I have recently adopted a 7 yr old Rottweiler (Buffy) from the RSPCA she has no known health issues however she is suffering a little from dry skin. She has been fed on the RSPCA dry food which I do not know much about however I would like to swap her to a better food that is going to aid her coat and skin if possible. I have looked into Fish4Dogs and Arden Grange but I am stumped as there is too much choice! I am open to new suggestions but would like to keep her on dry food if poss. Ive also been feeding her a tin of sardines in sunflower oil once a week to help which it has a little but not enough. I have purchased a furminator to brush her daily as she sheds alot!! Look forward to hearing of you all
Hello and welcome to the forum. For a dog with no specific health issues, It is hard for members to recommend a particular food as all dogs are different and finding one that suits and that your dog likes, is mostly trial and error. You can look at this thread for advice on how to use the quick search tool and find some different foods. If you find one that you like the look of, feel free to ask about it as some members may have had experience feeding it.
I haven’t used them myself but it might be worth adding some fish or flax seed oil to her diet to see if it helps her skin. Good Luck.
I would probably choose Fish 4 dogs over AG…as said get back to us re any other foods you like look of.
Decent grooming is a good idea. I have a ferminator…they can provide good results but go easy to start with…especially if skin is really dry. You don’t want sore patches or a patchy uneven coat.
Lovely to hear you have taken Buffy into your care. Well done you!
I’d want to find out if possible what was the RSPCA food that she was eating. That might enable you to work out what may need adding in her diet. For example, if the change to her food is solely due to her dry skin then you’d want to be thinking about increasing her levels of omega 3 and 6 and vitamin E. This may be achieved by a different food or alternatively, adding an acceptable supplement of your choice such as Yumega.
Coaster raises a good point and that is use of a furminator - these tools, whilst excellent, are in my view, for extra gentle use only… For her moulting I’d want to suggest perhaps using a soft brush and gentle wide-toothed comb as these may be adequate and could help to condition her skin too.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Has as been said, finding something suitable can be trial and error. You want to be looking for food with oil/s and no red ingredients.
All dogs are different and this may, or may not help but FWIW I will share the experience of one of my own dogs. She had a long standing skin problem - it was dry, itchy and she used to have occasional hot spots where it would break down. I tried various products including a short spell on raw food. Fish4Dogs didn’t really suit her and I now think it is because she doesn’t do very well with white potato. Also, she reacts to high cereal content products - I recall that her skin was terrible on James Wellbeloved Adult. I now stick to food that has either brown rice or sweet potato as the carbohydrate source. She is also OK with butternut squash.
I tried Yumega Itchy Dog and it helped. I also changed her to cold pressed food and was able to stop the Yumega Itchy Dog. She’s been on cold pressed food for about two years now and her skin hasn’t broken down since. The product that I use contains four types of oil, Evening Primrose, Linseed, Rapeseed and Fish Oil.
I agree that it’s helpful to pay a lot of attention to grooming, particularly in the moult season. Whenever I bath my dogs (not often) I use Sebocalm and find it very good because it is gentle, hydrates the skin and is soapless. Would also recommend that you see the vet if there are any broken areas (usually done by the dog scratching) because bacterial infection can make things much worse. A course of antibiotics usually clears that up. Whichever product you change to, it will take a little while before you see any changes so be patient.
Hello Flin. My dog was on Guru Surf and Turf and it suited her.
Quite a lot has occurred since the thread was started. Early last year she had a lick granuloma that was very sore and required surgery. She was trialling some food containing a fair amount of lentils and I suspected intolerance but can’t be sure.
Subsequently she became very itchy and her skin was sore and sensitive to touch. We went back and forth to the vets, antibiotics, Apoquel, and duck and tapioca hypoallergenic food were prescribed. I decided to ask for a referral to a dermatologist because we weren’t getting on top of the problem. Luckily my dog is insured.
The dermatologist did a lot of tests and diagnosed Malassezia (yeast overgrowth). She felt that allergy might be responsible but we haven’t been able to find out what it is. The hydrolysed protein dog food had made no difference whatsoever. From observation I think she is intolerant of legumes and white potato.
The dog had three weeks of intensive treatment - strong antibiotics plus daily Malaseb baths. While this was going on I asked the vet to check out some commercial fresh cooked food that I had seen. She OK’d it and suggested certain varieties. I then discussed it with the company’s vet and my dog has been on the food ever since. Her skin and coat are now perfectly normal with no itching. I bath her using Malaseb s about once a month to prevent any build up of yeast.
