Hi,

My 8 year old golden retriever male is having an awful time at the moment with his skin. He keeps getting patches of wet exma..........sorry thats not spelt right!!!! He has been on steroids and antibiotics which cleared it and now its all coming back again. I'm wondering if there is a food that might help him. Hes currently on Royal Canin but its not doing his skin any good at all. I am willing to try anything to help my old boy get a bit of relief from this awful irritation.

Many Thanks

Mel.

How about James Well Beloved?  It's hypo-allergenic so might help with skin problems, there is a few testimonials on their webiste which state it has helped other pet woners with skin problems.  You can request a sample too to give it a try without buying a big bag. HTH.

You could try supplementing with fish body oils and vitamin E.

3x1000mg fish oils and 400iu Vit E (natural source) daily is what was recommended to me by my vet as a therapeutic dose.  You can drop the fish oils to 1000mg daily for maintenance once his skin condition has stabilised.

This combination enabled me to get my girl of the anti-biotics that our previous vet had prescribed repeatedly for her pyoderma.  She only needs the occasional anti-biotic injection now if she gets a bad flare up.  Minor flare ups can be easily treated with some topical steriod cream (Fuciderm).

If the wet eczema is a fairly recent occurence, there could be something that has triggered it.  How long has he been having Royal Canin?  Has he had any other brand of food in the past? 

*edited to add*  I can recommend these supplements: fish oils, vitamin E

A natural diet seems to be good, otherwise Wafcol salmon & potato, then wafcol vegetarian, in that order.  Rice can aggravate.

Benzyl Benzoate applied directly to wet eczema can have brilliant results.  Do talk to your Vet about all these options.

Are these patches in the folds of his lips?  Dog, like us unfortunately ;-), suffer from a laxity of skin as they get old and it may simply be that that his folds have increased in depth as a consequence.  If this is the case it may be managed by an increase in hygiene, wiping these areas dry several times a day to ensure bacteria and fungus cannot develop.  This can be assisted by the application of antifungal powder or simply something like cornflour.  If this proves impossible to stay on top of, the folds can be reduced surgically which is a pretty minor procedure.

No the patches are generally anywhere and everywhere. He has had them on his sides, legs, tail and currently one on his shoulder blade. I have ordered some dermacton spray which a friend recommended and i am going to try him with another food. Thanks all, hope this works!
mel.

I've heard good things about Challenge Salmon and Potato

I use AG food and my dogs like it a lot. I've not tried this version but I know they do a White Fish and Potato

Both companies say the food is ideal/developed for sensitive digestions or skin issues.

What does your vet say - do they think a food change will help?

I think that maybe a bit of fish oil might do the trick, or if your after a diet change, look for something with a high meat content and steer clear of maize and wheat.

I have an old breed book on GRs written by Joan Gill. Her treatment for wet eczema was dabbing the affected parts with calamine lotion or TCP several times daily. Feed fish, no other meat for a few days and give a course of yeast tablets such as Vetzyme (rich in vitamin B1).

So, no personal experience but that was her way to treat it.

Now feeding is something I do know a bit about..... (as opposed to showing.... LOL)

Personally, if it were my dog, I would be taking it off any commercial food and trying a raw diet. I know a few people who have tried everything for skin problems, and the only thing that worked was this.

Of course, you may not want to try a raw diet, so the next best thing would be to feed something like Orijen, which has a high meat content and no cereals, or even maybe the JWB meat/fish and veg version, which isn't so high on meat content, but doesn't contain any cereals.

Adding fish oils can help due to the higher levels of Omegas 3 and 6, but I think that is maybe more to do with dry eczema and skin conditions, I could be wrong though.

Spot on Jackson. We have two standard Schnauzers a breed that can have skin trouble. For me Jackson is right you have to stop the cause and not treat the problem. I would agree Raw or Origin. Saying that I have found Kronch salmon oil in the morning half said amount has more omega 6 and 3 in than Cod liver Oil and less Vit A and D that can build up which is great product. Then Groomers evening Primrose oil on there evening feed also half said amount. This has made the dogs gleem. I have read that herbal supplements can cool the blood and also help keep the skin in condition.

Mel is he on the royal canin hypoallergenic? only Lillie is on that one,which is vets script only i know,but it seems to be helping her skin, also i bathe her in Malaseb which seems to keep her spots at bay. I just thought i would ask which royal canin he has , as i know there are different ones for different complaints, and wondered if you had tried the hypoallergenic?

My previous GSD had terrible skin problems, and was described by a leading dermatologist, to be one of the most allergic dogs she had ever come across. She recommended Wafcol Fish and Corn, together with bathing in Malaseb. It took about six weeks for us to see a real improvement, but once we were on top of the problem, we managed to prevent any real flare ups.

Hi all,

Well i swapped everything and i have him on Skinners salmon and rice hypo allergenic. Been on it for about 4 weeks or so now and not a flare up in sight. His skin has totally calmed down since the change of diet and i am also adding a evening primrose capsule each day. So far so good. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Mel.