Does Your Dog Have Dry, Flaky Skin? Here's The Home Remedy Our Veterinarian Recommends
Our dog, Tenor, has such a thick and luscious coat of fur. (He's part Black Lab, part Great Pyrenees, but he mostly just looks like your average Labrador Retriever.)
His skin and coat weren't always in such great shape, though. In fact, a few months ago he had dry, flaky, itchy skin so bad that we thought he had an incurable skin disease!
Here's what the vet recommended. And it worked like a charm!
One Option: Antibiotics
The first time we noticed the flaky skin, we probably waited a bit too long to take him to the vet.Against our better judgment, we tried an over the counter remedy first. It was a spray-on leave-in conditioner specifically made for a dog's dry skin. After a few days of that and no change, we ended up taking him to the vet for something better. (The dog smelled wonderful, but you could still see lots of small white flakes on his pitch-black coat of thick fur.)
In fact, by the time we took him to the vet, his skin problem had turned kind of scabby and itchy. NOT a good sign.
The veterinarian said it was probably allergies, but without running a lot of tests he couldn't be sure. At this point, it was most important that we clear up the itchy and scabby spots on his skin, so he recommended a 10-day dose of antibiotics (Cephalexin). That worked like a charm. Within 2 days, the flaky skin was pretty much gone.
But the vet had warned us... if Tenor's dry skin was in fact due to allergies, then it would likely return. The trick then would be to selectively test a variety of foods, products, environments to determine what exactly he was allergic to. (That didn't sound like fun!!!)
Another Option: Olive Oil
A month or so later, Tenor's dry skin had reappeared. It wasn't as bad as the first time... just random flakes here and there.
The vet said before we go through all the tests for allergies, let's try a simple home remedy first: Olive Oil.
He said to pour a tablespoon or so of Olive Oil right on his food 2 to 3 times each week, and see how that worked. We did it, and boy, did his coat get thick and shiny and flake-free in no time!
I can't recommend this stuff enough! Tenor loves it, too. It reminds me of the days when we used to add doggie gravy to his dry dog food. It was always a special treat. Now, the Olive Oil is his special treat at feeding time.
I'd have to say the best home remedy for a dog's dry, itchy flaky skin is plain and simple Olive Oil.
Why Dogs Get Dry Itchy Skin
The vet said most likely our dog's flaky skin is simply due to dry air inside the house -- especially since we have gas heat.He said dogs that spend a lot of time indoors during the winter months tend to get mild skin conditions like this. It's (usually) no big deal. And Olive Oil will typically remedy the situation throughout the entire winter season.
IMPORTANT: If your dog has dry flaky skin -- and it persists -- then then be sure to discuss it with your own veterinarian. Olive Oil won't cure everything!
We've been adding a glug or two to our dog's dry food a few times each week for a month or so now and his coat has never looked better. (By the way, 'glug' is a Rachel Ray term.) His coat is much thicker and shinier since we've started adding the Olive Oil to his food.
To Give You An Idea Just How Well The Olive Oil Works...
We left Tenor at a doggie kennel last weekend, while we went out of town for a wedding. And naturally, they didn't add anything to his dog food during his 3-day stay there. (I suppose if I'd asked them to, they would have.) When we picked him up at the kennel, the first thing we noticed was how dry and flaky his skin was.So now he's back on the Olive Oil, and he's loving it. And his coat looks great again. It works really quickly!
Just For Laughs
Yeah well, his skin and coat may be great, but he needs a little help controlling his drool sometimes. Ah but that's a whole 'nother issue...
Why are home recipes not pushing Omega Oil 3 it has worked wonders besides Olive Oil any kind for dry skin on Cats and Dogs.
Pam Walsh
I have a 4 lb Blue Meryl long hair Cihuahua that I rescued from abuse whom had been given away so many times and no one wanted him because he was so mean and would bite. The Vet was even scared of him and told me I needed to put him down. A lady vet told me if she had the dog he would be with Jesus. Needless to say I don;t see either of those Vets any more and so proud to prove them WRONG!!
