Super dry skin

[wizard]

My male has extremely dry skin this winter - no surprise considering its been super cold (below zero overnights since Christmas) and my house has very low humidity. I've been rubbing Vit-E oil on his skin and I got some skin conditioner from the vet but he occasionally has flareups for some reason in the evening (probably when driest in the house). Any suggestions for lotions or other remedies?

[ownedbyspencer]

An omega-3 (or fish oil) capsule once a day is good for both skin and overall health. I put it in a dab of pumpkin and heat it in the microwave, then mix in a little warm water and use it to moisten dry food for Ava's morning meal. A quarter- or half-teaspoon of olive oil mixed in with food will help dry skin, too. (If it causes diarrhea, step down the amount.) Some people mix the olive oil with warm water and massage it onto the skin, but I've stuck with the internal treatment and that keeps the coat soft and glossy. This winter has been brutal!

[stash]

Agree with ownedbyspencer, Kaiser had very dry rough skin and was told by Holistic vet to give fish oil 1000mg to help with that and also give his skin more protection, we do 1 tablet daily he doesn't mind it squirted on his breakfast, had to start off with 1/2 a capsule in the am then 1/2 in the pm as it took time for his gut to adjust. We were told to do it for 3 months a couple of times a year but as soon as I stopped I noticed that he would get the dry skin back fast so we do it daily. Good luck.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[wizard]

Will try both the fish oil capsules and the olive oil. Thanks.

[agilebasenji]

i use fish oil or coconut oil. somewhere on line there is a list of 50 (?) uses for coconut oil. it's also great for human skin.

[Timesthemyth]

Olive oil works very quickly; cleared up my dogs dry skin in less than two weeks (though I put it in food) and is relatively cheap. Three table spoons a week I think is what vets have recommended. The high fat can cause some laxative issues though. You don't likely need fish [cod] oil after that, though if you have a decent fish source….never hurts as a supplement. Especially salmon. If you're neurotic about your dog's health [ as there is some controversy surrounding Olive oil], and wanting to pull out all the stops, just go straight for the fish oil.