Retrievers > Golden Retriever Discussions

Dry Skin

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sc.trojans:


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.

sc.trojans:

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.

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