He just needed a lot of love, a lot of understanding and a lot of patience and now all I have to figure out is how to stop him from literally pulling out his hair, scratching, gnawing, itching and biting himsel all the time. Not just winter but all the time!
OMG. I have spent a fortune on Vet bills, meds, special shampoo's, Aveeno dry oatmeal colloidal bath, Aveeno special moisterizing bath, unscented bath shampoos, Cod Liver Oil, special foods dry and packaged, Salmon and whatever else I forgot to put. lol
My next step is to try the Olive Oil and if it works on him then you have answered a question that NO ONE else has and believe me I have done my research online and off for about 3 years now. I stay so stressed and have actually cried because I could not help him and am so tired of seeing him suffer. If this works then it is an answer to my prayers and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
If your little pup has stools that are to soft you should trying using a probiotic. My husband and I have a Jack Russel that tends to have more loose stolls than normal stools. We went to the pet store bought the probiotic and literally within 2 feedings his stools were MUCH better! It comes in a small jar and it is powder, all you do is sprinkle the recommended dosage into the food and thats it! Also another thing that works really well for skin problems is fish oil. I have the Jack, a german shepherd and a lab/husky mix. All 3 get fish oil daily (smaller doses) and it works wonders. Lol one more thing....my shepherd was on some decent pet food called nutromax. I noticed recently that she was shedding and itching terribly. I switched her from "cheap" food to an all natural food...less junk more goodness and that also worked wonders!! She is now on Blue Buffalo.
Is your black lab doing better with the olive oil?
We have a yellow, chocolate and black, and the black is the only one with nasty skin problems. He has been to the vet at least three times for this. I do not want to put him on antibiotics again. They also put him on steroids (prednisone) which is the ONLY thing that works. The catch is now, they won't refill his prescription w/o MORE blood work! We are starting the olive oil tonite!
If a vet wants to put down an animal because it has dry skin, I would say to see another vet.
I REALLY WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOUR COMMENT.I'VE LEARNED ALOT.SO I'M GIVING THE OLIVE OIL A TRY.
Any olive oil dose suggestions for a 5 lbs (Yes, 5 lbs) tin cup chihuahua... 1/2 a tablespoon every other day? Just to be safe with too soft stool issues.
This has been very usefull information. I used to years ago give my dog fish oil and didn't have this problem. I just started with the olive oil over his dry food. Both of my dogs seem to love it. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know.
Hi....i read your comment and im very much curious to what your dogs dry spots look like and where they were located on the body.. i also have a daschund he is black n just turned 5 yrs old. He has been to the vet over 6 times in the past 4 months which i really cant afford anymore its too much and nothin seems to be really helpin. the antiobotics helped a little but then his ear got infected n had to get it drained. Now he has dry spots around his neck. and some beginin on the rear back. I really need some help and advice. anyone can help me please do. This is my first dog and i love him to death . Dont want anythin to happen to him im so scared. Thank you.... DOGS RULE
I just came across this site,but wish i knew about it 3 weeks earlier,I'll get back to that in a few,so i was looking for something for my chocolate lab,because he has very dry skin,and found that olive oil will do the trick so I'm excited about that.However another dog we had was 13 years a little yorkie,well to make a long story short,the vet said he had allergies and all the meds he has taken simply wasn't helping,The vet suggested we put him to sleep because he was chewing his hair off to the skin,I wish the vet would have let us know about this small but miracle cure,but was not talked about.Just that it wasn't right to let your pet suffer like that,so I'm passing the word to all my pet friends if your pet has dry skin and scratches relentlessly please try olive oil!!
i hope the olive oil help too,my dog a chicolate lab flaky skin is turning worst by the day ,i had just started wtih 2 table spoon of olive oil added to his food in the morning!!