I think that the low carbohydrate fresh food has helped to keep her stable. It contains oils, turmeric and other nutritious ingredients. It has no grain, legumes or white potato.
Skin conditions are notoriously hard to deal with. I think you have to go through everything slowly and systematically. Not every case of itching is due to food but a healthy, nutritious diet does help (in my experience).
Thank you so much for getting back to me, although mine is itchy and scratches until he makes a sore spot that then crusts over, it does seem to be seasonal but it has only happened for about the last 4 years before that he was fine … the vet told me to use half a piriton tablet daily but this had had little affect and to use Vets kitchen salmon dog food but since being on this he has got worse with gunky eyes … will have to go back to the vet but wanted to switch his food to a grain free as I feel the grains and yeast products in some of these don’t help.
Can you tell me if your dog had a slightly smelly coat with the yeast infection? I have noticed even the day after bathing him his skin does smell a little and I use Vets Best Hypoallergenic shampoo, soap free shampoo for dogs with sensitive skin.
He is a bichon shih tzu cross and my shadow so hopefully vet will eventually be able to help him.
Thanks again for getting back and will look up the Guru surf and turf
Guru Surf and Turf is not grain free but contains brown rice which is good nutritionally. However, it is above average carbohydrate content. Most dry foods are the same. From what I have read, low carb is to be preferred for dogs with an overproduction of yeast.
Yeast does produce an odour and the coat tends to become greasy. My dog had red spots that scabbed over. She was very sensitive to touch.
Giving drugs like Piriton, Apoquel and steroids can ease symptoms but don’t get to the root of the problem. You could ask the vet to do some skin scrapings as they can be helpful in reaching a diagnosis. I have found Malaseb to be very good but it has to be prescribed. I think that bathing itchy dogs is helpful, even if only to rinse off pollens etc.
If you think that diet plays a part in this, an elimination diet using fresh cooked food might help. You can do this yourself but it needs research. There are some threads in the home cooking section - check out We Cook for Dogs and VetChef. My dog hasn’t looked back since this change but I do have to pay a fair bit to keep her healthy as the prepared food that I buy is a bit pricey. However, it is saving vets bills.
Thanks again Dottie yes on looking at Guru I see it also contained Maize … he was also worse on chicken …I have had him on a fish complete (salmon and Trout) thinking the oils would be better for his skin, but it hasn’t really improved, prior to him getting the skin problems he was on a hypoallergenic Lamb and brown rice feed but sadly this changed its ingredients and it now lists maize and rice as its top ingredients, my boy has also become sensitive to touch and twitches when you stroke him.
I will ask the vet to do skin scrapings when we go and will check out the We cook and VetChef. Thank you for the advice
The maize is not quite as bad as you might think because it is the germ that is used and it contains good nutritional elements. My dog started with skin problems some years ago. At the time I didn’t know much about dog food but I realised that the dry food she was on contained a high amount of carbohydrate - IIRC just over 50% of it was rice and oats and it was first on the list of ingredients. I tried a fish grain free one with no real improvement but looking back, it contained white potato and pea flour. She was OK with the Guru, probably because the brown rice was only about a third of the recipe and it contained several oils. I used to supplement it with fresh cooked food such as chicken, egg, fish, sardines and sometimes blueberries and fresh cooked, chopped vegetables.
The only way you can get the carbohydrate down (AFAIK) is to go for 1) a good quality wet food - (they usually have simple recipes) with a single protein source, 2) a raw diet or 3) fresh cooked food. From my experience the latter has been best for my dog. I did try raw but had issues with it.
My dog will be eleven years old later this year and so far is doing really well. She has had raised liver enzymes in the past and has had various tests, all satisfactory but her last blood results were normal so I am giving her milk thistle at the moment pending another blood test when the lockdown is lifted. She doesn’t have any other medication except that - no oils needed as the food contains them at the correct 6:3 ratio.
My dermatologist gave me a fact sheet which I will send to you via personal message. It is very comprehensive and I think you will find it helpful.
If you prefer dry food, there are some that are of average carbohydrate content. They are usually in the range of 80/20. Eden Dry is one and it is in the low/average range. There are more and you would need to use the carbohydrate filter to find them. They tend to be high quality and dogs often need smaller quantities.