Remedies for dog's dry skin

[seedcorn]

would love to hear some. Wife's dog (mutt) is allergic to everything. For lack of better description, it reminds me of bad case of dandruff. Except he itches so bad, he's eating himself up.

We've switched to dog food without grain carriers-over a year ago. Knowing he's allergic to peanuts and peanut oil, he gets none of that. On line, remedies suggest mix of peppermint oil, coconut oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, so just made a mix and rubbed on him.

Any proven recipes or treatments would be appreciated. This dog is a mess and driving me nuts....

 

[Nyboy]

Only thing that will really help is bathing 2x a week in medicated shampoo. I order from pet edge, gallon size will save you money. Also might want to give him Benadryl.

 

[journey11]

Could be a skin allergy or even a fungal infection. My MIL's beagle had the latter and they had to bathe her once a week with medicated shampoo. If it's fungal, you will notice the worst flare-ups occur during humid weather.

My dog had skin allergies, allergic to pine trees of all things! A round of prednisolone and changing her diet to rice based food worked for her.

Coconut oil has anti-fungal/anti-bacterial properties as well as being a nice light moisturizer, so that's a good bet, as it's good for eczema too. You can eat it as well as rub it on, so maybe you could melt like a tbsp. a day (or less if he's a small dog) and drizzle it on his food. Fish oil added to food would also be good. Both will work from the inside, out. It's good for heart health, and good for you as well! We buy it in a big tub.

I also have an easy recipe for a homemade dog shampoo that is moisturizing and gentle on the skin (does a great job of neutralizing doggie odor too).

• 1 cup of Ivory dish soap
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup of glycerine
• A 32 oz. clear bottle or spray bottle to mix it in.
• A funnel

A 16 oz. bottle of glycerine costs about $18, but you will get 6 batches of shampoo out of it. The other ingredients are very cheap.

Combine all in your bottle and shake well before each use. If you use a clear plastic bottle, you can mark a line for each measurement which makes it quick and easy to measure for the next batch. Or buy one of those utility spray bottles at Walmart, as it's easy to apply by spraying it on.

 

[catjac1975]

Add oil to his food. My sister used to give her dog rabbit food because of gross allergies. However I do not know if it was food made for rabbits or food made of rabbits. A friend of mine gives her dogs raw food. She gets pallets of frozen chicken backs and swears by it. Great health noticed by her vet. However, it is a huge commitment for the owners.

 

[Nyboy]

@journey11 I have a client that swears coconut oil reversed her dog arthritics, dog went from limping along to running after mixing coconut oil in food. Not sure how long it took before seeing a difference .

 

[Beekissed]

Nustock...just cruise the testimonial pages, the before and after pics are amazing. I've seen great things with the use of Nustock and their other products.

http://m.nustock.com/products.html

http://www.nustock.com/testimonials.html

The very best thing, of course, is not bathing the dog and letting his natural oils build up, letting him dust and roll outside like a normal dog does that lives outside all the time.

 

[seedcorn]

His hair gleams from oil. But his skin is flaky and dry on the back.

He always has rashes on his ears and stomach.

He's close to 100# so not an ankle biter.

 

[journey11]

Ears and stomach...that does sound like a fungal infection. Base of the tail is usually affected too. Have you been to the vet yet? May need a Rx.

 

[seedcorn]

Yes it is. Not to vet yet.

 

[thistlebloom]

This has nothing really to do with your dog Seed, and I apologize for clogging up your thread....Bees comment on a dogs natural skin oils and letting them get dirty, relates to an experience we had with a friends two Basset hounds.
They (friends) got stationed on Adak island in the Aleutians for 18 months and we volunteered to take care of the dogs so they could keep them when their duty was ended.
These were house dogs, which immediately ended when they got dropped at our place, aka Basset Boot Camp.

They got lots of dirt and sunshine and exercise running around with our pack and when the 18 months were complete our friends couldn't believe they were the same dogs. They had lost their sour smell, and the rashes they were constantly battling. They were toned and glossy and the female, who had been semi handicapped with a back issue was sassy and pain free.

Our friends wondered what magic elixir we had used and couldn't believe we hadn't done anything special, just let them be outdoor dogs.

I think the rashes and bad odor were a result of too much bathing and all the folds of skin they had didn't get rinsed well, and probably stayed moist too long. I only bathed them once, right before the owners came to get them.
All the dirt and sunshine and exercise probably did wonders too.