Dry Skin And Bald Butt

[Guest 3kids1grey]

A little over a month ago we adopted our 4th greyhound, our first all black fella. Shortly after we got him I noticed a lot of dandruff (our other boys have been brindle) and our girl is white with brindle so the flakes on the black really stood out to me. I started adding salmon oil to his food and have given warm baths with oatmeal shampoo and conditioner. After the bath he's good for a few days but then the dry skin reappears. He's also has some hive like bumps on his one side. They were really bad before I started the salmon oil, have lessened greatly, but I still feel like they are somewhat there still. He also has the bald butt, I know many other greyhounds have that but am now thinking if it's related to some allergy/skin thing he has going on.

 

Anyone else have experience with chronic dandruff/skin allergies? I'm going to call the vet but am wondering what else can be done besides the oil, bathing and we are already using a grain-free salmon and sweet potato kibble.

[a_daerr]

My advice is to stop the baths- repeated baths will dry his skin out even more, no matter what kind of shampoo you're using. The best supplement I've used for skin and coat is Missing Link. Reasonably priced, amazing results, and it worked FAST.

[Sambuca]

I agree, too many baths dry dogs out. As for the bald butt, bald is beautiful. Unless it seems there's an infection, bald butts are totally normal for many greyhounds.

Could the hives be acne? If the doesn't go away very soon, I'd go to the vet.

[Guest 3kids1grey]

I've only given him one bath. I know the bald butt is normal, I was just wondering if anyone was aware of a correlation between allergies and skin issues.

[Guest RMarie]

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's an allergy, yet. It could be stress or that he's just not yet acclimated to his new food (which is not to say he is allergic to it). What are you feeding? Until we figured out the right food for James (still a work in progress, actually), he had terrible skin, very dry and itchy. We applied coconut oil topically to the problem areas, which for us were his ears and armpits. He would scratch so much he ripped the skin off the tips of his ears! After we found a food that he tolerated better, his skin drastically improved. To keep it in good condition, we feed Missing Link.

 

Also, we always see dandruff after bathing...at least for several days.

[Guest 3kids1grey]

We feed Nature's Domain, a grain-free salmon and sweet potato formula from Costco. I will probably give the Salmon oil a few more weeks to work and also use coconut oil, which I use for myself and family, so I have oodles of it around. I'll see how his skin looks in a few more weeks. He has gained weight and his has gotten coat is shiny and soft since we got him (end of July) but the flakes on that black fur. Ugh!

 

I never thought of acne. I'll read up on that. I was thinking it was a hive-like issue since he had scratched the one spot a little raw (it has since healed with the salmon oil in the diet). But I can still see some "lumpiness."

[cleptogrey]

every dog takes a different amount of time to blow it's kennel coat and grow a new glorious coat- be patient.

 

a good suppliment takes at least 6 weeks to kick in. if you dog tolerates missing link- it's very very good. i personally stick w/ a liquid cold pressed salmon oi- lakse cronche to be exact- 4 pumps a day. when my dogs went off of it for 3 weeks of camping dry skin and dandruff popped up. they went back to their normal glossy coats in a month.

 

food wise, it's a hard call but you are using a good combo- i would stick w/ it for a while. the bumps could have been from bugs outside if he hangs out in the yard or it could have been as simple as a hot spot. hydorcortizone and aloe are great for incidients like that. if they are gone, they are gone, a thing of the past. if you do decide to change foods make sure the amount of protien and fat are equivilant in the new variety. we didn't have luck w/ nature's domain, but that's us. remember costco takes everything back- opened, partially used, what ever- it's their policy.

 

bath wise i find that my dogs always get dry skin after a bath. i generally bath them once a year when they are really stinky. a rinse w/ clear water seems to do the trick most of the time. greyhounds do not have an odor unless these is something going on w/ their skin.

Edited September 25, 2013 by cleptogrey

[Guest LunaTheGreyt]

Luna had terrible dandruff when I first got her, too. Fish oil didn't do anything for her, but Missing Link, as previously mentioned did WONDERS for her skin and coat! She barely sheds now and has little to no dandruff (gets a few flakes in stressful situations). Her chest, butt, and stomach have grown in very nicely as well. Some of it is probably just due to having more time off the track, but I definitely think Missing Link has played a part! She eats Kirkland lamb & rice.

[Guest kalzanetti]

For the Missing Link, do you just sprinkle it on their food at every meal?

[ramonaghan]

For the Missing Link, do you just sprinkle it on their food at every meal?

 

I sprinkle it over the kibble and add a little warm water and stir to make it like a gravy. Sweep loves it. I recently switched to this formula since it also contains a probiotic and thus has the added benefit of firming up poo.

[Guest LunaTheGreyt]

For the Missing Link, do you just sprinkle it on their food at every meal?

 

Yep just follow the guide on the bag. I add water, but it's not necessary. Love the idea of the ML + probiotic! Might try that in a few months when my current bag of ML is gone.