Doggy Dandruff

Question
My family and I just adopted a shephard mix from the pound and we have noticed that she has very dry skin
and dandruff.  She is underweight right now so I know that most of the problem may be due to poor nutrition, but now that she is heading in the right direction nutrition wise I was wondering what I can do to help
her dry skin besides a healthy diet. Any advise you can offer would be great.

Sinceely,
Ginger's New Mom

Answer
Hi, Adrian, and thanks for asking! Having battled with doggy dandruff myself with my own dog, I can relate to what you're going through. You are right that a good diet will help, but there is also a shampoo that works very well. It is called Sulfodene, and is a 'medicated' shampoo, but it is gentle enough to be used once a week if your pup's dandruff is terribly bad. You can find it in most pet stores.

My dog turned 3 years old in February, and I battled with her dry skin during the spring and summer since I got her at just 2.5 months old from the pound. I have always fed a top-notch dog food (from Nutro Natural Choice, to Solid Gold, to Premium Edge, to Wellness), but her dandruff never really went away until I switched to Canidae last month (April '05). I had been wanting to switch for a while, but was unable to find any place around here that sold it, so I asked the manager of Pet Supplies Plus if he would consider carrying it, and he said he would. Now, this may seem hard to believe, but within a week, her dandruff had all but disappeared, and after two weeks, she was completely dandruff-free! If you can get Canidae, I highly recommend it. I pay just $30-$35 for a 40 pound bag, which lasts me 4-5 weeks in a re-sealable plastic container (I never store pet food in the bag that it comes in). My dog is 60 pounds, and eats 2.5 cups of food per day.

Raw food will also help with skin problems/allergies. I have never made the transition to feeding raw-only, but when I am cooking for my husband and I, Gypsy (my dog) gets a raw pork chop, chicken breast, steak, etc., depending on what we're eating. Given raw, bones, even chicken bones, are safe, but you should always supervise the dog just in case he gets choked or something. I've never had it happen to me, but that's not saying it couldn't happen. If you're interested in going totally raw, let me know and I'll give you the address to the rawfeeding group at yahoo.com.

Good luck, and let me know if there's anything else I can do to help!

Kristen