Thanks everyone for these great ideas i will try it on all 3 of my dogs and see how there skin looks. having 3 indoor dogs can be tuff on the pocket book with all the vet bills so i would rather try the olive oil before i take them to the vets.
first time i posted was nov of 2008 since then my pits get the oil on their food at least 3 times a week and yah have not had a vet bill since...dogs are doing great and so is my pocket book..a 10 dollar bottle of olive oil is much better that a 400 dollor vet bill. no flaks no red spots no break outs. i tell everyone i know about this and it works my dogs are living examples.. thanks for all the advise on this sure am glad i found this sit. would have been in bankruptes by now if i had not found it.
We have had problems with our chocolate lab since we got her as a puppy last summer, and it is only getting worse. She eats high quality (no corn, wheat, soy or byproducs) salmon food and you'd never know it. We very recently started her on a tablespoon a day of fish oil, as she started to lose hair around her eyes and nose and get little bumps. The vet says it's just allergies. A friend of ours recomended olive oil to us last night, along with benadryl until the major itching calms down. I am praying this works, poor girl is just so uncomfortable. Great article and thank you all for your posts!!!
If you give the oil in their food.. almost right away you'll see a difference. You won't need to put anything on their skin. I noticed a differnce in about 4 days.
Hi Thanks ill try the oil, but is there any thing that I can put on my dog skin to stop the itching. I have two beagles and they have alergies. there skin is flacky and I want to help with the scratching.
I have A Minpin and he has dry skin bad. I hate to give him a bath b/c it makes it worse. What is the best. I've tryed alot of things.
ITS A MIRACLE!! My 10 year old Wheaton has suffered most of his life with "allergies" which affected his skin, ears, paws, lips....just about everything. He licks, scratches and bites the fur out. HIs ear canals have swollen shut & his paw pads turned bright red & swollen. His skin is spotted black and has turned completely black in certain areas. He has been to several doctors and the vet bills have to be thousands of dollars. They keep putting him on antibiotics, giving me itch spray and medical baths. It always comes back. He hit rock bottom last weekend & I decided to do some of my own research before I lost my furry guy. Since beginning my treatment on Monday, he is 90% better and today is Thursday of the same week. Here's what I'm doing...probiotics, apple cider vinegar & Aveeno oatmeal baths. He gets a 4oz cup of Activia yogurt in the morning and two acidophilus pills. This puts the good bacteria back into his system since the Vet killed it all overusing antibiotics. I dab a 50/50 solution of apple cider vinegar and water on his hot spots - some very red & very big every night. After two days I gave him a bath using baby shampoo, rinsed & then gave him an Aveeno Oatmeal bath. His skin is almost perfect. HIs paws are back to normal & his ears are open, clear and pink again. I am so happy!! I fixed my dog!
I neglected to say we give a few drops only every single day..Gunnie weighs only 12 lbs.
I wrote on this blog in Feb. wishing for a miracle. A month went by and no miracle...but my husband continued daily to give Gunnie a little olive oil on top of his food. I can truthfully say NOW over two months later we see drastic results. So do not give up. With his allergy shot and meds it did not help the dry skin but the olive oil is now making a difference. I just wanted to let you know so that you don't give up like I almost did. Best of luck to you and our furry friends.
My dog had dry flacky skin, continually licked and chewed at her pawsand she had chronic ear infections. I started to feed her Canidae lamb and rice and with in a couple weeks all of her symptoms were gone. Her soft and shiney with no more flakes. I would highly recommend Canidae. It is a high quality dog food with no corn or wheat. I have saved numerous dollars in vet costs as my dog is now healthy.
I was told over the weekend to try Canola Oil. It has a lot of the same qualities that make up fish oil but without the smell and taste. I just started my chihuahua on it. We will see if it works.
I'm so glad I found this site and your story. I have a 4 1/2 mo old chihuahua who has developed a dry, flakey patch in the middle of his back. I bought him fragerance free shampoo and applied a skin conditioning oil but now I'm going to put the olive oil on his food. Hopefully he'll like the taste as much as your doggie did. Thanks!
