Terrible dandruff!

[aalvarez]

Our newf has had very bad dandruff for several weeks. Initially, I just thought it was dry skin from him blowing his coat. Then, I thought it was because we ran out of Omega-3 fish oil supplements (I finally ordered more that will last several years

). But, he has never had dandruff before and certainly not THIS bad. Large flakes all over his fur. I brushed him out well this evening and got much of the dandruff off, but there is still alot of skin flaking off. I looked closely at his skin and noticed that he has red patches all over his back. He has had reoccurring skin problems on his underbelly (red, patchy, itchy, scaly skin). The vet typically prescribes an oral antibiotic along with some sort of antibiotic spray (which are VERY expensive). His skin gets better once on the medications, but the condition has returned 3x. Could he have allergies? We've tried giving him benadryl and it helps a little bit--I think. But, not quite sure what exactly is causing the rashes. What else can we try? Please help!

[ 07-18-2007, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: Yogurt ]

 

[jane]

My last newf had the same problem. Not heavy dandruff, but a little sometimes. He had the sores on his underbelly. After testing, we found out it was allergy related. Has your vet done allergy testing on him yet?

 

[ardeagold]

Has the Vet done a skin scraping? Is it possible that it's yeast and the antibiotics are making it worse?

It could be an allergy. One of our golden pups had something like this. Huge flakes all the time...but there was no itching or irritation. The Dermatologist said it was a form of seborrhea or icthyosis and would be there forever. The only thing to do was to bathe her in special shampoos.

Well....that turned out not to be the case. It was a food allergy. She was put on a single protein food, wild salmon oil, some probiotics and other immune system boosters. She couldn't have any wheat...not a single bite. Corn and soy were out too.

The flakes went away, and have been gone for 3 years now.

There is a disease called icthyosis (genetic) that can cause this. It's called "fish scaling" syndrome.

You might need to see a canine dermatologist if you can't get this under control with diet changes and the meds your regular Vet is supplying.

If it hasn't gotten better with the meds your pup has already taken, I think I'd ask for a specialist visit. No point in dosing with antibiotics if they're doing nothing worthwhile. In fact, it's better NOT to.

Hope you figure it out soon.

 

[Lisa@Caeles Hills]

My dog had not the dandruff so bad, but the itching and scaling...I switched him to Canidae Food (NO wheat or corn products)and it cleared up in weeks and for good! This is Rafe before...and then a few weeks after starting Canidae! sorry pics are small but the difference in coat quality and shine really was amazing not to mention clearing up the skin problem.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Now a year ago this coming Labor Day, I let Snuffles go in a creek behind a friend's house, then hosed him off so I thought. It was a LONG not so much used hose, so it may have been mold/hose chemicals in the water, but like the next day Snuffles had very flacky skin all over his back that he did not even get wet in the creek. I gave him a very through bathing the next day or so, and the problem went away.

 

[NewfMom]

Kimber seems to have some mild allergies. She had similar skin problems to what you describe. I've found using Chlorhexiderm shampoo once a month keeps her skin in good shape. Otherwise I was constantly treating her for skin issues.

 

[2ndchance]

Red, itchy, scaly skin, does sound like food allergies. Airborne allergies would just produce a lot of itching, minus the sores.
Yeast infection may make the skin smell. You can read more on this here. Good luck with your baby!

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/food-allergy-in-dogs/page1.aspx

 

[ardeagold]

If the skin has crusty areas or little crusts(where the red is) you might be dealing with a Staph infection.

Better have the Vet check it out by doing a skin scraping.

Molly gets one every single year in July. Doesn't matter how often she's dried after swimming, or how often she's bathed and dried. It might be related to airborne allergies because she does get gloppy eyes too. About the same time, others are also experiencing gloppy eyes.

 

[Ohana Mom]

We were dealing with something similar with Iz and it was Staph - and it came back several times. The says it takes a while to sometimes to combat it - I would head back to the vet.

Also - The dry skin could be coming from food allergies. If he is scratching- it then could develop into Staph - so both could really be going on. What are you feeding? We had similar issues when we were feeding Timberwolf.

 

[2ndchance]

Ah, just found out that Newfs are also prone to Atopy, a nasty skin problem. Sometimes starts out as airborne allergies in the summer then may continue all year.

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/atopy-in-dogs/page1.aspx

www.dermvet.com/atopy.htm
http://www.us.atopica.com/indexConsumer.shtml

 

[ardeagold]

One thing that I discovered...IF your dog has staph, and is taking antibiotics to clear it up, it helps to give a bath, and rinse with a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water (a couple of gallon jugs work well for this).

Rub down so it gets ON the skin (all over). DO NOT rinse off. Spritz down areas likely to tangle with a leave in conditioner type product as you're drying. Especially the feathers.

This can help to offset any yeasty growth that may be occurring while on antibiotics.

Addie Mae was starting with a staph infection, and after about a week to ten days on the antibiotics, she began to get flaky, and kind of greasy, and didn't smell great.

I was worried that the antibiotics were allowing yeast to grow (as they often do). The staph was gone (or appeared to be, although she stayed on antibiotics for another week)...but the skin and coat weren't looking right to me, and she was still itchy...and smelly as I said.

So I bathed her....rinsed her as stated, and she's been great since! No more greasy fur (on the back), no flakes, no itching.

Ladies...I'm sure you're all familiar with yeast infections and the benefits of white vinegar and water!! (Sorry guys)!

[ 08-14-2007, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Ardeagold ]