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[Sophie45]

Hi Guys-
Sophie's rear-end area (the back-end of her hind legs area) and the base of her tail has been extra itchy lately. I had to take her to the vet's last week for a separate matter and brought it up to the vets, and he said she was fine and not to worry about it-that her skin and coat looked 'fine'.

But I know my Sophie, and she has never had itchy skin ever before-and I do see very minor flakiness, but nonetheless-she's never had ANY flakiness before a few weeks ago-and she has had absolutely no changes in her diet! I am thinking it is because of the colder weather and heating season starting (even though previous winters have never bothered her before) but really don't know for sure. Any suggestions or ideas?

Also, anything to possibly add to her diet that you know works very well? I was thinking of cod liver oil but wanted other people's experiences and opinions before I bought some. I tried nutritional yeast, but never saw a difference.

[Labman]

Did the vet say anything about anal glands? Of course, they won't cause flaky skin. Befor egoing to the cod liver oil, try a teaspoon a day or every few days of regular cooking oil. Usually they are a great source of the linoleic acid dogs need for their skin and coat.

Most dogs get all the fat they need out of their dog food.

[Sophie45]

Hmm....the vet did not say anything about anal gland issues, but definitely there is some flakiness in the itchy areas, so I don't think that's the cause.

I have been putting some olive oil in her food, which definitely seems to be helping!
Any other suggestions are always welcome, too
Thanks!

[Muttzrule]

Don't use cod liver oil. it is very easy to overdose the dog on the high amounts of vitamin A found in cod liver oil. Use instead whole fish oils, salmon oil is what I use.

Many prepared dog foods don't have enough EFA's because the cooking and extruding process breaks them down so they are unusable. Some dogs do fine, but you'll find a softer glossier coat and healthier itch free skin if you add some Essential Fatty Acids, particuarly Omega 3s found in fish oil. Vegetable oils contain Omega 6's which are not as readily useful.

[Sophie45]

I used to give her on salmon oil just as a supplement because I heard it was good for dogs, but now I think I really need it!

So just an update-very odd, but her itchiness has gone down (but still is somewhat itchy), but her flakiness has gone up-so she has more flakes but scratching less, which makes no sense to me! I have been using olive oil, that seemed to help for a few days, but now it's definitely not making a difference-in fact, it's gotten slightly worse (but still not terrible). I am sure the cold weather has something to do with it, but so far it hasn't gotten that terribly cold in NY and I haven't even turned the heat on yet, so I don't know how it could have impacted her that much-especially since she has NEVER had any flakiness before ever! And she has been on this dog food for about a year now-it's Premium Edge skin and coat formula (go figure!) which has kept her looking great until now. Also, the weird thing is her coat is very glossy and healthy looking, and her skin overall looks pretty good-no redness, just flakiness!

I am completely stumped as to where this is coming from-maybe now that she is an adult (3 1/2 yrs old) she is more susceptible than when she was younger...???

Also-it seriously seems to depend on the day! Tuesday it looked like it was getting better, but on Wednesday and Thursday it looked terrible!
Any ideas?!

Here is the list of ingredients in Premium Edge:
Ingredients
Salmon, ocean fish meal (a source of fish oil), potatoes, peas, cracked pearled barley, millet, egg product, oatmeal, canola oil, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed, choline chloride, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, kelp, carrots, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, chondroitin sulfate, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

[Sophie45]

So just to add to the confusion, I just did another thorough inspection-and right now her coat looks fabulous-the flakiness is almost non-existant, but yesterday it was definitely visible! Her coat is, as always, non-greasy, smooth and very sleek-looking-but also no flakes today!

What gives?! I'm stumped! And the vet took a look (on a day with some flakiness) and said she looks perfectly fine and her skin and coat look 'wonderful-better than most dogs'-but why is she getting flakiness all of a sudden out of the clear blue sky?! So confusing and frustrating!

[dawnben]

ground flax seed. non meat item that has amino acids great for skin and coat. about a tablespoon per day on meal

[Sophie45]

Dawn-
Thanks for the advice. It is actually quite coincidental that you posted that-I actually went and bought whole flax seed for myself yesterday (I grind it myself) and just read your post today. I will definitely be sharing my flax seed with my dog!