Dry, flaky skin

[newbsnjbby]

Hi All..our poor girl has very dry skin. I have tried numerous shampoos and nothing works. I even will brush a small amount of coconut oil thru her fur. Anyone have a certain shampoo they can recommend. I’m also thinking of changing her food to one with a higher fat content. Lastly, she has never been “odorless”. Wondering if anyone else experiences this. I see comments of others saying their babies are not stinky... lol. My poor baby

[eeeefarm]

My first thought was "stop shampooing your dog!" Basenjis don't normally need baths very often (or at all, if they haven't rolled in anything nasty!) You might review what you are feeding her and any other environmental things that could be affecting her.

[newbsnjbby]

Thank you..just to clarify we don't bathe her alot..maybe every 4-5 weeks in warmer months..

[tanza]

@newbsnjbby - What are you feeding her? And 4-5 weeks for a bath, in my opinion is too much.... I have not given mine a bath in months and months unless we are going to a show.

[Zannah]

If our dogs got covered in mud or slobbered on in the dog park, we just rinse them off if at all possible; when shampoo is needed we've had luck with an all-natural oatmeal shampoo that is designed for both cats and dogs (an absolute necessity, if you ask me, because of the way our Bs groom themselves; only-ok-for-dogs shampoo will likely have things we don't want them ingesting). Our dogs sleep in our bed with us, so we're pretty sensitive to their level of cleanliness. Even at that, they need an actual bath in the range of once every 3-4 months. Every 4-5 weeks is WAY TOO often for basenjis.

One of our Bs tends towards dry skin, too, so we give her the occasional spoonful of coconut oil to EAT, or even a pat of butter. In our experience, ingesting a bit of fat does wonders for her skin dryness; adding anything to the outside doesn't work for us. Healthy fats, depending on what she's willing to eat, should help a lot.

[Dagodingo]

@newbsnjbby I bathe mine once or twice a year maximum. Oatmeal gentle shampoo, never any problems though.

We do wash paws and underbelly when necessary during the muddy seasons.

[eeeefarm]

@newbsnjbby said in Dry, flaky skin:

Lastly, she has never been “odorless”. Wondering if anyone else experiences this. I see comments of others saying their babies are not stinky... lol.

When you say she is stinky, do you mean her fur or body? Or feet? Or could it be odour from her anal glands, which really is stinky! I've never had a Basenji that smelled if you sniffed the fur or skin, but sometimes the feet (possible yeast) and for sure if they are having anal gland leakage.

[GrooveJett]

Aw, she's lovely! Our boy started with dry, flaky skin in the springtime this year, he's 8 months now. We live in the countryside and his walks are through farmland on public footpaths. His underbelly skin became red and sore looking and a bit 'crepey' which is when I decided to have a vet look at it. It seems he has an allergy to something in the environment, probably to do with running through the grasses. He started to have a runny nose with some sneezing around the same time. Now we have it under control with antihistamines, and I do wash his belly area down once a week 'sponge bath' fashion, using a shampoo called 'Coatex' which has been brilliant. I also follow by giving his belly area a good rub over with good 'food' quality extra virgin coconut oil, and he gets to lick a teaspoonful too - which he loves. He also seems to have a tendency to dry skin so I just soft brush him a couple of times week to slough it off and finish off with a slick of the oil. So far this is keeping it under control - he'll still get a flare up now and again but nothing like it was. Another shampoo suggested by the vet was 'Allermyl' but we found the Coatex the best. I don't bathe him all over, just the belly area quick rub over with a soft baby's sponge soaked in a solution of a squirt of shampoo in a bowl of warm water, then rinsed down with same sponge and fresh water, followed by fluffy towel. He does run when he sees the bowl approaching, but the coconut oil wins him over. Good luck!

[kkellogg]

What a pretty girl - love her "basenjitude"!

I never bathe my eleven-year-old basenji girl, and she never, ever smells - but her feet have that lovely basenji "Frito-feet" odor. I don't know how it's biologically possible for a dog to always smell fresh, but basenjis do. Normally I'm allergic to dogs but don't react to her, and never had allergic reactions to any of my eight basenjis over the years.

A meal all my dogs enjoy is one can each of sardines in olive oil with skin and bones, which will add healthy fats, added to a reduced portion of their normal food. I empty the oil into their bowls too. They get this occasionally, maybe once every two to three weeks.

Sometimes I'll fry eggs in butter for us, and also for the dogs for one of their meals. They're on a commercial frozen raw diet by Darwin's. Eating coconut oil is supposed to be good for dogs in moderate amounts too. I don't think any of my basenjis would tolerate coconut oil applied externally; they'd lick themselves clean which would be okay in that case.

[Salemsockmonkey]

We use spring time’s longevity ! Made a big difference after a few months His coat is glossy and it has something in it to cut back on the odor.

[DonC]

Fish oil. I like the capsules you can get at health food stores. Start by puncturing and then putting one a day in his food -- dogs really like the taste -- and then dialing back to one every other day. (My vet's dog ate a whole bottle and the only side effect was a really smooth coat. So the taste is good and there isn't anything harmful).

You can take one too! The jury is out by the most recent studies do show heart health benefits.

FWIW I don't think the baths are excessive and I suspect the issue isn't with irritation of the skin or anything like that.

[Zande]

A small quantity of lard - bacon dripping - daily and the coat will shine. NOT beef dripping - must be lard. Half a (small) teaspoon full. Its completely natural, has meat protein. Sunflower oil is sometimes recommended but I found it useless. Fish oil can help but go for lard.

And stop the baths. Mine get about one in their entire lifetime. Hoover (11 1/2) has never had a bath.

However dirty they get in the woods, they are pristine clean by the time we get home. Basenjis clean themselves and each other.

I love the upside down pose - pretty girl.

[newbsnjbby]

@eeeefarm
She had anal gland problem when she was young, but has outgrown that thankfully. She has a “wet dog” smell sometimes......but someone mentioned the “frito feet”. LOL. She does get that for sure. We use dog wipes for her feet....

[newbsnjbby]

@salemsockmonkey
Thank you. I will look for this

[wizard]

I bathe only when my male's allergies get out of control and then a natural oatmeal based shampoo. I feed both of mine salmon oil every day with their food. This summer (we have had excessive amounts of rain) his allergies caused semi-bare spots to develop on his sides. The vet gave us Gentived spray to use as needed and twice daily vitamin E oil rubbed on his skin. Working wonders. I have also used Dermactin (shea butter based cream) when the allergies cause a rash on his belly. Also wonderful.

[prasadvaze]

@dagodingo said in Dry, flaky skin:

Oatmeal gentle shampoo,

our basenji leo (14 months neutered male, 25 lb) has body odor if we do not bath him once a month. is there remedy for it? he rarely smells fresh . he only plays in our backyard

[Dagodingo]

@prasadvaze There are wipes which you can use instead of baths, I imagine most of them neutralize odors and have a fresh scent. Perhaps try those? Mine have always had no detectable smell except after I bath them, then they smell “doggy” for a day or so.

Here are a couple of ones I looked up but I have never tried any.

https://www.chewy.com/natures-miracle-spring-waters/dp/108468

https://www.chewy.com/tropiclean-deep-cleaning-deodorizing/dp/128836

What kind of smell / odor?