Thank you! We adopted our pitbull last fall and all has been perfect--until three weeks ago when she started shedding so bad. Between winter heating and the "low fat" adult dog food--and the wiggling on her back started--I knew something had to give. She's not scabbing--but she is so flaky and hairy. I was afraid to do the human thing--add oil to her diet, but after reading this--its' a good start! My vet is into simple remedies, so the olive oil will be in her diet.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanx for understanding I was not being rude, only joking around!
LOL... You got me there. Mine once ate an entire leather boot and all that was left was the metal buckles. **Shaking head** Why stop at the buckles?
Chris, I don't give gabby grease ALL the time because yes it is unhealthy, but every once in a while we did 'cause she scratched so badly.We were willing to try anything! We just had her spay surgery done and the vet said she actually has a skin condition(allergy) to something and she is now on meds. Besides, I figured if she eats gloves, paper plates and cat terds, a little grease ain't gonna hurt her !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey everyone, remember me? anyways its been about a month and a half since i changed my puppies food plus i give her olive oil twice a day, i put in her food and she goes crazy she really loves the taste and she knows what the bottle look likes..anyways just to let you know she scratches less now to...so you see theres no miracle just some good oil....
I have a Dachshund, and she was developing dry patches of skin and alot of flaking. I read Lynette and your comments, and started giving her one (1) tablespoon of olive oil every 3 days. This is great. I have noticed less flaking and her coat is alot shinier, and also, the patches don't have the dry skin they used to have. Thank you so very much for your comments, because I was getting ready to take her to the vet about this, but your remedy worked wonders.
I did this years ago w/ another dog I owned but couldn't remember exactly what it was so Thank you for posting this! I have a Mini pincher and he just started to lick his paws and legs alot and the vet told me it was probably the weather. (It's a bad winter this year in New England) Of course they wanted me to purchase their stuff and when I said, "No Thank You, I'd rather do it all naturally." the vet tech rudely said to me, "OUR stuff IS all natural." But I still declined. I knew that I could just add some oil to his food and he'd be fine. And it saves me 30 bucks. This works wonders and I'm glad I found the tip again! :)
My only concern is that the grease is not that healthy for them to have all the time. Olive oil is a very healthy oil that they can have every day.
If Olive oil is the answer it will be a miracle. We have a little peek-a-poo that has developed severe dry skin during the winter months especially. We can take a wire brush and it's unbelieveable the flaking. We use oatmeal doggie shampoo which the vet suggested. He has had shots and also meds. Still nothing works and now he has developed a cough from time to time but the vet says he is fine. He is about 12 pounds so I am thinking maybe a teaspoon rather than a tablespoon. Gunnie is 9 years old and our baby since our kids are gone and I just want to help him so thank you to all of you who have suggested such a quick easy fix. If it works.....God bless you for taking the time to share this information. Sure glad I googled tonight.
Thank-You So much for your article and the comments below. My Min-Pincher has flakes, not big ones but after rolling and sqwim-sqwerming on the carpet,she gets up and there are little flakes on her back, hips, and a little on the head. Being Black and tan it shows up a lot. It makes her look dirty, even if she's had a bath. I was wondering about some type of oil. I so very happy You recommend Olive Oil, that is all I use. First thing in the Morning, I'm giving it a try. Thank-You so much! Mojave Desert.
Hi,I know where you are all coming from..been there.
I am again going through the same problem with my 5 1/2 month old cockahso,I have changed her food to Royal Canine instead of (pronature) that was the stuff that they fed her at the pet shop where I bought her,...it's been two weeks now for the change over, but the real results are seen only after two months.I have been giving her and my shiztu olive oil for one week now,except I give them a teaspoon every day, there is no danger to this..and the puppy also had a bath and shave today.......so........with the change over,olive oil and bath and shave.she should stop biting and scratching at her self..I hope anyways, my vet says as long as its not allergies she should stop within a month or so....
i had to take my pit bulls to the vet and they got some meds and medicated shampo to clear up the infection that they had lost hair and red bumps....after meds were done started the olive oil and they are doing great. i would check with the vet and have them look at it if you need the name of the meds that mine were on just email me and i will let you know what my vet gave my dogs,.
