shampoo for smelly dog with skin problems

fran2491

hi all after a bit of advice really lol,my dogs had ongoing skin problems since we got him hes now on steroids and piriton and his skin seems to have calmed down. however he`s just such a smelly dog! the vets gave me a shampoo for him and its useless! didn`t help with his itching at all and he still stinks! and at £15 a bottle i`m lookin for an alternative lol anyone got any recommendations?

krlyr

Can I ask what else you've done to try to tackle the skin issue? A shampoo may just deal with the symptoms rather than the cause. Have you tried a change of diet to rule out an allergy or intolerance? Could be worth doing an exclusion diet incase it's a common ingredient causing the issue, e.g. grains or a certain meat protein.

Fen1

Have you looked at dog's diet? He might be intolerant to something. Try changing one thing at a time, 4 - 6 weeks apart, as you would with human exclusion diet. Some animals are good with certain brands, but not others. Sometimes it can be a certain meat, vegetable or filler.

Thriftkitten

Hi, I felt compelled to reply to this post while passing through to the grabbits section,
About 2 yrs ago I took on a Pug dog with severe itchiy skin, the owners for 2 yrs spent a fortune at the vets on secondary ear infections due to the dog constantly digging and scratching and the underneath of her stomach was so sore and also her constantly licking her paws, basically the dog was miserable as were the owners, they had paid for dermatology also... they rehomed her because they could no longer stand it!!!
I took this little darling on and immediatly threw away the dog food they had been feeding her for 2 yrs...... BAKERS!!!! this stuff is lethal for allergies in some dogs.
For 2 weeks I fed her on nothing but fresh chicken( a raw leg is best, including bones, if raw) do not give cooked chicken bones, any meat is fine, carrots, sardines in oil (tesco 38p a can) anything that I could lay my hands on as far as meat and veg went.
I also got some "flax oil" from the health shop, this is very high in omega 3 and 6 and also some cod liver oil capsules( again cheap ones from tesco)
From the second day this dog was a completely different dog, I bathed her once a week with some porridge oats inside an old stocking to soothe the sores( a known remedy for eczema).
slowly after about 2 weeks I began dropping in a couple of james wellbeloved fish flavoured dry food biscuits until after a few weeks she was completly onto the james wellbeloved, I always continued with the flax oil ontop of her food and BINGO a loving happy dog that no longer had to go to the vet every month with ear infections and never itched again any more than most dogs.
However I was also very careful NOT to give her any kind of dog treats as diet allergic dogs are also allergic to the stuff in the dog treats also, a raw chicken leg in the back yard or a marrow bone was all she needed, and the poops are greatly reduced too and not so sloppy!!!
I can really sympathise with you over this condition and it must also be terrible for your dog, but I can whole heartedly say that it is 99% food related if it has been going on a while, and while the dog is on a grain food it will only get worse.
The reason for feeding raw is to get all the toxins out of the body, the use of Flax oil and cod liver oil, sardines etc is to really give a boost of omega 3+6 and get the immune system up to normal+++
So that the body can rid this allergy.
I swear to you this dog is a different dog, I have since passed her onto my sister as I have 2 elderly pugs who dont appreciate a mad hatter running a muck in their bed all day hahahh!!! and she has never had this problem since.
Please give this a try, I'm sure it will work for you if it's a food allergy which I'm certain it sounds like.
Sorry for the long post hope this helps, will check in to see your progress xxx

shirlgirl2004

I had and itchy, smelly dog too. I swapped her to a wheat free, hypoallergenic food and she's been fine since. It is more expensive but it saves the vet bills and her looking so sore and red. I would tell you what its called but I recognise the bag so well I just walk in and pick it up and then it is stored in a tub. Every dog has an element of trial and error on which food suits but you need to give a couple of weeks between so that you don't make the dog ill with the chopping and changing.

Thriftkitten

Re the stink, I'm guessing the vet gave you "Mallesseb" or somethng similar, it's a shampoo that reduces sebhorehic(wrong spelling soz) conditions, One of my pugs has that stinky smell as her ears are very yeasty, boy it pongs, that will also get better as the allergy removes from the system, but if you have Pugs by anychance u just gotta deal with it... pugs wreak fullstop hahaha!!

Thriftkitten

shirlgirl2004 wrote: »

I had and itchy, smelly dog too. I swapped her to a wheat free, hypoallergenic food and she's been fine since. It is more expensive but it saves the vet bills and her looking so sore and red. I would tell you what its called but I recognise the bag so well I just walk in and pick it up and then it is stored in a tub. Every dog has an element of trial and error on which food suits but you need to give a couple of weeks between so that you don't make the dog ill with the chopping and changing.

It most certainly will make the dog and yourself happier, but I would definatly suggest trying the raw food first to get the allergy completely out of the system and boosting the immunity with the omega 3+6, I know its a bit of a faff trapsing round to get extra bits, but you and the dog will be some much better off physically and financially, it's worth throwing yourself into it.

Thriftkitten

May I ask what kind of dog you have?

suki1964

fran2491 wrote: »

hi all after a bit of advice really lol,my dogs had ongoing skin problems since we got him hes now on steroids and piriton and his skin seems to have calmed down. however he`s just such a smelly dog! the vets gave me a shampoo for him and its useless! didn`t help with his itching at all and he still stinks! and at £15 a bottle i`m lookin for an alternative lol anyone got any recommendations?

Usually is doesnt work because owners are not using it correctly

You have to shampoo it in and leave it for a good 10 mins - and do it every other day to start. Then once the skin is under control you use it say twice a week, then down to once a week. If it flares up again then you shampoo more often.

It does work - you just have to be prepared to put in the time and effort needed. I have to shampoo my lad twice weekly at the moment as I tend to have to in very wet weather. He gets a lot better in the summer months and I might only need to shampoo him once a month

fran2491

krlyr wrote: »

Can I ask what else you've done to try to tackle the skin issue? A shampoo may just deal with the symptoms rather than the cause. Have you tried a change of diet to rule out an allergy or intolerance? Could be worth doing an exclusion diet incase it's a common ingredient causing the issue, e.g. grains or a certain meat protein.

hes had various allergy tests with the vets at a cost of over £200 to date and all has come back normal the vets are unalbe to pinpoint what it is thats causing him problems :-( hence him on steroids and piriton. diet wise i`v tried just about every kind of food and have settled with james wellbeloved fish and he seems to be a little better on this one. the shampoo i get from the vets is called epi sooth and its useless lol!

fran2491

Thriftkitten wrote: »

May I ask what kind of dog you have?

hes a pug x french bulldog hun thanks for all your advice i think im going to give it a try