I need a miracle for my dog. He is a retreiver mix with horrible skin. His skin is dry, itchy, and flaky. I groom him often and bath him regularly. He has been to the vet for it and been given medication, but it doesn't help. It has made it worse. I thought that maybe it was his food, so I started making food for him instead of buy it. That didn't help. He got better, but not totally. I am hoping to find a way to help him out with his skin. Any suggestions?

It may be an environmental allergy. My cat used to get a red, flaky tummy and tail. We did all the usual changed food, blah, blah, blah. Finally the vet mentioned that the cat may be allergic to something in our house or might be going through allergies like people do. He recommended a topical antiseptic ointment (we bought Bag Balm at CVS it comes in a green tin and its in the lotion aisle usually by cocoa butter) to apply to the irritated areas. It did help our cat and since it has a bitter taste it keeps them from over grooming the irritated area.

How many times do you bath him?May be it's the shampo your using...

I feed my dogs Pro Plan, brush them regularly, and seldom if ever bathe them. Their skin and coats are fine, and they don't have any odor problem. If doing the same with your dog doesn't clear up it skin problems, likely it is some physical problem. It sometimes is very difficult to track down and work around allergies.

I don't think home made diets are the solution. They may seem to work for a while, but unless just right, eventually many dogs suddenly die.

What makes them suddenly die, labman, malnutrition?

Frogie4507 you may be able to try a product called sulfodene I believe it is the doggie version of dandruff shampoo for dry itching flaky skin, sold at walmart. Also the bag balm is sold at walmarts.

Most vets will agree that giving your dog a bath on a regular basis contributes to the problem, if it is not the actual reason for the problem in the first place. Bathing dries out the dogs natural skin oils that are necessary to keep the skin from getting flaky and itchy. As labman points out, regular brushing is what is needed. Try testing that routine for a few months and see if it has any effect. If your dog is a bit stinky, there are products out there that will allow you to give your dog a "dry bath". Ask your vet about a product called Efa HyLyt Bath Oil. It is a hypoallergenic spray with conditioners & natural moisturizers. I use this during the winter months to help alleviate my dogs dry, itchy, flaky skin that occurs from the lack of humidity. It is positioned on the market as an after bath treatment to restore your dog's natural skin oil, but my vet recommended it in place of a bath (as a dry bath treatment), and told me to spray it on lightly, rub it into her skin, and do not wash it out. Just brush her after treatment. Works very nicely. It doesn't get rid of the problem entirely because my dog also suffers from allergies. Labman and I disagree about the next thing I am going to recommend, but it does work for both me (dry eye & skin in the winter) and my dog. My vet recommended that I try mixing a teaspoon of flax seed oil (or just flax seed), in with her kibble once a day. Using both those tricks helped alleviate the problem tremendously.

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Originally Posted by Emland

What makes them suddenly die, labman, malnutrition?

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Quite often is it pancreatitis. The problem may be too much vegtables. Raw carrots are bad, stimulating the production of insulin.