How to Reduce Dry Skin in Dogs

Surely every owner wants his dog to be comfortable in a shiny and healthy coat. Unfortunately, dogs will feel itchy and uncomfortable if their skin is dry. Dog skin can also become rough and scaly. To protect your dog’s health, you should take steps to improve your dog’s coat and skin.

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Dog skin review

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Look for signs of dry skin. The first sign of dry skin is the dog scratching hard when you touch the dog’s skin. If you part your dog’s coat, you may also notice other signs of dry skin such as: ^{[1] X Small Animal Internal Medicine Research Source . Nelson & Couto. Mosby}

Dry and flaky skin
Dandruff
Itchy
Crispy and rough skin
Cracked and rough skin

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Consider your dog’s health. Watch out for signs of recent changes in your dog. For example, does the appetite (can the dog eat more or less) or the amount of water the dog drinks change? Does the dog’s activity level change? If you suspect your dog is suffering from an illness, take him to the vet. Dry skin can be caused by a number of diseases. Once the disease is treated, the dog’s dry skin should go away. ^{[2] X Small Animal Internal Medicine Research Source . Nelson & Couto. Mosby}

Unclear changes in behavior can be a sign of certain conditions such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), Cushing’s disease, infection, or diabetes. These diseases can affect the health of the dog’s skin and coat, especially in older dogs.

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Check for parasites on the dog’s coat. Observe the dog’s hair up close. You can brush and look for dandruff flakes on your dog’s coat. Note that the white flakes that you think are a sign of dry skin are most likely small bugs. This is the Cheyletiella dog beetle. Cheyletiella beetles are nicknamed “walking dandruff” because they simply look like dandruff. However, you will spot them moving when you look carefully.

Veterinarians can diagnose Cheyletiella ticks by looking at your dog’s skin under a microscope. You can use a spray (containing Fipronil) every two weeks to kill ticks. ^{[3] X Source of Parasitic Mites of Dogs and Dats. Fpey. Comp Cont Ed Prac Vet 13.}

Improve dog skin

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Provides complete nutrition for dogs. You need to make sure to provide your dog with a quality, balanced diet and plenty of clean water. When shopping for dog food, you should choose foods with meat (chicken, beef, or lamb) as the first ingredient, followed by vegetables like sweet potatoes or carrots. These quality ingredients are often more nutritious than “meat by-products” or “soybeans”. Besides, high-quality products often contain many vitamins and minerals. You can also look for foods fortified with vitamin E or omega-6 fatty acids to nourish your skin. Alternatively, you can add olive oil to your dog’s food to prevent dry skin. Olive oil has the ability to moisturize the skin and treat dry skin in dogs. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Cheap foods often contain poor quality ingredients and undergo more processing. As a result, cheap food can be harmful to your dog’s skin, especially when you’re switching dog food from high quality to low quality. Changes in the dog’s skin are not immediately noticeable and can take about a month.

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Give your dog a functional food. Whether you buy high-quality or poor-quality dog food, some nutrients will be broken down during processing. If your dog has dry skin, you should give your dog a supplement to supplement nutrients. These foods help nourish the skin cells located deep within the tissue, thereby helping to keep the skin healthy after about a month of use. ^{[5] X Research Source Therapeutic Use of Fish Oils in Companion Animals. Bauer. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 239 (11)} You might consider the following supplements:

Vitamin E: Every day for dogs, use 1.6-8 mg per 1 kg of body weight. It is advisable to consult with your veterinarian about the appropriate dosage for your dog. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that improves dog skin and promotes skin repair by fighting skin damage caused by environmental aggressors such as pollution. ^{[6] X Research Source The effect of dietary Vitamin E on oxidative status of dogs. Twedt. J Vet Intern Med. 17: 418}
Omega fatty acids or oils. These are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Omega-3 fatty acids are found in flaxseeds, corn, soybean oil, and omega-6s are found in fish oils. These fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties (especially helpful for dogs with allergies), thereby helping to nourish skin cells and improve the skin barrier. The recommended daily dose is 30 mg per 1 kg of dog weight. Giving your dog too much fatty acid can cause diarrhea.

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Brush your dog’s coat regularly. You should brush your dog’s coat every day to spread the natural oils throughout the dog’s coat, protect and keep the coat shiny and also prevent oil from accumulating and causing irritation to the dog’s skin. Grooming is a simple way to improve a dog’s skin. Just like a massage, brushing helps increase blood flow to the skin. Besides, brushing also helps to increase oxygen to the skin, remove impurities and reduce dryness. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Immediately remove blood stains on the dog’s coat. These dull marks can stick to the dog’s skin on contact and lead to flaking and dryness.

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Bathing the dog. Bathing your dog not only helps prevent dirt and oil build-up, but it also allows you to better see problems with the dog’s coat and skin (such as ticks). In general, you should bathe your dog every month or up to every two weeks if the dog’s skin is normal. For dogs with dry skin, you should bathe your dog with an oatmeal shampoo to avoid further drying out the dog’s skin.

Choose a shampoo that is pH balanced and suitable for your dog’s skin. ^{[8] X Trusted Source American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Go to the source} Do not use scented shampoos to avoid drying out your dog’s skin. Oatmeal shampoo is moisturizing and non-greasy.

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Control indoor humidity. Low humidity due to cold weather can cause dry skin or make it worse. You should control the humidity in your home by using a humidifier. On the other hand, the heater in the house can also dry out the dog’s skin, so you need to avoid turning on the heater to be too hot. Also, keep your dog away from the fireplace.

You should also keep your dog indoors during cold and dry weather.

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Patient. It takes a while for the new layer of skin cells to form and restore moisture to the skin. The mature skin cells above are often old and dry, so they are very prone to peeling. The underlying skin cells are called “germ” or young cells. It takes 28 days for young skin cells to move upwards and become mature skin cells. Therefore, you need to nourish the dog’s skin for at least 1 month to notice an improvement in the dog’s skin.

After a month or two of nourishing your dog’s skin, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your dry skin treatment. ^{[9] X Research Source Therapeutic Use of Fish Oils in Companion Animals. Bauer. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 239 (11)}

Advice

Practice brushing your puppy’s coat as soon as possible so that the puppy can acclimate and become comfortable with brushing.

Steps

Dog skin review

Improve dog skin

Advice

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