by Sarah |
Last Updated: April 13, 2021 Is your dog’s dandruff driving you crazy? Here are five natural remedies that are surprisingly effective.
If your dog has excessive dandruff, you probably want to do something about it, and you’re wondering, is there more you can do than just what your vet suggested?
How To Get Rid Of Dog Dandruff
If your dog has white flakes in its fur or you see white flakes when you brush your dog, it may have dog dandruff. The difference between dog dandruff and normal dog dander is that dander is microscopic and can not be seen.
Like humans, dogs can suffer from dandruff. But, since dogs have more hair than most humans, dandruff can be irritating and cause them to itch more. It can also be an indicator of an underlying health condition.
Top 5 Home Remedies For Dog Dandruff
The number one thing you can do to help your dog get rid of dandruff is to add some positive, healthy fats to its diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids are pretty key to your dog’s skin health. One we like, which you probably hadn’t haven’t heard of, is Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Oil.
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Why Manitoba Harvest Hemp Oil?
Hemp is really rich in Omega-3s. Some dogs don’t respond as well, especially those with dandruff, to say some of the more traditional Omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in flax oil or even fish oil.
Hemp oil is an excellent home remedy for dog dandruff. Veterinarians have had several dog owners report this stuff really works.
Start with a smaller dosage than the bottle’s recommendation based on your dog’s size for the first two to three days. You can use a measuring spoon and let your dog lick it from the spoon. You can also apply it directly to your dog’s skin. Do this to make sure your dog tolerates that well, and there’s no vomiting or diarrhea.
Dandruff Home Remedy #2 For Dogs
Consider safflower oil which is natural and healthy vegetable oil.
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The most beneficial factor about safflower is that it’s got the highest percentage of natural ceramides. These are relating to these healthy fats that make up the natural skin barrier.
A real easy thing to do is give it to your dog orally and topically. A typical dose is about a tablespoon for fifty pounds of body weight once or twice daily. You can also apply it topically directly on your dog’s skin.
Home Remedy #3 – Get more moisture in the air.
A good dog dandruff home remedy is to get more moisture into your dog’s skin. During the wintertime, your skin is drying out prematurely, and guess what, so is your dog’s skin.
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When the air has low moisture, you will get more dry and flaky skin, aka dandruff. The easiest thing is to get yourself an inexpensive humidifier.
Keep a tabletop humidifier going in your house where your dog is spending most of his or her time.
Cool Tip – I like to add lavender essential oil to the water I’m adding to the humidifier. As a rule of thumb, add 20 drops of the lavender to two to four cups of water for your humidifier.
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Dog Dandruff Shampoo
Our #4 and #5 home remedies for dog dandruff and itching are a couple of shampoos you should consider.
The first shampoo to help dog dandruff is Selsun Blue. Gasp! Yes, an over-the-counter shampoo. However, get the botanical herb variety.
The reasoning is that excessive dandruff is due to an underlying fungal infection. This fungal situation applies to both people and dogs.
How To Use:
- Add the Selsun Blue to your hands and rub it into your dog’s hair and skin.
- Leave the Selsun Blue shampoo on your dog for a full ten minutes.
- Next, thoroughly rinse the shampoo off.
I would encourage you to make this application twice a week, initially for the first couple of weeks. After that, you can go down to once a week.
You will know within the first couple of weeks if this dog dandruff cure is effective.
Last but not least, at #5 is to use a natural homemade dog dandruff shampoo.
Homemade Dog Dandruff Shampoo
This homemade dog dandruff shampoo works exceptionally well for dogs with excessive dandruff.
Here are the ingredients:
- Green Tea
- Castile Soap
- Lavender Essential Oil
- Apple Cider
1. Start with 1 cup of cold green tea and add two tablespoons of concentrated liquid soap.
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The soap we recommend is called castile soap.
2. Next, add ten drops of lavender essential oil.
3. Finally, add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
All these ingredients work in combination to do wonderful beneficial things for your dog’s skin health.
These ingredients in this combination can work really well for dogs with underlying allergies and secondary skin fungal infections.
These allergies and fungal skin infections can play a significant role in causing dogs to have dandruff. All this excessive dead, dying skin is called dandruff. If you are dealing with excessive dandruff, you’re dealing with excessive amounts of dead skin.
Looking for the top 5 treatments? Head over to our article titled, “How to get rid of dog dandruff“.
Dog Dandruff Causes
Dandruff is caused in dogs when their gland responsible for producing oils starts to overproduce. This overproduction of skin oils can cause skin irritation. These skin irritations can lead to visible dead skin flakes called dandruff.
Dandruff, however, is generally a secondary skin condition due to several different causes. These causes include allergies, genetic disorders, or other serious skin problems such as seborrhea.
Excessive seborrhea in your dog’s hair can cause yeast to grow and cause a red, scaly, irritated skin condition to develop. This is called a dog hot spot. A hot spot is best treated by a veterinarian. If you want to treat it at home, DO NOT use human medications like Neosporin, hydrocortisone, or Vaseline.
Dogs with excessive dandruff or seborrhea can also be super stinky in addition to persistent itching and scratching. We want to thank Dr. Andrew Jones on YouTube for his insights on home remedies for dog dandruff.
