What can I give my dog for dry skin? Does fish oil really work?

I would recommend an oral fatty acid supplement to help keep the skin healthy. Welactin is one we commonly use, though your vet can also recommend a product or your local pet store may also carry fatty acid supplements.

I would not recommend using all three of these oils together, as you can cause problems with the liver and pancreas in some cases by "overloading" fats like this. Fish oil has been shown to be the most helpful with skin issues like this, so you could try a good fish oil supplement such as Welactin for dogs - just follow the instructions on the label for dosing, based on your dog's weight.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to skin allergies mostly due to the fact that it started after moving. Adding fish oil can be considered regardless to help with the dry skin. You can use the commercial kind for dogs. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Adding fish oil to Cooper's diet can help with his skin. You can give it to him in the form of pill supplements. For every 30 pounds of body weight, give him 1,000 mg fish oil containing 300 mg of EPA/ DHA combined. There are dog fish oil supplements, but it's fine to use human fish oil supplements, just make sure that you give her the recommended dose above. Finally, you can give him a bath with vitamin E oil to help his skin. Good luck, I hope this helps!

I recommend giving a fatty acid skin supplement orally to help keep her skin healthy and coat shiny. Fish oil orally will work also. I do not use anything on the skin itself usually unless it's very dry and flaky, then I use a moisturizing grooming spray after a bath with a hypo allergenic shampoo. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Roxy.

Hello. The problem with using oils on the coat is the residual greasiness. If you want to use something, use a leave-in conditioner made for dogs, either post bathing, or one of the mousse rub in ones. The best way to get oils into the coat is to feed Arjun omega 3 fatty acids, so a good fish oil supplement daily. I would administer 1 000-1200 mg capsule twice daily & in a couple of weeks, his coat should start looking a little better. The longer you give it, the better it will work. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Jinx is adorable! I can see the scales on her coat in the picture. You can try giving her an omega 3 fish oil supplement to see if these fish oils will improve her coat condition. Personally, I find Welactin to be both safe and effective ( https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19121 ). However, if the scaling continues despite this supplement or if she becomes excessively itchy, it may be worth taking Jinx to her vet for further evaluation to assure that there are not any other underlying health issues. Be sure that she is eating a high quality food (i.e. Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, or Purina ProPlan), as skin issues often develop with lower quality diets. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Jinx!