Dog Dandruff . . . Dog Dander: Is Your Dog A Little Flakey?

Urgggh, doggie dandruff . . . those flakey, flecks of dry skin that seems to be everywhere: on the bed, on your couch and even on you.

First, know the cause: dandruff (or dander) mostly occurs when a dog's skin cells naturally form, die, and flake off at a very rapid rate. But there ARE ways you can counter-act this.

So you wanna know how to give your pooch some "itch relief" and get rid of doggie dandruff? Here are several tips on how to keep your dog's coat clean and dandruff-free:

You may be wondering, "how often should you give your dog a bath?"

Well, it all depends . . . A dog's fur and skin varies from breed to breed. Long-haired dogs for instance, generally require grooming a lot more often than short-haired dogs.

A great article on bathing your dog can be found on WebMD.

But here are a couple of other factors involved in determining how often you should give your dog a bath.

... Is she a yard dog or an inside dog?

... Does she get dirty eating?

... Does she have an odor?

Before bathing your dog, you need to brush out the entire coat to remove as much dead coat as possible. Remove any mats with a mat comb or coat rake, or cut through them with scissors.

Doing this will also help eliminate tangle once you start bathing your dog..

For De-matting & De-Shedding . . .

It's usually easier to use the bathtub to wash your dog because you can control the water temperature:

. . . Keeping the water warm allows you to give your pooch a full soak.

. . .The shampoo comes out a bit better using a combination of water temperatures.

However, if you have a large enough portable receptacle (e.g. tin tub) with access to hot/cold running water, you can just as well bathe your dog outside.

With so many shampoos on the market, sometimes it's not so easy to decide which ones to use. For most breeds a basic, all-purpose shampoo will do just fine. However, if you want your shampoo to do more than clean, you might also consider a specialty shampoo:

... A hypo-allergenic (or "tear-less") shampoo can minimize reactions experienced by dogs with very sensitive eyes (or skin).

... A medicated shampoo designed to treat itching, allergies or other sensitive skin conditions can be helpful (your vet should be able to recommend a good one).

... Shampoos with extra conditioners can make post-bath grooming easier but also combat dry skin.

Tip: Some say that when you shampoo your dog it can be helpful to mix some water and shampoo in a separate bottle (enough just for that bathing). This has two advantages: the diluted shampoo can be worked into the coat easier and will rinse out better.

Oatmeal shampoos tend to provide relief from itching and contains emollients to restore moisture to your pet's skin.

Here is a top-seller:

This fragrance-free shampoo is formulated to descale and degrease your dog's coat without stripping.

Photo used under Creative Commons from: Toronja Azul

After the scrub and thorough rinsing, have a rug on the floor and dry her with big highly absorbent towel like this one:

Photo used under Creative Commons from: steveleenow, on Flickr