My 6 month old male chocolate has had persistant dry skin and dandruff. The vet told us to give him fish oil supplements. We have tried two different formulations with little success. We also use a humectant spray on his coat. After reading some of the posts on here it appears that sunflower, safflower or canola oil would be a better choice for the Omega-6 that he needs. My question is how much do I give him and how often. He weighs 48.5 pounds (does that seem small for a 6 month old male?). He was getting 2 teaspoons of fish oil mixed with his food once a day. Thanks in advance for your suggestions and help...
Kelli
Mom to:
Marsh Mutt Manor's Wild River Gage (6 mos)
Riley's Miss Brown Sugar (8 years)

Your pup may be a candidate for derm caps or similar Foster and Smith product.... They balance out the 9-6-3 fatty acids...


If you use the canola only a teaspoon mixed into the food.. too much can bring on pancreatitis...

We are currently using Foster's & Smith Premium Plus Skin & Coat with no success.

Have you tried Herring oil? I've had the best success with it. Otherwise, I would probably go to Flax or Primrose oil ahead of Canola... As for amount, about 1 tsp per meal.

We are currently using Foster's & Smith Premium Plus Skin & Coat with no success.

Do you own a Zoom groom ? The long fingers gently stimulate the oils to come out... Perhaps using that...

I have had F & S products give great results...when nothing else helped..

Perhaps a food change that will soften up the skin and coat...

May I recommend Innova Red Meat Lg. bites.. Very low in Calcium and all the other good stuff in it may help.. Gives great stool in my Satch's case...

I have not tried herring. Where would I find Flax or Primrose oil? I know I have seen flax seed oil in capsule form in the vitamin aisle. Can you get in just a liquid form to mix in the food?

EEK!! I think we've been giving too much canola oil. We only do it 2-3 times a week, probably about a Tablespoon at dinnertime. Obv we'll cut back, but could this cause any damage? It's only been about a week or two since we started.

Read these two articles...

one mentions Hollywood Safflower oil as having the highest levels of linoleic acid. ...http://marvistavet.com/html/nutritional_therapy.html

the other all about Fatty acids
http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/fa.html

What food and treats are you feeding?

Dry skin and coat could be a result of poor nutrition. Could your dog be allergic to something in his diet? I supplement Toby's diet with Salmon oil with excellent results. Salmon oil is very high in Omega 3's.

You can just get the primrose capsules and squirt them onto the food...

However, I am also wondering what you are feeding. In a perfect world, the food that you are feeding would be able to counteract dry skin without having to add an oil.

One vet that I know of does not think that dry skin comes from a lack of oils- it comes from an excess of food and things that the dog cannot process. He believes that feeding a smaller amount of a higher quality food can help or diminish dry skin.

Food for thought anyway!

Gage is currently eating Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy food. As far as treats go he has a variety. Bil-Jac Small Bites, Newman's Own Organic Dog Treats -Chicken flavor, and Iam's Lamb & Rice Dog biscuits.

Okay I would definitely reccommend switching him off of the Nutro. They have had a multitude of changes in the past year or so (adding more grain, rice, etc). I've had a lot of customers complaining of bad coats and dry skin on that food, when in the past they had raved about it.

Try something with a little more meat- Innova, Premium Edge, Natural Balance, California Natural, Orijen.. the list goes on and on.
As for the treats- from a quick internet search, it sounds like they are high in preservatives and grains. Try something simple like chicken jerky or freeze-dried liver- most dogs love them way more than 'cookies', and the simplicity of them removes any ingredient questioning.

My 8 year old chocolate female has had a multitude of issues with food and Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice is the only thing we have found that she is able to eat without problems. She is allergic to corn & wheat and has seizures if she eats anything with those ingredients. She has been on the Nutro for just over 2 years without any seizures and her coat is beautiful. We were hoping to eventually switch Gage to the same food she is eating so that we aren't buying different foods. Nutro has a lamb & rice large breed puppy food but it isn't currently available according to Nutro due to a shortage of lamb. It is so difficult to decide as there are as many opinions about food as there are foods to choose from. Gage doesn't seem to like the food he is eating and would rather eat what the other dog is eating. I am not sure if that has anything to do with the food or just that wants what isn't his...lol

Oh yea... Well it is understandable that you want to have them on the same food. However, I would recommend trying some other foods for Gage to see if that would help his coat at all. If your female is doing fine, keep her on it- but Gage isn't doing fine... so try switching! :)

Gage doesn't seem to like the food he is eating and would rather eat what the other dog is eating. I am not sure if that has anything to do with the food or just that wants what isn't his...lol


If Gage is six months, you could likely start switching him to the adult formula. Many breeders switch the pups at five to six months. What does your vet/breeder say about putting him on adult food?

My dog was itching so very badly I couldn't stand it! I know she didn't have any fleas, so that wasn't it. I switched her food and started giving her Vital Choice Salmon Oil capsules and the change was almost immediate! She seriously stopped itchng in a week!

I switched her to a fish based food, as well. It is amazing!

In retrospect, I remember a professional dog breeder and AKC dog show judge that always had me add corn oil to the dogs food. ( I worked for her when I was a teenager).

One more suggestion from a Vet...he said the best oil to add for great skin and coat is Safflower Oil.

Just my 2 cents!

I use extra virgin olive oil once in a while.