# hair, shedding, and dandruff



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Ok, Milla has been molting for what seems like forever. As she is a machine, I have been out there several times, with blades, slickers, and hand stripping. 

Today I went at her again. She has no collar or leash on and was not trying to get away, so I do thing think she was nervous, and I have no reason to believe I was hurting her, but today, she had some serious flakes of dandruff going on. 

Is this a food thing? 

I used the slicker to remove a dogs' worth of hair, and then decided to wash her with a medicated shampoo.

My dogs are generally groomed professionally twice a year and rarely need anything but basic brushing, nails, and ear cleaning, so it is not like I am constantly bathing them. 

I guess my question is, does anyone else have a dog with flakes of dandruff, is it likely I am just being too aggressive with the brushes/blades, or is this likely a food/skin thing -- she is the only one doing this though.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

My GSD does have the same problem when I go at him with a slicker, but never any other time. 

He's been on a lot of food for his allergies and gets oatmeal baths often, and does itch occasionally now, but has the dandruff regardless. I think it may just be an aggressive brushing thing tearing up their skin, even though he never seems bothered either and I don't do it that hard. He doesn't shed either, which could have something to do with it... :shrugs:


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Thanks. I must admit that I was going after the hair today. I just cannot seem to make a dent in it. If I see sheds tomorrow, I think I will just strangle her, LOL!

I will use a pin brush next and see if that is different. Today is the first time I saw all this dander, and I was using a slicker.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Yeah, it seems to me that the slicker just tears on their skin a little bit- not enough to bother them, but enough to loosen up their skin and cause the dandruf. Frag looks worse after I brush him than before usually!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Selzer are you giving oil supplements? My dogs had the heaviest undercoats ever this past winter, and are now finally free of the winter coat, no flaking however. I use undercoat rake and then a slicker followed by a bristle brush. Never give baths unless they get into something, though they love the hose and kiddiepool.
I have a feeling diet plays into the skin condition.
I would up the oils and see if there is a change.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I would suspect the corn


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have had issues with corn. Arwen would get redness between her toes and ear infections. I think corn plays a part in that, at least the crappier grades of corn. I haven't had any of those problems on the current food. There is always the possibility that the owner of the company is actually telling the truth and uses a higher grade of corn than what is generally seen in dog food. At least, I have noticed that. 

But a little extra oil for Milla would probably be a good thing all in all. I think I have some fish oil pills somewhere.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

LisaT are fish oil pills higher in Omega 6 or Omega 3? I do not think, considering the previous conversation that I would want to up the 6 without the 3.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

On a more serious note....

Excessive shedding can be a sign of thyroid issues. Typically, it really is a food issue if it's truly excessive. 

As onyx'girl mentioned, dandruff issue is typically a fatty acid issue. Indy has had that dandruff problem since she was pup. Her key was the right food, a multivitamin, and some flaxseed in her diet. Too little or too much flax will cause the dandruff issue for her. She can't tolerate fish oil, so I can't use 0-3's, which is what I would prefer for her. However, being a spayed female, the phytoestrogens in the flax is good for her.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

selzer said:


> LisaT are fish oil pills higher in Omega 6 or Omega 3? I do not think, considering the previous conversation that I would want to up the 6 without the 3.


A lot of fish oil supplements actually are higher in 0-6, though it is animal 0-6 rather than plant based. A better fisher oil will at least have a majority of oil as 0-3. There are several around, I'll go look up the ones that I use....


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Milla will be two in August. This is the first dandruff I have seen and it is after several bouts with the slicker, so maybe I will lay off that tool a little, before going all out with thyroid testing at this point, but it certainly worth keeping in mind. Thanks.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I look to see that at least 50% of the supplement is epa/dha, and that it's molecularly distilled, which is important to reduce heavy metal contamination:


Country Life Omega 3 Mood -- 90 Softgels - Vitacost

Country Life Ultra Omegas DHA EPA -- 500 mg - 120 Softgels - Vitacost

The second one is higher in dha, important for cancer and behaviour issues.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Normally, once they start their biannual shed, I take them in and have them do the undercoat raking, which usually means some more shedding but never major. 

As financially challenged as I currently am, I figured I would do the undercoat raking myself -- though I think they may use a special shampoo. And mostly, I am just brushing and brushing, and raking and slicking. So it is hard to really compare this to her last major shed. 

I decided to shampoo her after the fact today just in case I went overboard with the slicking and could maybe with the medicated shampoo avoid anything like itchies happening due to it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

The ones I bought were at drug mart, back when I had Cujo going through Mitaban baths. I am sure they have the epa/dha but not much more. 

I will look it over before giving them to her.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I agree Lisa, but since Sue has had so many issues with finding a food the dogs can handle I would take Jane's advice and try oil supplements first. If none of that helps then she can look into a food change for Milla

***ETA 

holy cow! none of these other threads were there when I replied. I don't type THAT slow


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

No, I just do not want to use anything made by diamond, which is almost everything, and I want ALL my dogs on the same food. I am lazy. I do not want to mess with two or more different foods for ten dogs. The food my dogs are on, they are all doing very well on.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

selzer said:


> No, I just do not want to use anything made by diamond, which is almost everything, ....



Yeah, Diamond is scary....


