My Italian Greyhound has started to get very dry skin...any suggestions would be appreciated?

Answers:
When my dogs have that problem I make sure that I buy dog food that has lamb meat in it. This helps because of the lanolin oil. This seems to do the trick and I have not had to do anything else. By the way I absolutely love italian greyhounds they are sleek and stunning.

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Make sure your dog is getting enough water.

But watch what you are using for shampoo. Switch to a gentle oatmeal based shampoo for sensitive skin.

Also consider supplementing with fish oil or flax oil capsules. 1000 mg a day, but no more than that.. The diet may be lacking omega 3's. You can use the same type people use from the health food store/vitamin aisle. Health comes from the inside out and you will notice a difference in his skin and coat after awhile.

Stay away from moisturizers if you can because he can lick it off and there are other ingredients in it that is not great to eat.

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You can give him a spoonful of vasilene once a week. It will not hurt him and he will like it.

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You can use moisturizer (one for sensitive skin or especially for dogs) and be sure to use sunscreen if he/she will be outside for long.
yes, sunscreen. 鈽?

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First things first is stop bathing him. That is the worst thing you can do. Second is make sure that your dogs diet is a premium brand food, like Natures recipe venison and rice or Nutro Ultra. Both sold at PetSmart. You could add a little Olive or vegetable oil to the food, But the best stuff is called "The Missing Link". You will see a huge difference in just a week and a half... I promise. Go for the Natures Recipe.
Good luck.

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throw some lotion on that.

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i use skin so soft ,from avon,it also helps repel the bugs,it dint take much,a little goes long way ,hope this helps.

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What brand of food are you feeding him? You'll be surprised what a good diet will do to an animal's skin. I own cats not dogs but I buy them premium cat food and they have a beautiful coat, never throw up, and are in perfect health. In case you're interested I feed them California Natural, Innova, Solid Gold, Felidae, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Wellness and Wysong. I never feed them cat foods sold at supermarkets. They are the worst. The above brands are all available for dogs also (Canidae instead of Felidae). You would have to do some research to find a store near you that carries them. They are not sold at Petco or PetSmart either.

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The usual cause of dry skin is over-bathing the dog. And it doesn't matter what kind of shampoo you use, it's the water that's drying. Try adding about 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to his food daily - you'll see an improvement soon.

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Frequent baths are probably playing a huge role in your iggy's dry skin. Try to keep him from jumping in the bath tub with kids! (how precious!) Also you can try fish oil. I have a greyhound and I usually put 1-2 fish oil tablets on her food and it helps with dry skin and shedding. Just pierce the caplet and pour it on the food. Also after I bathe mine, I put just a tad bit of baby lotion on her dry areas, not too much just a little though. Plus it makes her smell good. =) Good luck!