pup with dry skin

[s baxter]

my 10 wk pup has dry skin like dandruff the vet says i may have to change his food.i`m unsure what to do as vet says it would probably take 3 weeks on any new food to show any change.i don`t want to chop and change his food too much as he eats it in seconds and his poo`s are fine.he scratches at his skin which is increasing steadily  day by day.no hair is coming out and i`ve kept a constant check on the skin and i`m sure it`s not mites or similair.he`s on ARDEN GRANGE  which i thought was suppose to be good for keeping skin condition tip top  :? .is there any thing i can add to hie food thats good for the dry skin ie egg or a oil (i have just bought 15kg of food half puppy half junior) :wink:                    

[Jane S]

Arden Grange is a very good food but like all foods, they don't suit every dog. You could try switching to Burns or Naturediet, both I think are lower protein than Arden Grange (sometimes high protein causes skin problems). You could also try bathing your pup with tea tree oil shampoo which is excellent for dry, scurfy coats & perhaps supplement the diet with evening primrose oil which is good for the skin. I would not add eggs to the complete food, you would just be adding more protein.

Jane                    

[lizzy]

Cocker's can sometimes have itchy sore's which can be an allergy, I have'nt heard of Arden Grange so I can't comment on it, but I feed my 2 on James Wellbeloved, it's supposed to calm  itchy skin.

It has no wheat, dairy products, beef or pork, it's just lamb or turkey with rice and barley ( also linseed, alfalfa and seaweed ) it's good for their digestion too,

My cockers have taken to it very well, there's no itching and scratching and their digestion is fine .

You can buy a small bag (2kg) it usually lasts about a week, to gradually transfer him over to it.

There is also Burns, which is another good one ( I've heard ) but like you say it does take a while to see the difference , so I would give it about a month.

Hth

Lizzy Molly and Evie                    

[s baxter]

thanks for those replies will choose a new type of food for him and try the e.primrose oil can i buy it at the chemists and how much should i put on the food?, he weights around 3.4kg, i will treat him to a bath, can i use a tea tree shampoo meant for humans on my canine friend?us newies are most grateful  for the advice you pass on ta                    

[Sheila]

Hi, my parents dog, a cavalier, was on Arden Grange for a while and he suffered from a very itchy skin too.
May not have been linked, but they changed his diet and he is better now.

I use nutro for my two, and they love it and Lotties coat shines.

It's all natural ingredients without colours or preservatives.
It guarantees to improve skin and coat condition.

I think probably any of the more natural foods would help though, and I know lots of people here use Burns.

Goldie, my lab, was suffering from dry skin, but it has improved since I switched her to Nutro too, when we got Lottie.

It's worth a try.
I dont know about the evening primrose oil, was interested myself, so will wait for someone to reply to that too                    

[PennyB]

thanks for those replies will choose a new type of food for him and try the e.primrose oil can i buy it at the chemists and how much should i put on the food?, he weights around 3.4kg, i will treat him to a bath, can i use a tea tree shampoo meant for humans on my canine friend?us newies are most grateful  for the advice you pass on ta

You can buy evening primrose online a lot cheaper than you can get it in the shops. I got mine from zipvit.co.uk (comes in gel capsules and mine chew them like sweets)                    

[chrisfund]

How about changing food to Nutro?

especially Lamb & Rice one. I heard it's good for skin problem.

and I recommend 'IN' for supplement.

I'm not sure that they sell 'IN' in UK.

It is quite efficacious against skin problem.

I usually buy dog products from this shoppingmall in USA.
They sell everything!! and they deliever everywhere in the world.

Here is URL
http://www.petedge.com/shopping/product/de...&iProductID=512                    

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

thanks for those replies will choose a new type of food for him and try the e.primrose oil can i buy it at the chemists and how much should i put on the food?, he weights around 3.4kg, i will treat him to a bath, can i use a tea tree shampoo meant for humans on my canine friend?us newies are most grateful  for the advice you pass on ta

You can buy evening primrose online a lot cheaper than you can get it in the shops. I got mine from zipvit.co.uk (comes in gel capsules and mine chew them like sweets)

Hi Penny do you give Ruby and Wilf a one a day? How many should i give Nell?                    

[s baxter]

thanks again for replies i have a pot of capsules the 500mg ones is that what you give your dogs would i be able to give one to my pup who`s 11wks tomorrow?                    

[PennyB]

I was giving them 500mg a day and then someone on here suggested 1000mg (Jane maybe?) so I give them that now                    

[Jane S]

Our adults have 1000mg Evening Primrose Oil a day but I would give more if I was treating a skin condition. 500mg seems reasonable for a baby puppy but I would increase to 1000mg daily if no improvement in a month or so. For a Lab, I reckon you'd need 2000mg EPO daily at least but I'm no Lab expert :wink:

Re tea tree oil shampoo, you can buy this specifically for dogs but I always use Thursday Plantation shampoo which is very good for dogs & humans You can get it at most health food shops & I've also seen it in Boots.

Jane                    

[Sheila]

Thanks, really useful information
Have given both of mine EPO today                    

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

Thanks Jane.                      

[s baxter]

thanks again i`ll give him a capsule  and see what he thinks of it if he does`nt eat eat i`ll put it in his food .i`m going to change his food over quite slowly maybe over 2 to 3 wks so the oil will help many thanks to you all i`ll let you know how things prgress :Dha ha just give him one he had great fun playing with it but looked at it strangely at it then i realised he`d bitten it and got the taste of the oil so squeezed the rest of it on his food for the next meal                    

[lizzy]

I'm quite interested to know more about the EPO, do you give it even if your dogs coat is fine? Does it make the coat more shiny or is it for the skin? Any ideas would be appreciated ( I take EPO , but thats for PMT!! :evil: )   It does make my skin very healthy looking, thinking about it! :wink:
Lizzy Molly and Evie