dandruff on standard schnauzer

Question
I have a 14 month old purebred black schnauzer who has dandruff and sheds. I previously had a Miniature Schnauzer that didn't have either problem. I feed him Royal Canin for Adult dogs, he is professionally groomed every three months and is combed regularly at home. I bathe him monthly and use a Vet shampoo aloe & oatmeal. Do you have any suggestions what I can do?

Answer
Although Royal Canin sounds like an okay food, this could be dietary. You might try putting him on something else, like Eagle (my recommendation), Canidae, Wellness, Solid Gold, or Flint River Ranch, and see if there is any improvement.

When you bathe him, be sure you rinse, rinse, and rinse again to make sure that there is no soap residue left in his coat. You might also try taking a grooming (lava) stone to his coat as he stands there in the tub all soaped up. (Make sure you have a good strainer in the drain if you do that!)

Since it is winter, many of our homes are way too dry right now. You might try spraying his coat with a bit of witch hazel and brushing it down with a flat bristle brush to help bring up the oils in his coat. If you can do this daily, that should help a lot.

You might also have his thyroid tested to make sure that is not the problem.

Finally, black dogs can be a problem in that it is very common when a dog is stressed for them to "pop" dandruff at the drop of a hat, and that is SO noticeable on a black dog.