Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Lexi is fine, she weighs 17 lbs now! I was shocked, I figured she'd gained like a lb or two, not 6! They said she is very healthy, her skin is a little dry, which is not surprising as it is really dry in my house. I asked them about her food, they said a 20 lb puppy should be eating 3 cups a day, Lexi eats 2 1/2 cups a day, so they said she's right on track. I told them about switching from Iams to Chicken Soup, they didn't say not to, just kept "hinting" I might want to try Science Diet (which Lexi hates and I can't afford!).

Anyway, very very happy that she is doing well and is healthy!

Beth

Beth this is very good news! Glad to see that Lexi had a good checkup. Regarding the dry skin... there is a product called DermCaps which is a fish oil supplement. If you can pick some up just puncture one end and squirt the oil on her food. That will help with the dry skin. The food amount seems about right... you could probably even cut it down to about 2 cups daily but I wouldn't feed more than the 3 cups.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

That's funny! I was just going to post asking whether anyone knew what I could get for her dry skin, the vet had mentioned that product and I forgot what it was! I am definitely going to get some, this morning she was scratching like crazy and whining, I'm worried she'll scratch herself raw if this keeps up. Our house is soooooo dry, I know I am having trouble with it myself, but at least I can put lotion on!

Thanks!

Beth

If she is that itchy, she also needs oil put onto her skin. Buy Alpha Keri bath oil--that's hypoallergenic people oil, so it's very unlikely your dog would have an allergic reaction to scents in it. Dogs have skin cells as reactive as human LUNG cells, so taking care of that skin is very important.

Mix about 1/2 cup of Alpha Keri with roughly a pint of water in a spray bottle. Shake, and spray all over the dog, liberally. Then rub it in well with your hands. It will be good for your hands, too!

You will see a dramatic reduction of itching from using this. Watch the dog to see how often to do it.

I'm thinking of trying to get a humidifier for the house. I am sick of this winter dry air!
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47