When I first got my pet male Sharpei, I was told by his previous owners that his skin and stomach were very sensitive. After having him nearly a year his diet is fine and he now has a full coat. In the last month or so his coat has become very dry and a bit flaky. He never had much hair on his head but what he has had seems to be thining slightly. Also he has never had any hair on his neck at all. This is the part of his body that he is always scratching. He also has patches of skin which I was told was "elephant skin". The vet has prescribed Prednicare which he has been on for about ten months. The vet has said not to bathe him at all as it will make him worse. I have heard about Malaseb and wondered if it was worth trying. He hasn't got fleas or mites etc and has had skin scrappings. Can anyone give me some advice please.

Hi, I have a cavalier king charles spaniel, he is 5 now, when he was a pup he had very flaky skin which the vet thought he may grow out of but it got worse and he had bare patches where he scratched and bit it, lots of crusty nasty bits, we tried everything but the vet still doesnt really know what the cause is, he had allergy tests for about 100 substances. Anyway we are now controlling the situation by frontlining every month and giving a malaseb bath every month or two weeks, even more if necessary (altho rarely is as the monthly ones keep his skin healthy). So I would definitely recommend Malaseb, it is very mild and gentle and actually leaves the fur in very good condition, it is expensive but you don't need a lot as it is very concentrated. The other thing I have tried is evening primrose oil and also some oil from the petshop to put in his food - the brand with the westie on it, is it called exmarid?

malaseb is excellent for sharpei, ive always got some in, --as youve mentioned elephant skin it may be worth having a thyroid check done on your pei, its a breed problem and can give the symtoms you described, also heat seeking, -often tucked up to a radiator, ---is your pei a brush or a horse coat,??----is this the male you thought about using at stud???? it might pay you to rethink it as he obviously has some sort of coat problem, or have you used him already ?

Turbo is a black/brown horse coat. His face has very little hair on and is quite dry and flaky. His coat seems to have pea size patches of skin along his back that are dry and flaky, like dandruff! I have some Malaseb from his previous owners, they never used it on him. On his neck where the main problem is, it is very dry and crusty with no hair. My vet has told me not to bathe him although I have had him ten months.

I haven't used him to breed and have no plans to, the reason I asked the previous question was because the vet asked me (his pedigree seems quite good?). I am new to owning a dog and very proud of him and just wanted some advice.

Do you own any Sharpei? If so any advice would be great. Thanks

Dizzy breeds Sharpei, she has some really lovely dogs :)

Fiona
x x x

Hi Turbo . I have a Sharpei from Dizzy . They are precious little things but the coat needs a lot of looking after
I only had 2 problem, I used frontline and she got a round bald patch where the fluid went in. she scratched herself inside out from aloe vera shampoo.
The maleseb is the only recommended cleanser for the Sharpei
while frequent washing is not advised I put a handtowel into a bowel of warm water and a capful of maleseb I squeeze the towel and briskly rub her with it untill every area is clean .
If he continues being itchy then give him piriton anti allergy tabs and he will be comfortable .
I am sure herself will be on soon and sort you . lol :)Marie

Hi Mari
Saw Berrys picture in Our Dogs. Hey everyone we have a celebrity in our midst!!!
WELL DONE BERRY AND MARI
Get the Malt out John!!!!!

turbo, if you want to speak to me mail me at home, the address is on my profile, -

well thank you Dawn , was she nice I wont have a copy till next week
did you see the bullmastiff I bred as well Mari

the bully looks well too marie-but not as cute as berry :rolleyes:

When you read the details on Thornit powder for dogs ears, it says in Australia they found dogs that kept on scratching that had had scrapings and nothing was found that it cd. be something to do with ear mites and that Thornit was finely brushed on the skin and stopped a lot of the dogs scratching. I don't know whether you can get any further details from, but has anybody else tried this??

It sounds like a very good idea to me .
One for the little book I call my bible . :)Mari

Hi

I use Thornit powder for ears, only one thought, and that is that is loosens the hair in the ears making it easier to pull out. Just thought if it loosens ear hair it might be bad news for coats.

Just an assumption though, so anyone is welcome to correct me if i'm wrong (I usually am):D

If you need any I know where to get it.....

Sarah