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Retrievers => Golden Retriever Discussions => : AimeeSedlock October 09, 2006, 05:12:03 AM

: Dry Skin
: AimeeSedlock October 09, 2006, 05:12:03 AM

Hi All

I'm wondering what diet you all feed your Goldens, I have a 2 year old I got from a rescue in May. She was 122 pounds when I got her so she went on a diet, I put her on the "Nutro Weight Management" dog food, she's down to about 100 pounds now. But she's getting flakey skin and her coat looks dull.  Any better diets or supplements I could put her on. I also give her two 3V cap's a day.

Thanks for any help

Aimee 
: Re: Dry Skin
: shangrila October 09, 2006, 05:42:05 AM
Dry skin is often a sign of a food allergy, so that is the first thing I would look at.

Also, I would add omega3 (usually in the form of fish oil liquid or capsules) as a supplement to her diet - it helps solve dry skin in both dogs and humans
: Re: Dry Skin
: mtaig12 October 09, 2006, 09:44:11 AM

Hi All

Any better diets or supplements I could put her on. I also give her two 3V cap's a day.

Thanks for any help

AimeeĀ 

The 3V caps have fish oil as a source of Omega-3 fatty acids plus vitamins A, D, and E. Those should be helping-how long has she been getting those? If she's been on them a while, you might try changing foods while keeping her on the 3V caps.

Hope this helps
Tracy
: Re: Dry Skin
: AimeeSedlock October 10, 2006, 04:11:42 AM

She's been taking the 3V caps for over 2 months now, I haven't seen any improvement with them.  Someone told me to add a tablespoon of cooking oil to her dog food, any thoughts on this??

Thanks
: Re: Dry Skin
: Nicole October 10, 2006, 05:51:12 AM
Hahaha...thank s, Jenn!

Yeah, too much fish can be bad, because of toxins that bioaccumulate. However, that isn't too much of a problem with the smaller fish, like the anchovies and sardines. And, farm raised salmon is worse than wild-caught salmon. (Kind of counter-intuitive)

That said, because a dog's life-span is a lot shorter than humans, you don't really have to worry about the toxins as much for them as for you. The EPA usually gives the age of 70 for a human to develop cancer. Um, that's weird, I know...but, its a guideline. By that they mean that most people will develop some kind of cancer by age 70. Dogs don't live that long, so the toxins are not really as big of a deal.

Anyway, you didn't necessarily ask for toxicology advice. So, I will just whole-heartedly agree to the food allergies, supplements (Omega 3 and 6 in balance) and check out the hypothyroidism .

 ;D
: Re: Dry Skin
: sc.trojans December 28, 2006, 12:34:24 PM


All of the Omega 3 advice you have received - wild salmon oil specifically - is great advice.  But all the fish oil in the world will not overcome a poor diet and Nutro is very poor.

Go to the Food forum and check out the posted Whold Dog Journal listing of quality kibbles.  Even on that list, some are better than others but a quality kibble is something like Innova, Wellness, Canidae and Flint River Ranch.

I do not feed kibble so I cannot help more here, but I do know that kibbles with low quality ingredients and excessive grains always cause dull coats and dry skin.  There is one kibble out there:  Innova's EVO which is completely grain free and is the top choice in my view (I do not feed grains to my dogs).  It has a very high protein content, so as long as that is not a problem for your particular dog (pancreatitis etc.) - I would try that one first.

Dry skin can also be a sign of an absorption problem - too much fat in the diet often causes absorption problems resulting in dry skin.  This is likely not your case however.

I have never seen dry skin be a true food allergy.  Allergy symptoms are just like what you expect - excessive itching, inflammation and yeast flare ups.  Dry skin is not reflective of a true allergy alone.

: Re: Dry Skin
: sc.trojans January 22, 2007, 08:45:22 PM

I just wanted to add here that while fostering a dog the past two months, I was forced to research kibbles again (since I don't feed them) and found that Nature's Variety has released a new kibble product in their line called "Raw Instincts" - and like EVO is completely grain free.

My foster boy liked it and weaned very nicely over to it (after I had been feeding him real food) and his new forever home reports that he is still eating it with relish.

I am happy to see more companies are coming out with a grain free product and are starting to recognize that this is not a biologically appropriate food for most dogs.