Barbara,
I have tried the olive oil in the food, with a little bit of success. Bacon grease or Hamburger grease (cooled obviously) seems to be working best for our black lab. She is 1 and 1/2 years old. Last winter she was fine. This year she is making me feel horrible scratching. Try the grease!
Our black lab Sadie lies on her back and goes in circles scratching her back above her
tail. She has even rubbed some of her fur off. I tried olive oil,just rubbing it into her skin. I will try it on her food.Her coat has always been beautiful until this winter. I feel so bad for her as she scratches so much.Our yellow lab doesn't have this problem. Is this a condition that only happens to black labs as their fur is so much thicker? Our labs are sisters but I guess that doesn't mean they they both have the same type skin. Let me know if anyone knows of any other home remedies.
Thanks.barbara
I've been battling white flakes on my five-year-old standard poodle since September. I changed food and things never got worse, but they didn't get better either. I'll be trying this suggestion of a tablespoon of Olive Oil on his food two or three times a week, too.
Thanks for the information,I have a female black lab retriever her name is Angie, she has dry flackly skin.Looks like dandruff,she is constanstly scratching. I will try the olive oil.
Thank you for the tip. Our black lab has dry skin and is constantly scratching. Will give the oil a try. I was also told to try a little bacon grease in her food.
i have been using the olive oil since i last posted on this site and seems to be working great...but i have to remember that my pits are on meds right now for the infections that their dry skin has caused. but so far so good on the flakes going away went and bought another bottle so i don't run out. going to keep them on the olive oil after meds are done and see what happens but i am very happy about this so far...vets says not to do it cause they can gain weight but i look at it like this be fat and happy of skinny and sad,,,,,,,,,happy and fat is my choice......by for now.
Summer's skin is flaking also and she is a Pit Bull, did this work for you?
Thanks for the info! Our black lab mix, Norman, has allergy problems in the summer and has been flaky and itchy since it got cold this fall. We've tried several things that have made it a little better, but we will be trying the olive oil immediately. Norman thanks you!
Just found your site I have 2 pit bulls with every dry skin have taken them both to the vet and they think it is allergy's as well. On meds for it now ask if I could have running supply..haha going to the store tomorrow and getting some olive oil and see if it helps. we will let you know how it goes.
thanks again.
Thank you. My husband and I just moved from Florida to Northern Virginia - just in time for winter! Our chocolate lab's back is COVERED in white flakes - it looks so gross. We're going to try this. I'll try to remember to tell you if it works for us, too!
I have yellow Lab about 4 months old. He had dry flacky skin at the back around the base of the tail kinda like dandruff. I tried medicated shampoos but it didn't work. now He's scratching when he gets up in the morning and there are red patches where the skin's flaky. The skin's still dry in those parts and have red sores. He doesn't have fleas, i tried lookin for them the whole day on him found none. Also tried lookin for flea dirt but none. What should i do? what could it be?
thanks for the reminder of the olive oil I had for gotten about it. our Lab/healer/border colly has had flaky skin for quite a while and your solution brings back some old remedies from my wolf/shepard days, also a raw egg once a week helps with the matting and clumping of the hair. let you know how things work .
mark b.
I just started looking into giving my dog Olive Oil after she went to the vet yesterday for an allergy shot. She has been itching and scratching so much that she has red and bloody spots on her back and tail and has lost quite a bit of hair. The vet suggested I add 1 tsp. of Olive Oil to her food everyday and within 30 days I should see a change. Today is day 2 and I'm looking forward to seeing an improvement in her skin soon.
