My dog has itchy, flaky skin. What can I do to help them feel better?

Disney should be treated for fleas first in order to rule this out as a possible reason for the skin issues. There are many different types of flea medications in all different formulations, none of which are necessarily better than the other. It is all a matter of preference. If this does not work, I would recommend trying an antihistamine to see if Disney is experiencing some discomfort from an allergy. Sometimes benadryl can help with this, but other times sometimes more animal specific is required to control the itchiness. Other causes of skin issues include certain inflammatory and infectious diseases, immune mediated processes, environmental / contact allergies, and other less common causes. I would certainly try ruling out the easy stuff out first.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Maggi. I would start by bathing her with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner such as an oatmeal or fatty acid based formula. This will help to soothe her skin. As far as diet, I recommend Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. This is a high quality diet that will be rich in fatty acids. This will help with her coat quality as well. I hope this information helps!

Hello. It does sound like Dyce is allergic to something. It is best to have him seen by your veterinarian to try & get to the bottom of his issues, whether they be environmental allergies, food allergies, or even the presence of fleas or skin mites causing him to itch. We now have very good & very safe products to treat allergies, including Apoquel & Cytopoint. If you can not get Dyce to the vet, you can start him on a good fish oil supplement made for dogs, such as Dermapet & F.A. capsules. Most large pet retailers will have a good selection. You can also bathe Dyce 1-2 times weekly in cool water using a mild oatmeal based shampoo or one that contains either 1% hydrocortisone or pramoxine. These will give short term relief & when used regularly, may decrease the incidence of his allergic outbreaks. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This all depends on the severity and cause. If it’s very mild allergies, a shampoo like Duoxo Calm can help strengthen the skin barrier and decrease itching. (Bathe once to twice weekly during flare ups and try to leave the lather on for 5 minutes if possible.) If there is already a skin infection, hot spot, or it’s a hypersensitivity or flea/tick problem, you’ll need to visit your vet to get the proper treatment. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Aurora!

Flakes on the skin are usually from dry skin. You can get rid of the dry skin over time by bathing him in a moisturizing shampoo weekly and brushing his coat daily. Feeding a fatty acid supplement will improve his coat from the inside out. Please make sure you are using flea prevention as scratching from fleas will often irritate the skin and cause flaking of the skin. Also feeding a good quality food for sensitive skin or a food with salmon or fish in it will add omega 3 to the diet to improve the coat. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

You can wash Luna in an oatmeal shampoo and use the associated oatmeal conditioner, just make sure it’s a pet product, and this may help. Other things you can do is feed a diet aimed at skin health such as Nutro or Royal Canin. You can also add in an omega-3 fatty acid for dogs. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Sorry to see and hear that Cointhee is having some skin problems. This certainly does look like dry skin or what we call seborrhea sicca. It is in an area that I would be suspicious of a flea bite allergy commonly known as flea allergy dermatitis. So first off, I would recommend that you use a very effective flea/tick product even though the weather is cooling down. It is possible that you have some immature flea stages in the indoor environment (eggs, larvae, etc). Again I am just assuming here due to the location of the trouble spot and knowing nothing of the geographical area where you live. There are other things that you can be doing to help the problem. I would not bathe too frequently. This tends to dry out the skin and strips the oils that are needed to keep the skin and hair coat healthy. So don't bathe too frequently, I would say not more than once a month or so. Do spot bathing if certain areas need to be cleaned but not full baths too frequently. Make sure you are feeding a high quality, well balanced diet since nutrition can play a role. You can certainly supplement the diet with some fish oil and skin supplements designed to aid in keeping the skin and hair coat healthy. I will post a link at the bottom and recommend some products. Dry skin can be caused by a localized bacterial infection, low thyroid problem, intestinal parasites affecting nutrition and health, external parasite problems (fleas, ticks, mites, etc), lack of adequate rinsing when bathing, aroblem persists, you should take Cointhee to your vet and let them advise you based on the history and physical exam findings. Treating the underlying cause is key and your vet can discuss how to get to that point. Possible tests could be skin scrape, fungal culture, blood tests, etc. Here's the link for some very high quality supplements- http://www.vrshealth.com/canine-products/?petcoach=1977951 Check out the fish oil Canine Omega Benefits and the Cutaneo TruBenefits. Good luck