salmon oil and dry skin?

[Seatrtle]

I am currently feeding my girl Fromm Salmon a la Veg dog food. She has dry skin (small flakes at the lower back/base of tail and she is itchy) and with the colder weather here she is more itchy. I was wondering if giving her Grizzly Salmon Oil would help, but is this too much fish? Do I need the Fish Oil supplement since she is getting the Fromm Salmon food? The Fromm states that is has:
Omega 3 Fatty Acids 0.6% MIN
Omega 6 Fatty Acids 2.7% MIN

When I bathe her I use Oatmeal Shampoo and conditioner from Chris Christensen and she only get bathed every two weeks. I am planning on waiting longer between baths this time so that I don't risk making her skin worse. She also gets brushed at least once daily.

She is now 8 months old.

Thoughts?

Any help is much appreciated.

[107barney]

I think oatmeal shampoos can be drying. I also think that weekly bathing can help with dryness. I live in the northeast and one of my dogs has very severe allergies and weekly bathing actually helps to keep her skin moist and supple. I use Yorkie splash and shine shampoo and BioGroom hypoallergenic creme rinse.

I looked up your food and it has 16% fat (minimum). That means that the maximum fat in the product could be higher. You could email Fromm and ask them what the product max fat is. I think 16% fat is good. You could add an omega 3 fatty acid product if you wanted, which might help with the skin. I use two different products for my dogs. I use wild salmon oil for two of the dogs and for one dog that I want to keep fat to a minimum, I am using Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega liquid which is the fish oil I take. I give him 1/8 of a teaspoon once a day which is the dose for a 10-lb dog. I do this because I get a lot more bang for my buck in terms of the amount of omegas he gets while I minimize the additional fat he consumes (he is fat intolerant).

[Wylie's Mom]

I would toss out the oatmeal shampoo right away - oatmeal shampoos are actually not good for irritated skin...it's a myth that they help. A Vet Derm could confirm this for you.

It should be fine to feed the fish kibble, yet still supplement omegas if you want to try that. You could also give coconut oil instead of fish oil since they're getting fish product already...

[Seatrtle]

Thank you both tremendously. I had no idea that the oatmeal shampoo could be irritating!

107barney - is there a reason that you don't use the Yorkie splash and shine conditioner? Or is it because the bio groom is specifically for allergens?

Also, thank you so much for looking up my food. You all really go above and beyond to help out others. Thank you so much. What is the max fat content that I should look for when I email Fromm?

Wylie's mom - I will look into the coconut oil as well. Thank you for suggesting it.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by Seatrtle

Thank you both tremendously. I had no idea that the oatmeal shampoo could be irritating!

107barney - is there a reason that you don't use the Yorkie splash and shine conditioner? Or is it because the bio groom is specifically for allergens?

Also, thank you so much for looking up my food. You all really go above and beyond to help out others. Thank you so much. What is the max fat content that I should look for when I email Fromm?

Wylie's mom - I will look into the coconut oil as well. Thank you for suggesting it.

I would just find out what it is. So if the max fat is close to the minimum labeled on the bag of 16%, then adding fat may not be as much of an issue. If the max fat is up there over 20% or something like that, I would be a little hesitant to add more fat to the diet. Lots of Yorkies seem to get pancreatitis and being a little conservative with fat isn't a bad idea in my view. I also use coconut oil for my dogs. I brush their teeth with it a couple of times a week.

I like bio-groom better overall as a conditioner because it is thicker and seems to really work well on each of the differing coats. It's unscented so I can still have the scent of the YSS which I really like.