dry skin...

[lemonie]

Rhamses is constantly itching and chewing at his skin. I know bulldogs are prone to skin issues but didn't think I'd be walking this road this soon. We've ridded him of fleas and he's now on revolution but that was about 2 wks ago. I can see his skin scratched really red in some spots but have noticed no hot spots or bald areas. He's on Artemis Fresh Mix med/lg breed puppy and I've started supplementing fish oil, vit E. and an occassional whole raw egg to help. The skin is showing a little dander when I groom him. Any other reccommendation or should I just sit back and see what happens for a few weeks? He's only bathed when he's dirty and I only use an oatmeal puppy shampoo.

[Bclover92]

i dont know of anything else, except ask the vet or take him too a groomer and see what they say to do...

[mara]

Maybe some Flax seed oil.....some people here use Evening Primrose.
Is his thyroid OK?

[GreyhoundGirl]

I'd reccomend either changing food or adding wild alaskan salmon oil to his food. WASO works wonders! I've never heard of "Artemis Fresh Mix " but most foods seem to be low in omega 3 and omega 6, (which makes their fur and skin healthy. ) Fish oil is also available in capsules.

For dandruff I usually reccomend a tablespoon safflower oil with every meal. Most oils will help, flaxseed oil has been mentined, it is good. Sunflower oil is good, but not as good as safflower. I"m not sure if this is a case of dandruff or what would be causing this. I only have suggestions because I only know of skin and coat care, I'm no expert in health problems, so you might want to get a few suggestions about health problems that may be causing this.

[lemonie]

Thanx for all the info. I'll keep monitoring things and see if what I'm trying is fixing the problem and if it is indeed just dry skin. I've heard of the safflower oil before too and will have to try it. We did a skin scraping at the shelter to rule out mange. I guess I should mention that he was on science diet still till about 2-3 weeks ago when we changed him over. There was no way I was leaving him on that stuff!!! He just might not have been on this new diet long enough to notice major change in skin and coat.

[Dobified]

Originally Posted by mara

Maybe some Flax seed oil.....some people here use Evening Primrose.
Is his thyroid OK?

Flax oil really helps. You can buy this at any health food store and it comes in capsules or liquid. You can giev a capsule a day. When I feed my horses milled flax I give the dogs a tablspoon a day of that.

[shanniesue2]

Originally Posted by lemonie

Thanx for all the info. I'll keep monitoring things and see if what I'm trying is fixing the problem and if it is indeed just dry skin. I've heard of the safflower oil before too and will have to try it. We did a skin scraping at the shelter to rule out mange. I guess I should mention that he was on science diet still till about 2-3 weeks ago when we changed him over. There was no way I was leaving him on that stuff!!! He just might not have been on this new diet long enough to notice major change in skin and coat.

If you're just now changing his diet, it could be in response to that. Did you change him gradually? Did you start the switch 2-3 weeks ago or complete the switch 2-3 weeks ago? Has he always had skin problems or is this a recent thing? Which Science Diet formula did you have him on and did he have problems with it?

I just looked at the Artemis ingredients and it looks like a good quality food. Although if the skin issues don't clear up in another week or so, maybe you should try something with an alternate protein and carbohydrate source (duck and potato or fish and sweet potato... something like that). Natural Balance makes some good formulas for dogs that need single source alternate protein foods.

[lemonie]

Originally Posted by shanniesue2

If you're just now changing his diet, it could be in response to that. Did you change him gradually? Did you start the switch 2-3 weeks ago or complete the switch 2-3 weeks ago? Has he always had skin problems or is this a recent thing? Which Science Diet formula did you have him on and did he have problems with it?

I just looked at the Artemis ingredients and it looks like a good quality food. Although if the skin issues don't clear up in another week or so, maybe you should try something with an alternate protein and carbohydrate source (duck and potato or fish and sweet potato... something like that). Natural Balance makes some good formulas for dogs that need single source alternate protein foods.

I changed it gradually over a week, though he pretty much pushed the Science Diet out of the way and ate only the Artemis for the most part. He was on SD Puppy (its what our shelter feeds). He was still scratching back then but he also had fleas at the time. I just hate that food! (unless its prescription of course) He had terrible gas on it. I am thrilled with the Artemis and how he is developing and looking while on it. I've tried Natural Balance in the past, and while I think its one of the best brands in the petstores- I would prefer to never go back to it. My pets had gas really bad with that too and they shed a lot more. I'm really crossing my fingers that all these great suggestions will yeild some positive results. Tx everyone for the imput!

[lemonie]

Rhamses' skin continues to improve and it is fun watching him try to eat those eggs. I would still like to try the safflower oil but am having trouble finding it at the local grocery stores. I was thinking it might be by the vegetable and olive oils but it wasn't. I even checked the sections on massage oils, lotions, organic and herbal. Everyone I asked has never heard of it. Any other suggestions or do I need to just try other stores and if so, which kind of store?

[alimel]

Sounds like you are trying every possible option. I had a similar problem with my Rottie. Changing his diet from Science Diet helped, but I also took him to our vet and we were given a prescription shampoo. He is great now, no skin problems.