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

You could also add canned sardines to her diet. They are 100 mg O3 per one sardine. They do have O6 in them but the O3 is higher so will either lower, or maintain, your ratio.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

There is a reason I do not feed all raw. That is because of things like tripe, sardines, etc. Some of that stuff I won't even look at...

My dad used to EAT sardines. Haaaack Tuey!!!! 

I don't think I could pull it off. I can hand them a raw chicken leg quarter, no problem, but a tiny fish. 

thanks for the though. Not sure how much sardines cost these days but I also imagine they are out of my price range.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

$1.49/15 oz. can. They aren't raw, they are canned. But they still smell terrible.  I feed 1 oz to my 11 lb cat daily. Huge, huge difference in his coat in just a couple of weeks. You could probably feed her a can, or two, a week and be able to see a difference.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

So what kind do you get? In what type of juice? Thinking about maybe trying it, if I can get it past my brain.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I get the sardines in water. They also have them in olive oil and also in tomato sauce. some dogs don't tolerate the oil well, and tomato sauce can be very acidic for the stomach.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

selzer said:


> Ok, Milla has been molting for what seems like forever. As she is a machine, I have been out there several times, with blades, slickers, and hand stripping.
> 
> Today I went at her again. She has no collar or leash on and was not trying to get away, so I do thing think she was nervous, and I have no reason to believe I was hurting her, but today, *she had some serious flakes of dandruff going on. *
> 
> ...


Sinister used to have lots of flakes but then I switched him to grainless food and I swear to you that all of his flakes went away, all of them. His fur is very shiney, silky and soft now and he sheds alot less now.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

flakes are gone. I think it was the slicker.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

When dogs are nervous or stressed they will shed dander, flakes. I use to bring my foster to the adoption events(black dog) and when someone would come up to pet him or show interest, it just seemed to poof off of him. At home he never had that issue.
So when dogs go to vet, training or shows this may happen when the coat looks great at other times.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

selzer said:


> So what kind do you get? In what type of juice? Thinking about maybe trying it, if I can get it past my brain.


Crown Prince (some is from China and some from Morroco..I look for the Morroco). In water and then I drain it and rinse it to get the salt off of it. They are 15 oz cans so you could give her a can a week and mix it right in her food.


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

Is it possible that too much oils can cause terrible flaking skin?
Jake is on 2000 mg salmon oil and 400iu a day of vit e and although his itching has improved he has really bad dandruff....I need some help?!
He is fed 3/4 cups a day Acana grain free pacifica and some RAW.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

High quality grain free diet made a big difference for our 1YO female. Good skin and only seasonal shedding.


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

Well I put Jake on grain free Acana and all we have is dandruff! Go figure....


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

*dandruff*

I have used Timberwolf and Orijen with great results. No special additives or bathing. Just brushing as needed. Our last dog had dandruff problems and they were cured by changing from Iams to Timberwolf. What a difference in her coat!


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## iamnicole (Feb 2, 2011)

selzer said:


> Ok, Milla has been molting for what seems like forever. As she is a machine, I have been out there several times, with blades, slickers, and hand stripping.
> 
> Today I went at her again. She has no collar or leash on and was not trying to get away, so I do thing think she was nervous, and I have no reason to believe I was hurting her, but today, she had some serious flakes of dandruff going on.
> 
> ...


Kezia had the same problem when she was 5 to 8 months old. Her vet told me to give her an oatmeal bath once a week mixed with warm water. It worked for a short period of time. But my friend advised me to use a human anti- dandruff shampoo called "Clear" for men, she had the same prob too on her Billie until someone told her to use Clear shampoo. It worked for Kezia and till now she's dandruff/flakes free.


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## bunchoberrys (Apr 23, 2010)

selzer said:


> Ok, Milla has been molting for what seems like forever. As she is a machine, I have been out there several times, with blades, slickers, and hand stripping.
> 
> Today I went at her again. She has no collar or leash on and was not trying to get away, so I do thing think she was nervous, and I have no reason to believe I was hurting her, but today, she had some serious flakes of dandruff going on.
> 
> ...


Please don't handstrip a dog that is not meant to be hanstripped. That is a big nono. Also, the slicker brush, and stripping comb may be causing the problem because the slicker will actually tear on the skin, and using a stripping blade you actually are rippin hair from the skin. Please use a rake and or a comb that is rounded at the edges so it does not tear at the skin. Purchase a conditioning spray, I suggest a horse spray like Cowboy Magic, it is Aloe based and is beneficial to the coat and helps deter dirt build up, it can be purchased at Tractor Supply and comes in a big 32oz spray for $9.99, it is worth it. Unlike Mink Oil it will not leave the coat greasy and lets the skin breathe. I suggest a Tea Tree Oil shampoo to help with the dandruff, it is ALOT BETTER THAN OATMEAL, and it helps the skin heal faster. Make sure all soap is rinsed out after bathing, alot of people leave alot of shampoo residue in, which causes more dandruff and or scratching. Furthermore, add a capful of olive oil, or canola oil blend to each time your puppers eats. It is just as good, and cheaper than fish oil tabs. Good luck.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Uhm, what I mean by hand stripping is just pulling the dead fur with my fingers. I do it all the time with my dogs. I am not sure what hand stripping is for a breed that is supposed to be hand stripped, but removing hair that is already coming out with my fingers is easier on her than any type of brush or shedding blade or comb or whatever.

The flakes are gone, I was just being a bit too aggressive with getting the hair out. Not a problem anymore.


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