My dog has grass allergies. Will DermaForte or fish oil improve skin?

Both of them are products containing omega 3 fatty acids and vitamins and fish oil basically. Any veterinary product available in Portugal with similar content (ask your local veterinarian as unfortunately I do not know about veterinary market products in Portugal) will be fine. These are not specific medicines but only supplements that can help with allergic skin but not treat the signs (itch usually). Drugs that will help with the signs would be basically steroids, Apoquel, and immunosuppressive medications. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello. I would have Emma on a fish oil supplement year round. In order to calculate the right dose, look at the label for the amount of EPA & DHA it contains. Add them together & that is the total fish oil content per capsule. A 50-pound dog would need about 1500 mg of fish oil. For example, SnipCaps by Dechra contains about 850 mg per capsule, so in this case, 2 capsules are needed per day. I would also go back to whatever shampoo worked for you before. Do not stop when everything is OK. If he clears using the shampoo 2-3 time a week, then continue to bathe him at least once a week all year round ( maybe once every 2 weeks ), but do it regularly. The allergy medicine ( which I hope is Apoquel ) can also be given all year. When he is doing well, you might be able to cut back to 1 dose 1-2 times a week, & immediately bump it up if she flares. Also, talk with our vet about trying some of the different over the counter antihistamines to supplement your allergy medications. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. Honestly, I recommend either Nordic Naturals or Bayer Free Form Snip Tips. Both of these are highly recommended by veterinary dermatologists, too. You will need to call other veterinarians to see who carries Cytopoint. It is an excellent product & most of my clients love the convenience of only needing a simple injection once ever 6-8 weeks to control their pet's allergies. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Great question. Really the only way to tell if Marshall has dry skin or an allergy would be to treat him for allergies and see if it goes away -- but really he most likely does have allergies, because they are incredibly common in dogs. It could be mild enough that regular fish oils will make a big difference, so I would start with that and then take him to see his vet if the itching is getting worse, not improving, or if he gets any sores or hair loss. Also, if he's itching is severe enough that he interrupts normal daily activities to itch, get him to the vet right away. As far as dose, the type you have is fine and there's a large dose range, but I would say get as close to 2 capsules a day as he'll tolerate. Some dogs get diarrhea at high doses, so you may only be able to do 1 or 1.5. Start with just half a capsule and increase by half a capsule every 2 weeks. You can cut a small hole in the capsule and squirt it one his food or some dogs will eat it whole. My dog always would take it and hide somewhere with carpet and chew on it until it popped - not great. I hope this helps and Marshall's skin is back to normal soon!

Yes omega 3 fatty acids are great for them! I would recommend a brand made for dogs. I have attached a link below. You can also give 1/2 tablet of benadryl twice a day to help with itching. You may also think about switching her to natural balance limited ingredient diet venison and sweet potato food in case it is a food allergy. This food has no grains and no chicken/beef which are the most common allergens for dogs. I hope this helps.

And thank you for your question! Hills Z/D is a great allergy diet. The way it works is that it is a hydrolyzed protein diet meaning that the proteins that normally cause allergies are too small to trigger the allergy with the hydrolyzed formula. Hill's Derm defense is a great food as well. The way that Derm defense works is that it strengthens the Skin Barrier and it has multiple antioxidants and phytonutrients period before switching to Derm defense I would suggest speaking with your veterinarian who previously placed Louie on Z/D to see if this would be a good switch. Some other things that help with allergies would include omega-3 fish oil supplements and essential 6 Spot On by dermoscent. Help this guide you in the right direction. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions or concerns you may have

It sounds like Mochu might have an environmental allergy. This based off the commend you make that the skin became a problem when the environment changed. Environmental allergies can be difficult to treat. I highly recommend applying flea prevention every 30 days. Also, you can use an over the counter anti histamine to help control itch. IF the skin is breaking and bleeding you can try an over the counter medicated shampoo. I am not sure about the supplement you mentioned. I have seen fish oils and omega three fatty acids help with skin control. Mochu might need to go see a vet for possible steroid or apoquel to help decrease itchy skin. However I would also recommend a basic blood screen because endocrine disease like hypothyroidism can also cause skin issues in older labs.