Good afternoon all, has anyone ever heard of a choccy lab suffering from dandruff? Our boy, Chester, (now 16 weeks old) seems to have what looks like dandruff. Some days it is quite bad and others barely noticeable. Is this a trait of choccy Labs? It does not seem to bother him & it does not really bother us, just curious I guess. I was wondering if maybe it was attributable to the central heating - although we dont have radiators, we have underfloor heating. Anyone else with a choccy lab that has come across this?
It's not specifically a choccy thing, but it is sometimes a dog thing. My black girl can get dry skin in certain conditions - sudden change in weather conditions, too much brushing, not enough salmon oil in her diet, stress... I manage it by giving her a daily dose of salmon oil and brushing her very rarely; only a couple of times during each seasonal moult. Other dogs who have dry skin can be suffering from allergies which can sometimes be difficult to pin down to dietary or environmental factors. Sometimes a change in diet is necessary - prime culprits are beef and chicken, so a change to a "sensitive/hypoallergenic" food which contains novel protein and carbohydrate sources can help. Most brands offer a hypoallergenic version of their food at little or no extra cost.
Dandruff is really common with puppies. My boy had it as a puppy but it disappeared as he grew older. You could try giving him a bit of salmon oil and see if that helps?
I notice Charlie gets dandruff when the weather changes. It's not the central heating in our house as we have been scraping ice off the inside of the windows I do give Hattie & Charlie tinned sardines with the olive oil 2/3 times a week which helps their coat and skin condition aswell as their bones, brains, eyes etc.
When I switched to a 4.5 star puppy food and then added vitamins, the dandruff virtually disappeared. Of course, on a black or a choccie, the dandruff will actually show up, where as on a golden you will never see it. We have a woodstove so even with a humidifier running flat out, the humidity in the house rarely exceeds 20% in the winter. Of course the pet food manufacturers "say" that no vitamins added are needed---of course they would say that. Would you expect them to tell you that their food is deficient in anything. Even "1" rated foods have advertising that says it is the best food available.
Omega 3 fish oil capsules rid our black boy of his dreadful dandruff. This and a decent kibble diet (4.8 star - we only landed on this because it gave him firm stools). Coco now gets the fish oils capsules - he has never had dandruff, but his coat is lovely, soft & shiny.
