Ideas to help dog with dry, itchy skin

vets are of little help

My dog is very itchy.  The vet says food (and maybe other) allergies.  I don't know if her skin is dry or how to tell.  

Someone once told me that tea tree oil helps with dogs with itchy skin.  We never tried it so I don't know if it works.

I know the local large dog rescue says try to avoid wheat-based kibble, and use Neem oil as a comb-thru after washing. I think there's a Neem shampoo.

I recall hearing that adding a small amount of vegetable oil to food helps.  Another thought... Is it worse this time of year?  Heating system dry the air in your home.  Try adding some humidity.  

@JJ dropped off pkg for you.

Apollo_T said:

I recall hearing that adding a small amount of vegetable oil to food helps.  Another thought... Is it worse this time of year?  Heating system dry the air in your home.  Try adding some humidity.  

@JJ dropped off pkg for you.

This, adding a little oil to the food, worked for our dog.

Talk to Don(the owner?) at Zen Pets, he may have some food recommendations.  For our Irish Setter we only serve her patties for a raw diet (beef, chicken, sometimes venison).  We tried an all natural kibble and the gas that came out of that dog nearly killed us.  So, No kibble.  And some scraps from the dinner table after everything is cleaned up (salmon. steak, corned beef, pork, etc).  Some vets hate the raw diet but our dog is the exact right weight with no itching.  I think there is a thread from a few years back where people weighed in on the raw diet.

If the itching is seasonal due to heating the house, try a humidifier in the room the dog sleeps in.  Also, if you are having your dog groomed / shampooed, it very import for them to get all the shampoo out.

Regards,

RCH

I sent you a PM.

rch2330 said:

Also, if you are having your dog groomed / shampooed, it very import for them to get all the shampoo out.
Regards,
RCH

...and use shampoo w/ conditioner.

Our dog was constantly licking her paws and biting her legs while we were in Maplewood and the vet said it was nervousness.  When we moved to CA the vet said actually she has environmental allergies and she got a shot of steroids and it was instantly resolved.  She gets a shot a few times a year.

our current dog is on steroids for allergies that shows up as dry/red skin

our previous dog had dry skin - i would put bacon grease on her food and it helped - also allot of brushing with a soft brush helped remove the flaky skin 

Iams Lamb and Rice worked for my itchy dog.

I had a Lab who had hot spots all the time. Always licking, licking... I'd take him to the vet. Ointment and steroids. Then one day--after the Chinese melamine scare and a little anthropomorphizing (I had itchy skin until I went gluten-free due to allergy to wheat)--I switched him to grain-free and he never had another flare-up. You have to be careful when switching food though. Some dogs have sensitive tummies and can get rather--uh--dramatically ill.

Thanks, guys. The dog is my cousin's. I will show him the results of this thread on Monday.

The problem is seasonal so I doubt it is food related as the diet does not change.

Humidifier did not help.

Will investigate conditioner in shampoo.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

Thanks, guys. The dog is my cousin's. I will show him the results of this thread on Monday.

The problem is seasonal so I doubt it is food related as the diet does not change.

Humidifier did not help.

Will investigate conditioner in shampoo.

Most of us sensitive types have more issues with our skin when it is really dry. Still could be diet, but probably would be worth looking towards other solutions--like moving to Florida.

Might also be worth mentioning the same things that help humans with dry itchy skin, e.g., bathe in warm (tepid) water, never hot, and don't rub dry. Pat with a towel to avoid irritation. 

What PeggyC said ^^.

Also (not for the OP, but for others - she's a vet), this: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integumentary_system/atopic_dermatitis/canine_atopic_dermatitis.html

And this: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integumentary_system/food_allergy/overview_of_food_allergy.html   (note the % stats, dog owners)

If the dog is overweight, weight loss induced immune suppression can lead to resolution, w/o drugs. 

Yeah, I never said it was an allergy, just that it worked. Isn't that what we want? As you can see, I said I was anthropomorphizing...

eta: I hated giving him prednisone and having him be uncomfortable from the itchiness. So, anything that isn't harmful that works, right?