Skin dried out?

I gave my dog a few flea baths and I'm pretty sure i dried her skin out. Is there anything to help her skin? Someone told me baby oil works ... this true?
Skin dried out?
Bathing can definitely dry out a dogs skin. Every time you bathe a dog you are stripping the natural oils in their fur away. Bathing too often will dry out the skin because there isn't enough time between bathes to build up those oils again. You can bathe a dog once a week, but less would be much better. And In reality, if you brush them very frequently, you will not need to bathe them, unless they get into something really dirty. Brushing can help keep them clean and keep the natural oils where they should be. You can try bathing her again. Use a shampoo with oatmeal and make sure you rinse thoroughly. Then take some conditioner, (the same kind you use is fine), pour it into a cup. If you have a stream setting on your shower set it to that and fill the cup up. This will make the conditioner foamy. Pour over her and work it in thoroughly %26amp; rinse. If you don't rinse all the conditioner out, that's fine as this can also help a bit to keep a little on her.


You can also add fish oils, veggie oils, or olive oil to her diet. If you decide to use veggie or olive oil, be sure not to use too much as these can also act like a laxative.


Another suggestion, try switching her food to something like Solid Gold, Innova, ect. These foods have no by-products, filler, gultens ect in them. Most dog foods you find in the supermakets, vet's offices, pet stores have corn as an ingredient. Corn can be a major allergy in dogs, causing them to have very dry and itchy skin. Food like Solid Gold and the other don't use corn at all in their products.
Skin dried out?
You're very welcome! :o) Report It

Reply:Dogs have natural oils in their coats, and many baths will dry them out. Try adding fish oil to her food. I'm not sure how baby oil is supposed to help. Dog's generally don't need to be bathed but once every couple of months, but when it comes to fleas, it's understandable. There are sprays out there for sensitive skin, if she's itching a lot, I would look into those. If she's not iching a lot, at least she's not uncomfortable.
Reply:Use the Perfect coat, oatmeal shampoo. Really good for the dog's skin. And it was recommended by my dog's vet.
Reply:i have heard that when people do use baby oil it blocks their pores and could not only help to over heat them but make thier skin break out or dry out. i personally dont understand the dry out deal but baby oil is thick and i can see it blocking their pores.


if your dog doesnt have fleas or flea dirt on them you shouldnt use flea shampoo-b/c that is what the shampoo does-dry everything out. try oatmeal dog shampoo or even baby wash-baby wash is VERY gentle and hpoallergenic. i use it for my 3 when they get baths. i give them baths about every 2-3 weeks BUT they are very active outside and roll around sometimes too (GEERRR!) try putting about 1/2 tspn to a full tspn of veg oil in their food-depending on how big your friend is. egg whites can help too but use sparingly b/c of cholesterol-no yolks! and brush them with a soft brush daily to help stimulate their skin and coat to produce oils again. a soft brush tho or else you could damage their skin even more. like a peole brush that has soft bristles or a baby brush. regular massages help too. and make sure the bath water isnt too warm next time. a luke warm bath will do unless your friend has athrites then a little warm would help them feel better. they also have conditioners and cream rinses out there for stuff like this at like petsmart and shops like that. they arent cheap mind you but they do work.
Reply:You may have given her dry skin by giving her too many baths. Dogs should not be bathed too much as it removes their natural body oils. You should have used some kennel dip on her... you just wet the dog down with it to the skin and, unlike a shampoo, it won't dry the skin out, but sill kill the fleas. You should also get a flea comb to comb out the dead fleas and egg casings to see if you really need to re-treat her if you had so many fleas that you felt you had to flea bathe her multiple times.





For the skin, you can get a 10% cortisone spray for dogs, and there's a product I just found - Skin Balm by Happy Jack that might help.





Adding some fish oil to her diet sounded like a good idea too.
Reply:Try adding a tspoon of either Evening Primrose Oil, Salmon Oil, Cod Liver Oil or just plain Vegetable oil. to her meal once a day. This should help to bring back the natural suppleness in the skin.





If you rub baby oil into her skin the coat will become very sticky so I should stay clear of that.





Give the baths a rest for a while until her natural oils are restored.