Skin Condition

[paulNrita]

Hi,

we have a 10 month old Kelpie (coco). Over the last few months she has been been constantly scratching herself. She doesn't seem to have fleas. We have her on Sentinel spectrum. We have noticed that she has crusty/dry type sores on her back which seem to flake off like dandruff. We have been washing her weekly using the Exelpet flea control shampoo. Last week we tried washing her just with velvet soap. Didn't seem to help. She also seems to stink a bit lately (even only a day after her bath).

She is fed Lucky Dog puppy dried food, with chicken necks or wings every few days.

Any suggestions on how to overcome her skin problem would be appreciated.

Regards Paul.

[Loraine]

Hi Paul, my Wire Haired gets very itchy, smelly (kinda yeasty smell) and flakes of dandruff like stuff. Try Malaseb, and/or a visit to the vet as it could be an allergy.

[Staffyluv]

Have you seen a vet? Maybe it is mites and she needs medication. This would be my first priority.

I would be adding some fish oil to her diet too. Either tablets or just give her a tin of sardines a couple of times a week. And some yoghurt too would not hurt.

It could be diet related, a lot of commercial foods are high in cereals that some dogs have reactions to.

[Nekhbet]

Stop washing her now. Get her on a better dry food ASAP she is lacking essential oils and Zinc for her skin.

Something like Royal Canin, eagle Pack, Advance etc medium/large breed puppy and keep up the chicken necks. You can also add some flax seed oil or a product called Megaderm to her diet.

Lucky Dog is not a complete puppy food

[puggy_puggy]

Change her diet.

Wash her in a medicated shampoo from the vets.

She may also need antihistamines and a short course of cortisone to get the itchies under control.

Definatley go and see your vet as she has a skin condition.

[lucknow]

Initially make sure she does not have fleas, Sentinel does not kill fleas, it only stops the breeding cycle so anything you put into place won't work effectively if they are present...

Get her checked by a vet, it is likely that Malaseb is going to be recommended but it can be terrible if used inappropriately (and make sure you follow instructions and use gloves)

If no fleas are present get her off the flea shampoo, it is unnecessary chemicals and could be contributing to the problem, frequent wshhing strips the oils from the coat and results in scurf...

Add some Omega 3/6 supplements to the diet, it will (unless an allergy) only help with a nice coat and healthy skin

DO NOT use Velvet Soap - it is not intended for dogs and will only exacerbate the problem

Get her on a premium diet

[westielover]

If she's smelly - she could have a yeast infection - what are her ears like?

Please switch to a better quality food and stop washing her so frequently - especially in the flea shampoo. Perhaps look at getting some 'Aloveen' shampoo going forward. You shoudln't have to wash a dog more than once a month.

Diet is a very important factor when it comes to skin conditions. Review her diet and get her on a better quality food (not supermarket grade). Feed lots of raw meaty bones and some tinned fish.

Sentinel spectrum stops fleas from breeding - it also covers worms/heartworm - but it doesn't kill fleas on her. Ti kill fleas on her you need to use a spot flea treatment once a month in addition to SS - perhaps advantix or frontline.

Please avoid any cortisone treatment as that won't fix it - it will only supress it!

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Insofar as the diet is concerned, have a really good look at the ingredients and guaranteed analysis on the packet (its NOT on the website as far as can see) and then compare to the likes of Nutro Natural Choice and Royal Canin which are both super premium foods.

Sure Nutro and Royal Canin are expensive but you feed a lot less and they have quality ingredients.

[sas]

The crusty spots sound like what Dante gets from time to time, Vets call them a secondary skin infection from an allergy. It's believed it's Fungi and I put White Vinegar on it as Malaseb doesn't work for us

Dante is on high quality kibble, we have changed foods to try it out, but it's not the food as far as we can see, we have also supplemented with Zinc without success.

Edited March 14, 2008 by sas

[4 Paws]

One of my gsd's used to have an itchy skin problem.Had her at vets and they said it could be an airbourne allergy and put her on medication.This controlled it slightly but it still continued.When i went back for some more tablets another vet commented it could be a yeast infection as gsd's are prone to it so sold me malaseb,once again the combination controlled it but never stopped it.

I got onto Nutro Lamb and Rice and after about 2 moths they itchies stopped and she smelled better than ever.I combine this with a capsule a day of healthy paws capsules for skin/coat

[badboyz]

I would recommend first that you get the vet to check her out first for mites and rule out fleas/yeast. He will likely recommend a shampoo also - get that. Then I would give her 2 weeks of no dry food - raw only - chicken wings/frames/necks, mince/fish and vegies (steamed). If all is going well, you could then start to introduce a super premium dry food, as suggested: Nutro, Royal Canin, Nutrience, Eagle Pack, Advance. Look for the one's for sensitive skin. Do not be put off by the price as they are worth it and if you buy the biggest bags, work out not much dearer to the cheap crap as the proportions are much lower - not to mention much cleaner coming out the other end. However keep in mind the more raw food the better, and the cheaper it will be to feed. Good luck.

[persephone]

I agree with what the others have said...

STOP THE FREQUENT WASHING...especially in that shampoo.

Look at changing her diet to one containing mostly fresh/balanced foods or a premium dry dog food.

Take her to the vet to accurately diagnose the skin problem..that way you will know exactly with what you are dealing

Provide her with supplements which will help the skin recover.

Remember.. skin can only heal with what nourishment is INSIDE the dog... if ther isn't enough 'skin food' in the dog's body.. the skin is prone to problems .

Hope she is itch-free soon

[shmoo]

God lord im surprised the dog still has skin!

[benny123]

As others have said, please take her to the vet and no more washing in harsh flea shampoo.

A quality diet is very important, if she is not getting the nutrients she needs things will start breakdown as can be seen with her skin and coat. So please consider changing her to a premium dry food.

Here's a pic of a dog raised on quality kibble supplemented with (weekly) chicken frames, turkey necks, lamb necks, raw egg, sardines (twice a week) and yoghurt (daily). He has a blindingly shiny healthy coat, a lovely cold we nose and clear sparkly eyes. He eats Nutro Choice Lamb and Rice now and was raised on Nutro puppy kibble from 8 weeks. Diet does make a huge difference.

Good luck with your little girl.