought it to try on her dog who had been scratching like crazy. After just one bath, the dogs skin cleared up. I heard the same thing from someone else a couple days later. I can’t wait to try it. Btw.. I don’t think the whole human/dog pH level thing would be a problem with something so natural.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Katie K.

[Rebecca` O]

Hey,

Have you heard of Pooch & Mutt’s Bionic Biotic? It works wonders on dogs skin, rashes, darndruff, scratching. It took about 4 weeks of sprinkling it on his normal food, 2 teaspoons a day. It’s made with pre and pro biotics and is all natural and vet reccommended.

They also have an offer on it now for 15% off that ends this week so I’ve been stocking up!

If it doesn’t work you can send the empty pack back and they give you a refund, so nothing to lose really!

Bionic Biotic

[InkedMarie]

Rebecca O,
I am not a moderator here but I am cautioning you about spamming here with this product. You may find them all removed

[Rebecca` O]

Am I not allowed to suggest a product? Just trying to help.

[InkedMarie]

I saw it three times….that can be con sidered spamming. Just didn’t want them all removed.

[Kate G]

Could it be the goats milk that is causing the diarrhea? I thought milk wasn’t good for dogs and causes stomach upset. Have you asked your vet about the itching dry skin? I’ve read that oatmeal baths are not good for dogs, it causes more problems. Our dog has a chicken allergy so we make sure his treats and food are chicken free.
Our daughters rescue pup had an over abundance of mites which caused severe itching, hair loss and scaly skin. The vet prescribed a new food and medication for 6 wks. Then after frequent skin scrapings determined her cured, but she’s on the special food for life.

[Author]

Posts