Dandruff suggestions?

Saeleofu

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#1
Logan is always a bit flaky, but when he sheds...especially right now...he gets super dandruffy. Any suggestinos for getting this under control? I just bathed him in Head and Shoulders on Sunday night, and by Monday morning he was flaky again.

He's currently on Victor Yukon Salmon (grain free) food, and gets coconut oil, fish oil, digestive enzymes, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, and Biotin supplements. I did just get a bag of 4Health grain free whitefish and potato, but he's only had that for one day.

Is there a supplement, shampoo, brush, spray, etc you have had success with? My mom's suggestion is to just not bathe him. I can't do that. He gets bathed ever 1-2 weeks because he's a service dog and in public all the time, and he looks gross if he goes longer than that without a bath. I'm sure people wouldn't appreciate a month's worth of dirt, oil, and dandruff falling off next to their groceries :nono:

Also, before that annoying spammer gets in here, raw is not an option due to lack of space for buying in bulk, and high cost when not buying in bulk.
 
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Toller_08

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#2
Since he's already getting all of those supplements, that's a tough one. You could put oil on him if you wanted. It's kind of a pain to get out, and you won't want him rubbing on furniture or anything, but sometimes if my dogs are dandruffy, I rub oil into their coats/skin and then wash it out after it's sat for a little bit. Usually coconut oil.

Other than that though, I'm not sure. My healthy skinned dogs don't really get dandruff, and nothing works with the Dobermans.
 

Saeleofu

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I may have to try the krill oil. I have rubbed him with coconut oil, and it helped a bit, but yeah, it's gross and annoying to get off (especially with only cold water available at home). It didn't seem to help enough to justify doing it weekly or anything like that, though.

I have him on Kroger brand fish oil. Once my IAADP membership gets processed, I can get free Wellactin for him. Do you think changing brands would help?
 

Zoom

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#7
The Kroger fish oil has soy in it, that might be contributing?

I just read something today about witch hazel being good for treating dandruff.
 

Saeleofu

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The Kroger fish oil has soy in it, that might be contributing?

I just read something today about witch hazel being good for treating dandruff.
So it does! I just checked my last bottle and it's Nature Made, but usually it is Kroger. Soy could definitely be playing a role.

I'll look into Witch Hazel, too.
 

Emily

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#9
I see you're already doing fish oil, but what about adding some canned fish to his kibble? It's not "cheap" per say but you don't have to store it in the freezer! Nothing worked better for fixing up Blossom's crappy skin and coat than regular servings of canned salmon and sardines.
 

Saeleofu

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I see you're already doing fish oil, but what about adding some canned fish to his kibble? It's not "cheap" per say but you don't have to store it in the freezer! Nothing worked better for fixing up Blossom's crappy skin and coat than regular servings of canned salmon and sardines.
I'll give it a shot! The only thing is that he has a pretty sensitive stomach, so I don't know how it'll go over. But I'll test it out on one of his days off, and go from there. I think once he gets used to it it'll be fine - he gets canned salmon or mackerel mixed with pumpkin when he has an upset stomach, and since his kibble is salmon-based, salmon should be relatively easy on him.

He also gets fresh eggs on occasion, I could definitely bump that up to daily or even two a day. We sometimes feed the chickens Layena with the extra Omega 3s in it, but most of the time it's regular Layena.
 

SizzleDog

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#11
Why not try tea tree oil. Just add some to his shampoo and see if that helps. Or you could add it to his skin if he can handle the smell and the cooling tingle.
Tea tree oil is drying, I'm not sure that would be the best for dry skin.


When Ilsa had dandruff.... the only thing that worked was Lipiderm. I know... Lipiderm. KVVET has it pretty cheap, all things considered.
 

Saeleofu

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Tea tree oil is drying, I'm not sure that would be the best for dry skin.


When Ilsa had dandruff.... the only thing that worked was Lipiderm. I know... Lipiderm. KVVET has it pretty cheap, all things considered.
Lipiderm is basically Omega 3/Fish oil supplement. Do you think it's significantly better than the Wellactin? I'm going to try the Wellactin first since I'll be able to get it for free soon, but I'm curious. If nothing else I also get a discount at KV Vet Supply with my IAADP membership.
 

SizzleDog

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#13
Lipiderm is basically Omega 3/Fish oil supplement. Do you think it's significantly better than the Wellactin? I'm going to try the Wellactin first since I'll be able to get it for free soon, but I'm curious. If nothing else I also get a discount at KV Vet Supply with my IAADP membership.
I'm not sure, I've never used Wellactin. Lipiderm just seemed to work for some reason.
 

noludoru

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#14
Is there a supplement, shampoo, brush, spray, etc you have had success with? My mom's suggestion is to just not bathe him. I can't do that. He gets bathed ever 1-2 weeks because he's a service dog and in public all the time, and he looks gross if he goes longer than that without a bath. I'm sure people wouldn't appreciate a month's worth of dirt, oil, and dandruff falling off next to their groceries :nono:
I love you so much for that sentence. This is exactly how I feel about not bathing your dog (any dog) once a month or so. Ick.

I would say exfoliate with a zoom groom. Get some conditioner that works for him (or use your own stuff if you have it - I have an aloe vera based one by kiss my face that worked great on Middie) and just massage his coat with the zoom groom, digging down deep so it gets his skin. When Middie is a little dandruffy that helps to get the loose stuff off of his skin. I sometimes do a few drops of vitamin e and rub it in while his fur is wet. It absorbs really well and he doesn't feel gross the next day.
 

Saeleofu

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I use a zoom groom (or a regular rubber curry comb when I'm at home) every time he gets bathed. I'd never get him properly sudsy without it lol. This last tim I used Head and Shoulders damage repar conditioner for 5 minutes, then Hylyte cream rinse for 5 minutes. And he's flakier than ever :wall:


I love you so much for that sentence. This is exactly how I feel about not bathing your dog (any dog) once a month or so. Ick.
Yeah, exactly. My parents bathe their dog maybe once a year. Twice if he's lucky. Gross. You should have seen this one GSD "service dog" that came into the clinic before. She reeked as soon as she came in the door, was nearly naked...and she was just in for vaccines! He turned down all other treatment, and continued taking her out in public like that. Blergh.
 

noludoru

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#16
I use a zoom groom (or a regular rubber curry comb when I'm at home) every time he gets bathed. I'd never get him properly sudsy without it lol. This last time I used Head and Shoulders damage repair conditioner for 5 minutes, then Hylyte cream rinse for 5 minutes. And he's flakier than ever :wall:

Yeah, exactly. My parents bathe their dog maybe once a year. Twice if he's lucky. Gross. You should have seen this one GSD "service dog" that came into the clinic before. She reeked as soon as she came in the door, was nearly naked...and she was just in for vaccines! He turned down all other treatment, and continued taking her out in public like that. Blergh.
Ugh. That sucks. Maybe just aloe vera? It works for sunburn. . . Maybe worth a try.

And that's gross. Some dogs do well with being bathed infrequently and don't smell, but even if they don't. . . come on people, they lay on the floor. :eek: They need baths.
 

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