Can Natural Supplements Stop Itching?
Is there a supplement (ie. fish oil) that I can
give my 22 lb. Shiba for his dry, itchy skin? He
just started itching about 2 weeks ago and his
scratching is not concentrated on any specific
part of his body.
Wendy
Warren, PA
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds help with a number of problems, including dry, itchy skin. Special veterinary omega-3 preparations are available, and they generally work better than over-the-counter fish oils.
Omega-3 supplements are natural and generally safe (although they rarely cause upset stomach and weight gain). Unfortunately, they are not especially potent. I recommend them for my itchy patients. But they rarely work out as a sole treatment for itching. Unfortunately, in my experience omega-3s are the most effective natural anti-itch dietary supplement.
Itching in pets is usually caused by allergies. The most common allergies are to fleas, environmental agents (pollen, mold spores, detergents, and many others), and food. Of these, fleas are the number one offender by a long shot.
If your Shiba is not on a high-quality flea preventative, I would recommend that as the next step–even if he doesn’t have fleas. If the itching is severe and causing reduced quality of life, then a trip to the vet is in order.
You have questions. 
Our 3-year-old Chow Chow mix has allergies that cause her to lick her paws, scratch her face and belly, shake her head, and chew on her back legs, preventing the fur from growing normally. We adopted her last July and our vet diagnosed her itching as allergies at the beginning of August. She prescribed benadryl every night to help ease the itching, which was bad enough to interrupt her sleep. The benadryl has worked great, but I also started giving her a daily high-potency omega-3 supplement by DVM pharmaceuticals. It comes in liquid and capsule form, we use the liquid, called 3v FreeForm liquid. After 6 weeks her itching had decreased about 80%. It’s been about 10 weeks now and she still scratches her face and belly sometimes, but the paws and legs are 100% better, with no more missing fur from all the biting and scratching. Head shaking from itchy ears has also disappeared. As an added bonus, the supplement has given her a beautiful coat, very soft and naturally dirt-repellent.
Allergies and itchy skin is caused by inflammation. If omega 3 works on dogs like it does in humans it really can and should help. I would make sure you get a high quality fish oil and try it for your doggy. It might take a little while but as long as the product is high quality it should be no problem for the dog. My dog has bad allergies too. He gets ear infections every now and then. I switched his food and it seemed to help. So along with fish oil you may think about getting higher quality food for your dog? To Learn More About Omega 3 -> Salmon Oil
I have tried the fish oil capsules on my Basset Hound and they worked a little. Then I read an article about Coconut oil and thought about using it. I found some at my local Walmart in the vitamin section and it has worked wonders on his dry itchy skin. I just give him a about a teaspoon in one meal a day and I saw an improvement in his skin in less than a week.
I give my two corgis brewer’s yeast with garlic and omega fatty acids and it really helps their coat and skin. Their coats feel like velvet. My little female had to stay with my breeder for a few months while my male recovered from surgery and when she came home she had dry,flaky,itchy skin. A week back on her supplements and the flakes were gone, so was the itching. The brand I use is fairly inexpensive and very effective. I put them in with their food and they eat them like treats. I also have a friend with a black lab that uses these supplements and his coat is like a mirror. I find that tea tree oil shampoo or colloidal oatmeal shampoo are soothing. Whatever you do…DO NOT USE CREAM RINSE! It leaves the coat feeling awful and it is not effective. Good luck and I hope you find something that helps your baby feel better!!
Can someone post how much to give per lb of dog. I have a 45lb dog, a 25 lb dog, and a 5.5 lb dog.
And maybe some brand names of the “high quality” ones
Kitsune -
Generally dosing instructions are on the package. For example, the DVM Pharmaceuticals 3v FreeForm liquid is one squirt per 10lb body weight. My 40 pound dog gets 4 squirts on her dinner every night. The 3V capsules are sold in different sizes for different dog sizes, like small, medium and large, with dosing instructions for specific weight ranges. Your 25lb dog might be in the range for the medium pills, but because he’s smaller you’d only give a capsule every other day, for example, while your 45lb dog would get a capsule every day.
The Grizzly Salmon Oil supplement I see at my pet store have pound range dosing instructions. 1 squirt up to 25lb, 2 up to 50lb, etc.
This is the time of season that fleas are bad. I bathe my dog every two weeks and that in between weeks when he does’nt have flea medicine on he get fleas and now he has sores on him from itching.
I used the flea coller for that time and it does’nt seem to work, so I guess I need to bathe him once a month?
okay so your animal has itchy skin well mine also does. when i feed him even if it is hard food or soft food add about a couple teaspoons of minced garlic cloves in its food. my dog loves it i know it sounds akward but he loves it. it will help after a few days your dog will not be itching and will feel alot better
Vetraceuticals seems to work very well for dogs who have dry skin and allergies. My JRTs used to get red and itchy paws from the grass at the park but I had no choice, you try telling a Jack Russell he can’t go the park today! I used to put miracle spray by Miracle Coat on them but the tea-tree smell was really strong and they hated it. Since they’ve been on Vetra they don’t seem to get the irritation. It’s also high in Omega-3s which I’m sure helps. You can get it at <a href=”http://betterhealthformypet.com” title=”BetterHealtForMyPet.com”