Dog has dry skin!
This is a common complaint amongst today’s dog owners and it can be difficult to pin down the source of the problem but there are a few places you can start.
First, how often do you wash and brush your dog? over or under washing can cause skin issues with any dog, as can a lack of brushing. If you wash your dog too often, for example every week, this can dry out their skin massively leading to dander and dry skin. There should be no need to wash your dog with shampoo more than once a month, if you like to keep your dog smelling fresh use dog coat sprays or dry shampoos between washes, however use of anything in your dog’s coat will likely dry it out more, so keep this to a minimum. Likewise, if you have a thick coated dog that loses its undercoat in the winter and summer it is important to help it along with a good brush to remove all the undercoat, build-up of the undercoat can cause unnecessary dander.
You can find all the brushes, shampoos and sprays you may like here:
If your dog has not been bathed in quite some time, treat them to a medicated or oatmeal shampoo wash, safe non-prescription medicated shampoo and oatmeal shampoo is easy to come by and can lift all the dead and dry skin, followed by a good brush this may just do the trick if there is little else that is likely to be causing the problem.
The second thing to look at if the above is not likely to be the issue is the dogs diet. What type of food are you feeding your dog? If you feed dry or wet dog food is the quality supplying a sufficient amount of essential oils for the dog’s skin and coat? Does it contain any additives, salt or sugars? These can all contribute to dry skin and dander.
Do you feed your dog your own food? If so is it plain or have any salts or sugars been added? salt and sugar can wreak havoc on a dog’s skin and should not be added to their food.
Do you feed them treats? Do the treats contain unnecessary additives? Much like our own human treats, chocolate bars, crisps etc. some dog treats may be suitable for dogs but can be very unhealthy, look at the treats you are offering. If you feed a high-quality diet but low-quality treats you could be undoing all good intentions and this can all come out in their skin and coat quality.
It may be necessary to really look at your dog’s diet and make a few small changes to improve their skin overall. Feeding a fish-based diet, using fish oils or fish treats would have many benefits for the skin and coat.
You can find fantastic fish treats and oils that I would recommend here:
If these issues are addressed, you may find that this solves the problem for you. They are certainly the most likely culprits. If not, this is certainly the place to start, moving on from here you would need to look at environmental factors like allergies however this may require further investigation with the help of a vet.
