Dry skin on my Springer Spaniel

by Kate
(Cornwall, UK)

I have a 2 year old gorgeous English Springer - Sid :)

We love him to bits, but he is driving me mad with his moulting and constant flakes of skin everywhere. I am hoovering twice a day to keep on top of it.

He has a good quality dried dog food, and I am giving him a lump of butter daily on my vets advice to add more fat to his diet. We have also got an oatmeal and aloe shampoo from the vets so hopefully this will help also.

He is brushed regularly, although I think I will try a rubber glove as recommended on here.

Any other tips???? My hoover may burn out before too long otherwise!!

From Anna@love-springer-spaniels.com

Hi Kate
I am so sorry you are having such difficulty even with the vets advice.

Here are some things that people I know have tried for a variety of different skin conditions, I don't know if they will work in your case because I am not a vet but they will not be harmful

1)Try using olive oil in his food and not butter, as its a better form of fat, you may also try to give him some cod liver oild capsules. Stick them in the back of his throat, hold his mouth shut and rub his throat, he has to swallow.

2)I know you said you feed him a good food but is is it hypoallergenic? I swear by this type of dog food and use brands such as Burns and James Wellbeloved. However I am about to switch to Arden Grange on the advice of a Springer breeder friend of mine who swears it makes their springers coats glorious so maybe thats worth a try.

Also you may want to add some tinned salmon to the food as that is a great source of omega 3 fats.

3)Has your vet done a skin scrape to see if there is a mite problem.

Hope this helps and gives you some new ideas.

Good luck