Fight Your Pet’s Dandruff Problems

Dandruff in pets? Yes, I was actually surprised to see dandruff in my pet’s hair when I was brushing her. She sheds a lot so I was giving her a good brushing and all of a sudden I see the flakes. I was surprised because I didn’t realize pets were able to get dandruff, but they do so I had to learn how to fight my pet’s dandruff. And there are a number of things you can learn also to fight your pet’s dandruff problems.

Make sure you give your pet regular baths that will help to wash the flakes before they build up. Bathing once a month in the winter and twice a month in the summer should help fight your pet’s dandruff problems. Some dogs and most cats will put up a fight when you are trying to bathe them, like mine, but do it anyway and slowly get them use to bathing by being gentle and patting them often while bathing them. Also, talk to them in a soothing voice to calm and relax them. When bathing your pet use warm water and a mild shampoo making sure you rub it really good into your pet’s skin. You can use medicated pet shampoo to help fight the dandruff too.

You can also add some colloidal oatmeal found in products, such as Aveeno, when bathing your pet. Aveeno is great in fighting dandruff because it moisturizes the dry skin. You can also use hand and body lotions that you use for your dry skin, rub the lotion deep into your pet’s skin to help fight the dandruff. I started brushing my pet often, especially since she sheds a lot, brushing helps to fight dandruff by evenly distributing oils throughout your pet’s skin. Brushing several times can really help to eliminate dandruff problems. But don’t brush too hard, especially if you are using those brittle brushes.

Make sure your pet is getting enough fat or fatty oils in their diet. A lack of enough oils in their diet could result in excessive dry skin. You can purchase dry dog food that has a good amount of fat in it. Although much more expensive, try the name-brand dog foods many of the generic or off-brand foods don’t have enough essential oils in them that your pet may need. My dog loves the off-brand dog food, in fact, she will barely eat the name brand food, so what I did was add ½ teaspoon of fish oil to her food everyday to make sure she was getting enough oil in her diet. Fish oil is best because it contains the “good” fats, the omega-3 fatty acids.

If you continue to see dandruff after putting up a good fight to get rid of the problem, take your pet to the vet. Sometimes dandruff problems could mean other problems like allergies, parasites or certain type of skin infections. A couple of ways to tell if your pet may have a more serious problem than just dandruff check to see if they have any scabs or are constantly scratching, if so take them to the vet to get it checked out.