Doggy dandruff

[meeahbear]

Hi my 4 month old pup seems to have flaky skin. Only when we brush her we can tell. Up until about 3 weeks ago she never had this prob. Havent changed anything in her diet. We feed her purina pro plan chicken and rice growth formula. Could it be a food allergy? Or maybe could it be that I am not rinsing the soap out of her fur well enough? I think I am but maybe not?!

[aspenaden]

How often do you wash her? Bathing too much an cause dry, flaky skin.

[KCGoldens]

I have heard Purina Pro is ok, but personally, I would feed a higher grade food.
I do know Nutro guarentees a better coat right on their bag, and I am very satisfied with the results of our two goldens.
There are alot of good recommendations over in the food forum that will hopefully help her coat! :)

[meeahbear]

We wash her once a month maybe longer. She has only has 2 baths with us and one with our breeeder.

[porschelouise]

Porsche Louise had really really flaky skin when she was younger - the hair was coming out in tufts. I took her to the vet, and it was actually a bacterial infection. He gave me some Zymox shampoo and conditioner along with an antibiotic and it cleared up.

For the "normal" flakiness (??) I put about a teaspoon of safflower oil in her food, and it really helps - no flakes at all! I agree that a higher grade food will probably help, also - I feed her California Natural lamb & rice.

[Swampcollie]

When you give the dog a bath you have to make absolutely sure you get ALL of the shampoo rinsed out. A little residue can cause irritation to the dogs skin. (and the flakeyness)

[Mike Dempsey]

Hi everyone!

My wife and I adopted a six year old GR in June. When we first got him he had the worst ear infections that our vet had ever seen. His coat was also kind of ratty and he was on a Kibbles & Bits diet.

We immediately got him on Science Diet for Seniors and have been cleaning his ears on a daily basis. His ear infections are better (but not cured) and his coat is nice now.

However, over the past month he has really had a break out of dandruff. He doesn't really scratch that much but it's so bad that it's gotta be bothering him. The vet suggested a fish oil supplement but that stuff smelled so bad that we took him off it a few days later.

So now I'm looking for any suggestions of how to solve this dandruff problem he's got. I'm considering changing his food. Has anyone had a similar problem that they were able to solve by changing foods? What type food helped?

Any other suggestions or things I'm not thinking of? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks so much for your help!

Mike, Jen & Mickey

[CaynCher]

When my 11 1/2 year old golden was a pup he had dandruff but he also seemed to scratch a lot also. I tried a supplement called linatone plus (omega 3 & 6 oil). added to his food. It helped him and I also used an oatmeal shampoo on him. Now, years later, he gets a wheat germ oil cap daily with his food. He still likes Science Diet canned but he gets Nutro Senior, Solid gold, and Chicken Soup canned and dry with veggies and fruit. I try to vary the foods I feed him. His coat is bright, soft and shiney and he get lots of complements. Best of luck with your golden.

[Mike Dempsey]

Where would I buy linatone plus (omega 3 & 6 oil), oatmeal shampoo and the wheat germ oil cap? Is that all stuff I could get at Petco or one of those type stores?

[ChicagoCanine]

We immediately got him on Science Diet for Seniors and have been cleaning his ears on a daily basis. His ear infections are better (but not cured) and his coat is nice now.
....
Has anyone had a similar problem that they were able to solve by changing foods? What type food helped?


Is there a special reason the dog is on senior food? Personally I wouldn't feed a dog that young senior food unless they have a health problem that required it... This alone could cause coat problems.
My Golden is 8 years old and does not get a senior dog food.

My Golden had a slightly flaky/dandruffy coat when I was feeding lower-quality foods (iams, science diet, nature's recipe etc) and she also had VERY bad ears and almost constant ear infections. After changing her over to better foods, her coat improved and her ear infections COMPLETELY vanished, she hasn't had a single ear infection since we started reading the food labels and avoiding lower-quality ingredients and I almost never have to clean her ears. She also has a gorgeous shiny dandruff-free coat.
The first food we switched to that got rid of the ear infections was Wysong Synorgen. Since then I've use Wellness, Pinnacle, Timberwolf Organics, Innova, and Prarie Nature's Variety and her ears/coat have been great on all these foods.

