My pet's skin flakes vanished. Was it dry skin, dandruff, or fleas?

It's hard to see anything with the photos, however if the skin is flaking a few things could be happening: skin flaking can sometimes happen with parasites, so ruling out fleas or ticks is a good first step. Dry skin can also occur from over grooming (bathing too often which strips the coat of its natural oils), or from possible allergies/issues with diet. Using an aloe or oatmeal shampoo when bathing, adding some vitamin E or fish oil to the diet may help, however if the flaking continues, worsens, or you see irritation on the skin itself, having it checked by a vet is best.

Hi and thanks for your request. What you showed on the pics you uploaded are unlikely to be lices/fleas eggs and more likely to be dandruff. Dandruff is a generic dermatological sign which could be commonly seen in many skin disorders. First step is to treat any possible skin parasites with a good quality flea treatment, ideally on prescription taken by your local veterinarian. All the pets in the house must be treated, and the house may need to be treated indoors as well. Allergies and skin infections could be common causes of dandruff as well. To be able to give you a more specific answer, I would need a more thorough description of the signs you noticed. Please feel free to post more question on the forum if you require to discuss this problem any further. Kind regards, Dr. Orioles Massimo

It looks like dandruff. However, if he's itchy or has any areas of skin that obviously have a rash, take him to your vet. If not, here's an article you may find helpful. https://www.petcoach.co/article/helpful-products-for-your-dogs-dry-skin/ Thanks for asking PetCoach!

High quality flea preventatives are very effective, so I would be surprised if your dog is itching from fleas. Different flea preventatives utilize different mechanisms of action to kill fleas. Some preventatives work by killing the flea after it bites, so it is not unheard of to see one rare flea. The important part is that the flea is killed before it has a chance to reproduce and lay eggs. The next time you see dirt on your dog, try to put it onto a white paper towel and moisten it slightly. Flea dirt becomes a reddish-brown color when wet. If you do not notice a significant color change, it is just regular dirt. The dandruff may be appearing as a result of skin sloughing when your dog itches. Allergies to a wide variety of environmental influences and food are a common cause of itching in dogs. Consider discussing this intense itching with your vet because dogs can develop skin infections by introducing bacteria or yeast from excessive scratching.

Fleas live on the surface of the skin, and a live flea will definitely move if you try to touch it. A dead flea would be easy to pick up and remove from your dog's skin. It can be difficult to differentiate flea dirt from regular old dirt - if you comb some of the dirt and put it on a white paper towel and then wet it with water, flea dirt will turn red because it is digested blood. Flea eggs are too small to see without a microscope. A flea comb can make it easier to find both adult fleas and flea dirt - run the comb along your dog's back near the base of the tail since this is typically where fleas like to hang out. Also, if your dog is not on a flea preventative I'd recommend talking to your veterinarian about recommendations.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Flakes on the skin are usually from dry skin. You can get rid of the dry skin over time by bathing him in a moisturizing shampoo weekly and brushing his coat daily. Feeding a fatty acid supplement will improve his coat from the inside out. Please make sure you are using flea prevention as scratching from fleas will often irritate the skin and cause flaking of the skin. Also feeding a good quality food for sensitive skin or a food with salmon or fish in it will add omega 3 to the diet to improve the coat. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.