Dry skin treatments

shudd1967

My dobe was diagnosed a couple of years ago with a dust mite and pollen type allergy but instead of going through immunitherapy we control it by trying to keep on top of cleaning etc - but keeping him out of the long grass is easier said than done! Also his big flare up was caused by being in the van with my ex partner who is a plasterer and the vet agreed it was the plaster dust that was the main issue.

Have had no problems for a couple of years but now he has dry flaky skin around his neck and chest area, I believe caused by running around in the fields where the corn & wheat is growing.

Does anyone have any moneysaving tips on what I can do to treat the area? I did wonder about rubbing olive oil around it but thought I would ask here first. It is not bothering him at all but I would like to get rid of it without having to go to the vet. He is up to date on his frontline etc & has no fleas!

krlyr

Salmon oil added to his diet might help. Dogs digest animal fats far easier than plant oils so oily fish may help more than olive oil.

Have his thyroid levels ever been tested? I believe thyroid issues can be fairly common in Dobes and skin issues can be a symptom, even before the more typical ones like weightgain etc. Not just TSH levels but T3, T4, free T3 and free T4 should all be looked at, as well as tgAA levels.
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/hypothyroidism-in-dogs
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=461

Fire_Fox

Are you showering him off with plain water after every run in the fields?

Definitely increase the amount of omega-3s in his diet and maybe decrease the amount of pro-inflammatory high glycaemic index carbs. Olive oil is rich in oleic acid which some research suggests can encourage inflammation and abnormal keratinisation in humans, so would not be my first choice for topical treatment. What has your vet recommended in the past?

shudd1967

Thank you.

He was tested for thyroid when he underwent all of his allergy tests and came back clear. They said we could try the immunitherapy treatment of weekly injections or work hard on prevention which is what we chose even though I do have a for life insurance policy

I have bought a few tins of salmon so will give him that in his food a couple of times a week (he has royal canin dried food with a couple of portions of liver a week so this will be a good balance!) and going online to look for some salmon oil or some kind of supplement.

I probably don't wash him down enough after a walk to be honest! One good thing is that the farmer is over the fields taking in the wheat/ corn so that will help!

gettingready

My vet (dermatologist) said salmon oil was crap and recommended Efavet for Zara when she had skin problems. Apparently it is much better.

Available to buy on:

www.animeddirect.co.uk

Zara is on Efavet660 (German Shepherd)

Forgot to add - Zara's skin is perfect now.

Fire_Fox

shudd1967 wrote: »

Thank you.

He was tested for thyroid when he underwent all of his allergy tests and came back clear. They said we could try the immunitherapy treatment of weekly injections or work hard on prevention which is what we chose even though I do have a for life insurance policy

I have bought a few tins of salmon so will give him that in his food a couple of times a week (he has royal canin dried food with a couple of portions of liver a week so this will be a good balance!) and going online to look for some salmon oil or some kind of supplement.

I probably don't wash him down enough after a walk to be honest! One good thing is that the farmer is over the fields taking in the wheat/ corn so that will help!

Did your vet recommend the liver? Liver is protein plus fat soluble vitamins, oily fish is also protein plus fat soluble vitamins, so I'd have reservations about feeding both - you are knocking off the balance of nutrients in the complete food. It is possible to overdose on vitamins A and D. Liver is quite low in overall fat, maybe your dog's skin would benefit from less carbohydrates but more fat?

Pilchards in tomato sauce are a much a better source of omega-3s than salmon and cheaper. :money: Do also feed the bones mashed in for minerals.

You might find showering him off after each run is enough tho.

dawnie1972

Pop down to Wilkinsons and get a bottle of their pet shampoo with Eucalyptus Oil (clear bottle, green shampoo less than £2.50), my Dolly gets eaten alive by field mites etc, vet said she reacts because her immune system is too high, i got this shampoo and the difference was amazing, she went from a dog that hated baths to a dog that would come back from a walk and sit by the bath waiting for me to bath her. Its fab stuff.

krlyr

Just bear in mind that thyroid is an awkward thing and unless the vet is quite knowledgable on it, they may deem it normal even if it's not quite. Kiki's was actually within the range so they announced it as fine but I asked for the actual results and looked into it myself. Her results were very, very low in the range and she had some borderline symptoms so I looked into it and there's a vet in the USA who's done a lot of studies on thyroid who believes in treating for borderline hypothyroid, to get the dog into the mid-upper range within the levels rather than the low. She also believes that age, breed and other factors can play a role in the idea levels and that there's no standard levels that cover all dogs. Kiki is just within that range now, so my vet feels we could up her meds a bit of needed but given the change in her behaviourally and physically, I'm happy to stick where we are for now.

I know of people with hypothyroid problems too that have had to battle with their GP to be given a higher dose of their medication as they are still symptomatic despite being in range on paper - they just must have a naturally higher range than others or be more sensitive to low thyroid levels.

Sorry to keep on about it but I just cannot believe how much of a change it made to Kiki when I was pretty convinced there was nothing underlying health-wise as she appeared to be a pretty healthy dog physically. The physical symptoms were mild and easily attributed to other causes, e.g. the weight gain to the fact I used lots of Kongs etc. to deal with the separation issues, the dry/split coat I blamed on the Furminator brush (I don't think it helped, but I had just noticed it looking similar again despite not having used the brush in a while), the mild drop in energy levels to her age and so on. Now she's on meds, her energy has increased (lots of mad chasing games going on with my other dog once more), her coat has improved, her weight dropped back to an ideal size (yet I'm still feeding as many Kongs etc) and so on. It just affects so many things in the body, definately not something to underestimate, especially in breeds that can be more prone to it.

shudd1967

Vet said not just to give him dry food, he is not the greatest fan of a dry food diet i think! To be honest Bailey mainly has the liver as a real treat two meals a week. It doesn't actually go in his food, its used for treats at training and then the next evening the left overs are used to check and cut claws which he hates having done and as a bit of extra training treat.

Will try the pilchards, not convinced about thyroid as he is as mad as a hatter and the dry skin is only on the chest & belly area, everywhere else is fine. But he is due his boosters in sept so will get vet to check

Thank you everyone for your help, will update you on his progress!

Fire_Fox

shudd1967 wrote: »

Vet said not just to give him dry food, he is not the greatest fan of a dry food diet i think! To be honest Bailey mainly has the liver as a real treat two meals a week. It doesn't actually go in his food, its used for treats at training and then the next evening the left overs are used to check and cut claws which he hates having done and as a bit of extra training treat.

Will try the pilchards, not convinced about thyroid as he is as mad as a hatter and the dry skin is only on the chest & belly area, everywhere else is fine. But he is due his boosters in sept so will get vet to check

Thank you everyone for your help, will update you on his progress!

Maybe switch to a complete wet food, either instead of the dry or as well as? Or use raw chicken drumsticks/ thighs/ turkey necks/ meaty carcasses that contain fat, protein and minerals? Reducing the amount of dry food would reduce the cereal/ carb intake.

gettingready

Zara had terribly dry/flaky skin - was giving her salmon oil, sardines etc etc.
Took her to the vet who recommended Efavet tablets. Skin brilliant now.

He said something about slamon oil being useless - marine fish oil as in efavet was supposed to be better and it did sort out the problem.