[Andi]

I have used Dermcaps for Porter. I would get them from www.drsfostersmith.com

They also have the oatmeal shampoo, etc. You may be able to get that stuff from Petco too....usually they'll tell you if you just call.

[LouisianaGolden]

Daisy had flaky skin, itching, the works....and I was desperate. I tried HEAD AND SHOULDERS shampoo on her, and it was a miracle. Yes, I know we're not to use people products on dogs, and No, I won't do it again unless I get really desperate again. But, she's not flakey, her coat is glowing, and she smells fabulous, and it's been 2 weeks. I would not recommend such a drastic action unless you've tried everything, like I did.

[monomer]

Great!!! so the pH is a little different, who's going to argue with success? I say, if it works, use it and don't be too concerned that its for people. We got rid of Sidney's dandruff by using a sulfur coal tar based shampoo... the key is to leave him lathered up for at least 5 minutes but 10 minutes was even better. It took 3 shampooings at bi-weekly intervals to finally claim complete success. Below I've included a small quote (from a people dandruff website) that you might find interesting...

"The most common cause of dandruff is probably the fungus Malassezia furfur (previously known as Pityrosporum ovale). This fungus is found naturally on the skin surface of both healthy people and those with dandruff. The fungus likes fat and is consequently found most on skin areas with many sebaceous glands... When Malassezia furfur grows too rapidly, the natural renewal of cells is disturbed and dandruff appears with itching. Other fungi may have a similar role in causing dandruff, as may certain bacteria... There are shampoos available specifically for those who have dandruff. Popular brands are Head & Shoulders and Selsun Blue, which contain zinc pyrithione and selenium sulfide, respectively. Both chemicals are fungicides, and reduce dandruff by killing Malassezia furfur."

Malaseb is a shampoo for dogs by DVM that is supposed to be specially formulated to deal with Malassezia but it is very expensive... I think the people shampoos are much cheaper.

[CaynCher]

Hi, You should be able to buy linatone at petco. I bought it at petsmart and the pet supply catalogues carry it. You can get oatmeal shampoo at Walmart probably cheaper than at the pet stores. I get my wheat germ caps at the health food store. I really didn't start my golden on senior food until he was around 9 1/2 years old. At ll 1/2, I vary his diet a lot with Chicken Soup & Nutro canned. Also feed Chicken Soup kibble. Nutro & Solid Gold kibble. He eats lots of fresh veggies and fruit too. Hope this might help you out.

[allie,hannah,brinkleygold]

We just came home today with Duke and noticed on his back, like 6 inches behind where his collar sits there is a 3inch by 3 inch area of no hair! It doesnt look like mange or anything, in fact, it just looks like skin, no irritation or anything. His coat is kind of greasy too, and he has dander. Does anyone have any clue as to what this could be until we can get him to the vet for a check up on monday??? Thanks :confused:

[angenbear]

He could be allergic to fleas? When I got my previous dog, he had some spots that had no hair, went to the vet and said that it's because he's allergic to fleas. Once the fleas were gone and used advantage, the hair reappeared.

[goodtim'n]

DOGGIE DANDER: What a pain. If this dog hasn't been kept clean from the skin out, that can cause dander, scaly skin, along with a not so great diet. With a FEW good washings and a change of diet hopfully your dander problem will go away. I would start with a degreasing shampoo followed up by a good cleansing shampoo, this could very well take a couple of baths. Your dander may very well hang around for a while until the system changes to a new diet. Which I'm real sure you have changed for him. Don't get all worried if the dander is still there for a week or so, you need to rid the skin and coat of all that old nasty dry skin. I've said it before and will again. Use 1 teaspoon of saffower oil over his food.( this works just as good as linatone if maybe not better) He definetly is lacking oil within his system. As far as the spot on his neck, I wouldn't even try to guess, it could be a number of reasons. They may need to do a scraping and see if anything is going on. Good luck at the vets.