You were pretty much right DonC, I showed the vets office the picture I had taken and they believed it could very well been a bug bite that had caused the baggy skin. Sorry I haven't downloaded the pic I have really been under the weather. Maybe I will upload the picture sometime in the future.
Dry skin
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we've actually been thinking about changing food.. last time we were at petsmart looking at all the options.
i didnt want to change Mia's food so soon after she got here, i figured it was a new house, at least something would be the same.
I would seriously look now at changing food and try something with no corn to start with… I use Natural Balance Potato and Duck, no fillers and no corn/wheat... and you may have to go someplace other then petsmart for food... you can research on line and then see where it is sold...
But my opinion would be to find an food without corn, wheat, and by products and start to change them both over... and then see how his coat is...
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I use an oil i give Phoenix once a day in his food I got it from the vet and its pretty cheap the bottle last me about 3 mths and it's about $7. He gets dry skin always has since i got him and the oil works great. I tried changing food ect and had tests and she just said he's prone to it in the winter like where prone to it in the winter. i also wouldn't bath him as much i bath all 3 of mine every 4 mths and that seems to work well {minus the muddy park trips or the opps i just stepped in my own poop times } :p :p
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I use an oil i give Phoenix once a day in his food I got it from the vet and its pretty cheap the bottle last me about 3 mths and it's about $7. He gets dry skin always has since i got him and the oil works great. I tried changing food ect and had tests and she just said he's prone to it in the winter like where prone to it in the winter. i also wouldn't bath him as much i bath all 3 of mine every 4 mths and that seems to work well {minus the muddy park trips or the opps i just stepped in my own poop times } :p :p
thats funny.. because the day that i went to get Mia, I took rocky out to potty before i left and went outside and he decided he wanted to dig in the mud.. it had rained the night before.. his paws were literally CLUMPS of mud.. so i had to put him in the tub but i just rinsed his paws because i was already running late! lol
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i use oatmeal bath that seems to work but i dont bath my often.
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In the winter, it can get pretty dry around here so I need to make sure the dogs are getting enough oils and fats. I agree with Pat that a different food would help. I feed Merricks and Evo but neither are available at Petco or Petsmart. Natural Balance is available at Petco. Blue Buffalo is available at Petsmart. There are lots of food choices and many have discussed on the Forums before. The important thing is to become a label reader and be aware of what is in the food you feed.
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I changed our food from Iams to Blue Buffalo (from Petsmart)… It really seems to have helped their coats. I also switched from the generic oatmeal shampoo at the vet/grocery to Blueberry Facial. It's fantastic. I also give them a conditioning rinse with a Head & Shoulders conditioner. I don't wash mine unless they are dirty (which hasn't happened since summer) or stink- which is hardly ever.
It's made a huge difference for us (they used to be all dandruffy too)… hope that helps!
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I also have used 3V Caps for skin. It is pretty cheap and I just puncture the cap and squeeze it onto the food once a day… this was recommended by a Vet to me years and years ago...
http://www.entirelypets.com/3vcaps.html -
Hi I think a bath every 6 to 7 wks is causing all the natural oils in your basenjis coat to wash out and that is causing the flakey skin, also we have found that a shampoo called nova pearls works really good, plus brushing with a fine kitten brush helps to bring out the natural oils in the coat the kitten brush is easy on the skin. As for food you might try natures receipt vension and rice, which is made for skin conditions, and if it is really bad try adding a table spoon of bacon grease to the food, this old timey vet recommended the bacon grease , which work too.
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I feed Merricks and Evo but neither are available at Petco or Petsmart. Natural Balance is available at Petco. Blue Buffalo is available at Petsmart. There are lots of food choices and many have discussed on the Forums before. The important thing is to become a label reader and be aware of what is in the food you feed.
When we got Dallas I did an EXTENSIVE research on dog food because I wanted the best food without paying crazy money for it. I decided to go with Blue Buffalo because it has good ingrediants, no by-products/wheat/corn/etc. & is sold at Petsmart for a reasonable price. It's still a bit more pricey than say Beneful, Purina, etc. but I think it is 100% worth the extra money.
Also Heather, I found a website that analyzed all the various dog foods by breaking down the products, telling you why each product is good/bad, etc. Let me know if you want the link!
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yeah.. definately send it
i plan on going to petsmart sometime this week. -
Here's some website to check…
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com
http://www.alternativepetservices.com [click on the food analysis link in left column] -
I would hazard a guess that it's a combination of things (the dry skin that is):
- Heaters. God knows Basenjis' love them (mine would need to be comitte dif he didn't have access to the heat vents).
- Number of bathes. Cut back… use a some brush or even a sof rag for that matter to curry his coat and bring the natural oils forward.
- Diet. Find a food that you are comfortable paying for and that your dog(s) are comfortable eating. Everyone here has their own preferences which may or may not work for you and your dog(s). I will say that a little bacon grease every once in a great while also does a happy number for your dogs' coat.
- Next vet appointment, mention it to them, just to rule out any parasites or other skin issues.
Good luck! Aren't these critters just full of fun and surprises?!?
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i really like www.onlynaturalpet.com
go under dogs, then vitamins and supplements, and then essential fatty acids.. they have products for dry skin and coats, and lots of reviews from people.. -
Our new dog had dandruff really bad. We are feeding him wilderness blue buffalo and supplementing him with flax seed oil. We tried fish oil but made him really gassy, he gets large patches of dandruff with small spots of hard skin Where the fur will come out. We tried oatmeal baths and that helped a little as did the oil, but he still gets it. He's a black and white, which I read that black dogs seem to be more prone to dander issues as well as basenjis due to them not having any oil glands.
Can you use human dandruff shampoo on a dog?
His blue buffalo is wilderness duck and potato, I am not sure what to do next?
He looks very healthy is getting no rashes or diarrhea.
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Okay first, of course they have oil glands. They seem to produce a lot less oil, but they have them.
I would have only 2 suggestions… the first is to have his thyroid tested as thyroid issues can cause problems including dry skin.
The second would be to switch to the blue buffalo FISH instead. Duck is very close to chicken in allergy producing. Often you get yucky ears and itchy feet with food allergies, but it can show up with dry sking.
Finally, check your environment. He could have allergies to whatever you clean your carpets or floor or treat the yard with.
The vet probably needs to do a small scraping to make sure there isn't something else going on.
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Thanks. I wonder about fish for dogs as mercury levels being so high they recommend you don't eat fish more than once a week for humans.
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We use olive oil when Kai's skin gets a little too dry, just rub it in and hope he doesn't lick it all off lol
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Kaiser had some dry skin and skin allergy so was put on fish oil and gets sardines and salmon, his coat shines and his dry skin is gone and his probable contact allergy seems to have disappeared, possibly because he now has a protective coating on his skin from the oils as I haven't changed any other thing in his environment apart from adding the fish. He was already on raw. Fingers crossed it stays away.
Jolanda and Kaiser
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You feed him sardines and salmon regularly?
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Yes Barklessdog was suggested by our Holistic Vet, up to 3 cans of sardines in spring water a week, once a week some salmon - was what I already was giving (which I am stopping now as just the sardines are enough with the fish oil he gets) was told sardines are better, cat also has a share of what the dog gets. Fish oil he gets one capsule squeezed on his food 3 times a week.
Jolanda and Kaiser
