# Shedding and Dry, flaky skin



## Chickabitty (Jan 15, 2017)

My dog has horrible dry, flaky skin. We live in CO and it's so dry here, especially in winter. She is shedding like crazy and, even though she doesn't itch constantly, you can see little flakes of skin on her hair. We feed her Taste of the Wild-High Prairie and give her Salmon oil to go with it. I've tried Coconut oil, but that just makes her super gassy, although she loves the taste. She gets a bath once a week using a Shea butter and Avocado shampoo and I've tried putting the coconut oil on her skin as an additional conditioner after her bath, but it doesn't seem to help. I brush her everyday with a rubber curry brush to help with the excess shedding. I bought a Furminator, but it just seemed to scratch her skin and almost made it worse. I am switching her food to Fromm soon as I've heard good things about it, but I'm not sure what else I can do. Any suggestions to help with the shedding and dry skin?


----------



## EckoMac (Aug 25, 2010)

TOTW is a decent food. Have you tried putting her on the fish formula? Bathing her once a week is not going to be helpful. You're washing away any natural oils that are being produced. Try cutting back to once a month. How much fish oil are you using? Ecko gets two full pumps a day. 
The coconut as a topical is a good idea. Once you decrease the bathes you should see an improvement.


----------



## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

My suggestion is to stop bathing her. Wipe her down if she gets dirty, but dogs don't usually smell or need baths. If she does smell, it could be an issue with her food more than her coat. Of course sometimes they really get into mud and stuff, but for the most part they shouldn't be bathed monthly let alone weekly.

Bee Pollen is amazing for coat and skin. See if you have any at your local grocery and slowly introduce it to her diet up to a teaspoon a day and within a week you should see a difference. Take two weeks to build up her tolerance, don't just start giving it to her. Any reactions or changes not for the good, stop giving it to her.


----------



## Chickabitty (Jan 15, 2017)

I give her two full pumps a day of the salmon oil too. I'll look into the bee pollen and see how she tolerates it. I never thought that maybe I was washing her too much, I'll definitely cut it back to once a month for now, but if she looks fine I'll push it out even further. Thanks so much for the advice!


----------



## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

No Problem!! I have tried them all. I am sure all pups are different, I have run out of salmon oil, coconut oil and bee pollen. The only thing that made a difference was the bee pollen. In a few days of running out he was back to scratching and itching, giving me hair splinters all over again lol. I did away with the other 2 and now he is good to go on the pollen. I buy it local because my boy has bad seasonal allergies and before it he used to be on benadryl. That's why you want to introduce it slowly in case they are allergic to something in the pollen you are using you do not want to cause a reaction. 

It's also not good JUST for allergy or skin relief, here are some other things its helps with (I have no stock in Bee Pollen I just love what it has done for my boy lol):

-Boosts healing.
-Boosts the digestive system.
-Corrects the deficiencies in a dog’s diet.
-Helps a dog maintain a healthy weight.
-Helps to heal skin conditions.
-Increases energy and vitality.
-It’s said to aid in the prevention of cancer.
-Relieves aches and pain.


----------

