Dry skin - how long do symptoms take to manifest? Or maybe stress?

I've been cutting back on certain things in Willow's diet for a few weeks to see if I can crack the back of her dry skin. It doesn't cause her any discomfort, but I'd obviously like to have her in as tip-top condition as possible.

I've completely cut out chicken and, since doing so, her skin has improved a lot, to the point where any dryness is barely noticeable. I wouldn't say it's 100% gone, but I really have to give her tummy a hard rub in order to raise any. Coincidentally, in this same period, I have also cut out turkey, but that's because I can't get turkey drumsticks in Spain. In Andorra, they would have one most days of the week.

We were back in Andorra for a couple of days at the beginning of this week, and they had turkey drummers on both days for their lunch. They went to Spain late Wednesday morning, and I followed Thursday morning. By the time I got there, Willow had gone very flaky again.

So, I'm now wondering if it's the turkey that's causing the flakiness. But how long would it take between consumption and flaky skin?

The other alternative is that the flakiness is due to stress - she had a couple of very stressful walks when we were back in Andorra, where she was shaking from fear, so it could be that that has had an impact. But, again, the question is, how long would you expect it to take before it manifested?

 

I don't know...I hope someone who does comes along. I'd say it would take a while, really, for the impact of diet to show on a dog's skin or coat. It would on a human, wouldn't it? I'd expect diet to show in new skin growth, really, I suppose. About a month perhaps?

 

If it were just to do with new growth, though, I would expect it to have happened more slowly, too. On Tuesday night, she was gone. On Thursday morning, she was excessively dry. It could be down to the change of environment, but it didn't happen last time we came down here, and the weather wasn't actually too dissimilar to Andorra when they arrived. It's weird how rapidly it can change.

 

You don't know how long that change has been 'brewing' though....I don't know if that's a mad thing to think. I know that if I'm stressed and eating junk, my nails suffer, but not for ages. My nails are great right now, because months ago I had an easy job, enough sleep, and a good diet!

 

My GSPs if stressed would suddenly flake all over, so it could be stress with Willow. The thing I would be wary about in feeding a raw diet and chicken is what hormones or/and antibiotics have they had? Though I agree the same could happen with chicken in kibble, but i would hope if I buy a reputable kibble the chicken would be well sourced. However, I do not think this would contribute to a dry skin but lack of oil could.

Off topic briefly, @JulieT, my nails have suddenly started to split downwards, I have a good diet, but perhaps am stressed with 'too much to do"!

 

As Stacia says, in a stressful situation flakiness can appear very suddenly, almost instantly, as the stressful situation is happening.

As far as diet goes - my first Lab developed skin issues (itchy and smelly) on kibble and so we switched to a homemade diet. It was many years ago but I recall that he began to improve really fast, like in a matter of days.

So I reckon that either a diet change or stress could produce a fast skin response.

 

She has not had any chicken, in any form, for about a month now. Her kibble is pork based, she gets pork and beef mince, pig trotters and fish, that's pretty much it. She had some cheese when we were in Andorra, too.

I think it's probably stress - long story short, she was buzzed by some swallows and it scared the bejeebers out of her, to the point she was too afraid to move. I put her in kennels last year for two days and she had a horrible coat from that, which I think was also stress. She's too sensitive by half, my girl. Although, right now, she's asleep cuddled up to me, which is a huge rarity, and I'm making the most of it

 

I've seen a dog develop a horrible coat during a week long stay at a kennel. On Monday shiny, sleek and plush, on Friday dull, scurfy and spiky looking. Stress can have a big and fast effect on the skin and coat, for sure.

 

Well, if you are anything like me, it was because you were stressed some time ago! At least as far as nails are concerned....I don't know about dog's skin and stress at all, but it does sound more likely than a change of diet. I can't see how a change of diet can impact skin and coat over a few days (unless the change removed or added something that was a dramatic allergen).

Charlie does not tolerate mass produced chicken. It gives him runny poo and sometimes makes him sick. His skin and coat are completely unaffected though. Regardless, his skin is normal and his coat shiny (he is prone to ear trouble due to the skin in his ears growing in a way that disrupts the 'self cleaning' mechanism, but that's nothing to do with his diet).

 

Some allergens can provoke a quick response due to rises in histamine release. Food intolerance is a bit a bit more complicated, can take a while to manifest in symptoms. The body responds in different ways, and food intolerance (in humans) can cause a systemic response, one being the skin, itchy/dry and bumpy, even sore joints, upset tummy or mood swings. If we apply this to dogs, well maybe the diet is the main cause, however I imagine the environment may just exacerbate any propensity to dryness.

 

Ah, that could be it, Stepfather was ill and took nearly a week to die in hospital, very stressful time.

 

@snowbunny, I wouldn't feed pork mince or raw pork to my dogs, best to cook it. But then that perhaps is just me, have a look on Google. Have you tried introducing some oil to Willow? I use Yumega, just a squirt, not the 10ml advised and their coats look glossy. It also appears to help the older one's elbow.

 

She already has plenty of salmon oil in her food daily and it does make a difference, for sure. I'm happy to report that, as of this morning, she's back to her "a bit dry" state of normalcy again.

My nails suffer enormously, but that's mainly environmental. Bare hands in very cold temps in the winter wreaks havoc with them, and it takes forever for the damage to grow out. Then, with all the manual stuff I tend to do, they're forever getting broken. I will never have dainty, perfectly manicured fingernails!

 

Glad Willow is looking better. My hands look weatherbeaten and yet I put sun screen (50) on them and now my nails Good to know someone else doesn't have perfectley manicured fingernails

 

I bought a big tub of coconut oil recently, but find I don't like the taste very much. However, if Poppy's skin is looking a bit dry I give her a spoonful with her food, and she certainly seems to like it! I also use it to rub into my nails - the manicurist I go to on occasions told me that the best thing you can do to help your nails (apart from not drinking too much alcohol, eating and sleeping properly, etc) is to rub ointment or oil directly on the nails and nailbed several times a day. It seems to help mine!

 

Will try that Karen

 

Works every bit as well as the expensive nail oil I bought, that's for sure! Smells nicer, too.

 

Even better

 

A quick update on Willow's skin. Her coat is looking and feeling amazing at the moment, with only the tiniest bit of dry skin on her tummy.

I'm pretty sure that it's environmental. She is not spending anywhere near as much time outside at the moment as she did when we first came to Spain; I think the novelty of laying in the sun for hours has died off a bit, and she's spending more of the day snoozing on the bed or in the bathroom (a favourite spot!). I've upped her salmon oil so she gets 14ml a day, equating to a dosage of EHA+DHA of just under 3000mg. She also now gets tinned sardines twice a week.

I've slowly started reintroducing chicken, and nothing has changed yet (albeit, she's only had a few nibbles here and there). Next up, I'm going to start reintroducing the non-sensitive food that she was on, and Shadow is still on, and see if that makes any difference.

 

Good news