irishrose

Miss Moira came malnourished to point of starvation. She had dandruff the size of my thumbnail under a faded brown mat. I doused her in coconut oil - it helped her skin, but was impossible to wash out. It took Dawn dishwashing detergent to remove it and that seemed too harsh for her. Oxymed medicated shampoo and rinse were her salvation as far as the itching. You have leave each of them on the dog for three minutes, but it's worth it. Moira is half Border Collie with a silky, shiny black coat. Who would have guessed? When she was three she developed summer allergies. Two causes - 1) flea saliva so she on a very good flea preventative and 2) something that blooms in the grass on July 25th - 27th every year. Chlorotrimton is my doctor's drug of choice for the itching. He had just come from an allergy seminar and said it was felt to work better than Benedryl. We made it though this year with no fleas and not too much itching from the mystery weed. Salmon food seems to help, but she only needs it in the summer. Generic chlorotrimton is $4.99 for 100 with no shipping from Drs Smith and Foster.

For your recent rescue in a cold climate, I'd try the Oxymed shampoo and conditioner, 1000 mg of human grade fish oil daily and chlorotrimton as needed. I assume you've brushed out any dead undercoat. That seems to cause itching on both dogs and Lily has no skin problems. Fish oil helps both Moira and my son's yellow Lab. Food - the furgirls are fed 1/3 raw, 1/3 grain free, currently Taste of the Wild Salmon and 1/3 grained food, currently Blue Buffalo Simple (chicken and rice) with fewer ingredients. I rotate foods and protein sources to avoid allergies. Lily gets 4 raw eggs a week, Moira 3. Both get natural unsweetened yogurt every third day.

I hope you can help the furry one. Itching is so miserable.

I just read the other posts. Miss Moira can have no wheat, which means no treats except home made ones. Her Lab ears become inflamed after just one treat. Re: the chicken - vets look for a simple cure and chicken is an easy target, but for us meat proteins are not involved. pm me if you want my take on brands of dog food.

Both Lily and Moira are shelter dogs. Lily was a cowering, starved mess and Moira was given to me because the shelter didn't think she could survive. She weighed 13.4 pounds. Now she is a lean 34.5. She was not cowering, she crawled into my lap and looked up at me with those big brown eyes with her tail wagging. Her tail is still wagging!