[Gracies_Mom]

hey all!

I just noticed that Gracie has some dandruff on her back toward her tail. Dry skin I know is common in labs and I want to know what I can do to get rid of this. She is on Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food now, should I switch? Also, her coat is thick and coarser and not as slick like a lot of labs. I have brushed her a few times as well. Should I start giving her fish oil supplements?

thanks to any tips that you can give me.

 

[imported_kiddsmom]

Thick and coarse is what you want. Labs should not have soft nor slick coats. I personally don't think that puppies should be supplemented with anything. Do you run the heater a lot in the house? Might have something to do with it. Also, some dogs do get seasonal dandruff, mine gets his in October when he is blowing his coat, now he has none.

 

[Gracies_Mom]

no, we don't run the heater too much. Maybe its a seasonal thing like you said. I am just going to continue to brush her and keep and eye on it. I don't think it's allergies either because she is not itching or bothered at all by it.

 

[Baloo317]

Most northern households take a big hit in humidity when it starts to get colder outside. I know we went from ~65% in the summer to ~35-45% now, and that's WITH a humidifier. :whatever: Baloo gets a bit of dry skin because of that drop. I do, too. :ugly:

 

[Gracies_Mom]

Most northern households take a big hit in humidity when it starts to get colder outside. I know we went from ~65% in the summer to ~35-45% now, and that's WITH a humidifier. :whatever: Baloo gets a bit of dry skin because of that drop. I do, too. :ugly:

yeah... i am wondering about this too. sounds about right. I know my skin is super dry. We live in Maryland so its getting pretty cold here now, had some snow here today. We have a humidifier going now but it's a portable one on the main level of the house not down where Gracie is. I was brushing her today and I didn't see any flakes on her fur so I am not too worried about it now. I think the daily brushing is stimulating the oils in her skin some too.

 

[Bob Pr.]

I think dry, non-humidified air AND/OR using shampoos that are not formulated for dogs are the 2 big reasons for dandruff on dogs.

 

[Gracies_Mom]

I think dry, non-humidified air AND/OR using shampoos that are not formulated for dogs are the 2 big reasons for dandruff on dogs.

we gave her a bath once in the past month and that was over three weeks ago. I used a specially formulated puppy shampoo. Only thing I can think of is our dehumidifier isn't doing its job well for the house.

 

[Di]

Sammi is 2 1/2 and has had exactly 2 baths, and only because she got into something stinky while camping! I started using a humidifier last winter due to the suggestions on the board and started giving her fish oil when she was about 9 months old! She still gets a little dandruff, but very little compared to before and its always worse in the colder months or if she is swimming a lot! Good luck with little Gracie- Di

 

[Gracies_Mom]

Sammi is 2 1/2 and has had exactly 2 baths, and only because she got into something stinky while camping! I started using a humidifier last winter due to the suggestions on the board and started giving her fish oil when she was about 9 months old! She still gets a little dandruff, but very little compared to before and its always worse in the colder months or if she is swimming a lot! Good luck with little Gracie- Di

how did you give sammi the fish oil? in her food? And where did you buy it? This dandruff is really slight, barely noticeable. I am brushing her and it seems to be less noticeable. I only gave Gracie a bath because the breeder mentioned I might after picking her up because she was in a crate with her brother and it got stinky in there (they went to the bathroom on the newspaper in the crate, she was at a dog show when I picked her up.)

 

[Di]

Sammi is 2 1/2 and has had exactly 2 baths, and only because she got into something stinky while camping! I started using a humidifier last winter due to the suggestions on the board and started giving her fish oil when she was about 9 months old! She still gets a little dandruff, but very little compared to before and its always worse in the colder months or if she is swimming a lot! Good luck with little Gracie- Di

how did you give sammi the fish oil? in her food? And where did you buy it? This dandruff is really slight, barely noticeable. I am brushing her and it seems to be less noticeable. I only gave Gracie a bath because the breeder mentioned I might after picking her up because she was in a crate with her brother and it got stinky in there (they went to the bathroom on the newspaper in the crate, she was at a dog show when I picked her up.)

I get my fish oil from Costco, I squeeze the oil over her food, I know some just give them the tablet. Once a week she gets sardines in water not oil, on that day she doesn't get the fish oil. She loves her sardines She has no itching and very little dandruff. This seems to be doing the trick and this has been our routine for over a 1 1/2 now. There are so many wonderful resources on this board, I'm sure you will get some wonderful information here!

 

[Bob Pr.]

I get my fish oil from Costco, I squeeze the oil over her food, I know some just give them the tablet.

We also use the Costco Fish Oil capsules.

I tried putting one in a glass of warm water and since it dissolved within a few minutes, I figure they do the same thing in Puff's stomach. So I just drag it through peanut butter to get a dab on it and then down Puff's pie hole it goes.