Hi, I’m looking for some advice on my 6 month old black lab dry skin problem. Its causing flaking and itching. The itching and scratching got so bad I took him to the vet. We went over his diet. Vet gave him a 5 day anti-irritation medication along with an omega 3 supplement over a week ago. He has no fleas. The itching is a bit less however he is still uncomfortable. Has anyone had this issue with their lab? He has dry patches on his back near the tail and he’s biting on his legs. I just want to give him some relief. Thank you!
Is this something that's come on suddenly or has he had dry skin for a while and it's getting worse? I ask because my dog always had grass allergy problems this time of year that required steroid cream and antibiotics for a few weeks until the worst of it was over. However, he could just be getting older and the dryness is part of that (and/or a lack of something in his diet). My foster dog was super itchy when he came from the shelter and I got a lot of advice to put him on salmon oil. I also give him omega-3 capsules, but it's really the salmon oil that did the trick for him. No itchies at all anymore and a super glossy coat.
My boy Pongo gets itchy patches and hotspots (not dry skin really, but certainly bad skin). Salmon oil is absolutely brilliant at clearing it up. I get a big bottle from csjk9 which I think is quite high quality, and he gets two good squirts every meal. I'd say try it - it can't do any harm and you might find it really helps. And it has made is fur incredibly soft and thick, so I can just bury my face in the ruff of fur round his neck. Lovely.
He has had it for while and it seems to be getting worse. He scratches and bites throughout the day but the worst of it is at night. He wakes up often and I can hear him scratching. I’m going to try the salmon oil.
Excellent! Try to get a type that is cold-pressed rather than heat-extracted, it retains the oils better. Do let us know how he gets on. Itchiness is miserable - I just couldn't stand watching Pongo scratchscratchscratchnibblenibblenibblescratch all the time.