Hi, I have a 5 year old shitzhu who her self has just recently started to have skin problems to.You see we had a laberneese who was 6 years old and was diagnosed with lymph nobe cancer and had only a couple of months to live..that was i as you can guess a stab in the heart, so i had no choice but to let him go...NO MORE SUFFERING...,my shitzhu and him were like siblings they were super close, they played together, slept together etcetc..anyways to makle a long story short, whene she realized after spending days and weeks looking for him that he wasnt ther no more hats when her health problems started up..ITCHY SKIN, BITING AND CHEWING her paws NOT EATING...the vet thought that the itch was caused by allergies, so lets go with the cortisone and the benydril....all she did was sleep sleep sleep..yes it helped the itch but...............i had just ecently taken her off the benydril and i also bought her a new puppy,,it took her a week to except him, but she has started to eat finally and still scratches but nopt as much..so i myself have just started her on olive oil and yes it does work because i've had other dogs with skin problems and it worked for them.......
Thanks for the reading!! I am going to try this. Also has anyone had a problem with their Lab's ears. I noticed a few days ago Sam's ears were kind of red. We have been usuing a little peroxide on them and cleaning them with a cotton ball but we are not to sure what it could be...
Hi Sandra,
Hope the oil helps with your dog's dry skin. To this day, we STILL find ourselves surprised by how thick and soft Tenor's coat is AND how he doesn't ever get dry skin anymore. It worked wonders for us.
P.S. Yep, Tenor has healed wonderfully after his TPLO knee surgery. You can barely tell... He's back to his old self, with just a little limp that goes away a little more each day. Thanks for asking.
I was looking for remedies for dry skin.. thanks for the info. I started right away on my German Shep. She was spayed a few days ago. I noticed dry skin, I imagine is from the op.. I'll let you know the results. tks again.by the way, i hope Tenor is doing better.
Hi Sue.
No, our dog didn't bite and scratch before we gave him the olive oil. His dry skin was mostly just from being indoors during the winter months with the heat on.
Your dog's itchiness sounds more like an allergy or hot spot. Both are very common in dogs. I'd definitely have your vet look at it, as he can prescribe something that will help to cure that up in no time. I doubt that olive oil will take care of the serious itchiness and baldness that has resulted in your dog.
To Tenor's owner: Tenor looks exactly like my dog Sister - white muzzle and all! Except Sister has light blue eyes because her dad had a little Siberian husky in his background. I have what may be a dumb question, but my dog Malia has dry, scaly and very itchy skin. I keep Advantage on her but she has her tail half bald and viciously bites at the base of her tail. Because of your advice, I will buy a big bottle of olive oil for her. Did your dog bite and scratch a lot before the olive oil or was his skin just dry and flaky and has he been less itchy since you started feeding it to him? Thank you for your help. Sue.
Cesar,
I use the Extra Virgin Olive Oil that I cook with. I think either would be fine though.
My golden Retriever Has dry flaky skin also. One question I have is should i use the Extra Light Virgin Olive Oil that i cook with or get him the regular purer olive oil rather than the light stuff?
Lynnette,
I have a black lab, Harley, who went through the same thing....still dealing with it! Although diagnosed with a beef allergy, our vet believes also it could be seasonal. We notice his dry, itchy, flaky skin is horrible in the winter, and spring. I never thought seasonal allergies would be something I would have in common with my dog! I will definitely try this.
Thanks for the information. I have a beagle mix and she has dry skin. I will try this on her. Great information
Jan -
I'm afraid I don't exactly know if one oil is "better" than the other. I just know that when I cook with EVOO, it seems lighter and cleaner and much less gunky.
I'm thinking the more "pure" the oil, the better in general. Just my $.02 though.
Thanks for the info. We have an Akita/Lab/Sheppard mix. Maggiemae right now is shedding like crazy & this is the first time that she has had dry skin. We just started giving her Canola oil with her dry food. Is the Olive oil a better choice?
Jan
Angie -
No, the scabs weren't particularly whiteish or thick. Just thin and reddish.
Yes, we use Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Hope that helps...
(He's never had the itchy/scabby problem again since we started adding the oil to his food.)
What type/brand of oilve oil did Tenor take? Does Tenor have acne and pigmentation too?
Thanks,
arlene
Hi thanks Ill try this. When his skin got scabby was it really thick whiteish scabs. My dog frankie has this problem and is extremly itchy. Also silly to ask but did you use extra virgin olive oil?