Desperately seeking shampoo/conditioner advice. Scottie dog.

[4Sibes]

I'm doggy-sitting the little fella over the weekend, and grooming him tomorrow.
He's 10, and I've been grooming him for ~8 years.
He has Cushings, and was just diagnosed w/ Lymphoma...started Chemo last Wed.

He has a glorious coat, but HORRIBLE skin. For the past 3 years when I've groomed him, thousands and thousands of chunky, white flakes just peel off of him.
No irritation, no redness, no gooeyness, no itchiness, just these awful white flakes. Buckets of them.

I'm going to give him a Nature's Specialties Hypo-aloe-genic shampoo this afternoon, just to clean him up.

I am going to re-bathe tomorrow, before I groom him.
Is there ANY sort of conditioner that any of you guys in a similar boat....have tried and found to have any benefit at all?
I have about 15 different conditioners/coat restorers....and know I am grasping here...but thought it was worth a shot? Many TIAs.

[dgpaw]

I would first give him a Hypo bath (like you did) then I would do an oatmeal shampoo, while the oatmeal shampoo sits I would wrap him in a towel for 10 minutes

[flyingfur]

Did you see my post about the vet recommending Head and Shoulders? Sounds like he needs it!!! JK!??

[4Sibes]

I would first give him a Hypo bath (like you did) then I would do an oatmeal shampoo, while the oatmeal shampoo sits I would wrap him in a towel for 10 minutes

And no conditioner, etc? (I'm kinda eyeing my Plush Puppy Coat Rescue...but more for the skin than the coat...)

I have tried "conditioning" shampoos, wrapped him in warm towel for 10+ minutes, but never oatmeal, so I can definitely give that a shot. Thanks,

[stacie-gotg]

You need a shampoo with Salicylic Acid in it. This will break up that dander. Then i would follow up with Results Rinse. No conditioner. It will make the dander gooey.

[dgpaw]

Head and shoulders may work as well.

[terrimeyers]

I have a schnauzer like that that I groom. When I am done grooming her there are pencil eraser sized flakes of skin all over my mobile. NASTY!

[Particentral]

You need a shampoo with Salicylic Acid in it. This will break up that dander. No conditioner. It will make the dander gooey.

Ditto! You can buy a Salicylic acid shampoo in the dandruff shampoo section of your local pharmacy or even Walmart. Denorex and a Neutragena (sp) one come to mind. This stuff is not perfect for every dog, but it is PERFECT for flakes. I bather first in Hypo, then medicate, soak for ten minutes. Repeat if needed.

DermaBenSS is the best doggie shampoo for this type of skin I have ever seen, but its pricey and hard to find.

[borzoimom]

I love Tropiclean's Oxy Med Shampoo followed by the Oxy Med Treatment after. It has worked for me in every case I used it on. The Treatment has Salicylic Acid in it.

[cockers4ever]

I have had this same problem with several of my older dogs. Resently I switched over to Quaduped. I can't begin to exclaim how wonderful this stuff is. I also tried it on my parti show guy and cut his grooming time down a whole hour. His coat is so much nicer. But the nicest is my clients with skin problems. I am really sold on it.
Cathy

[KarlaSnyder]

I have a couple of cockers that come in with yucky skin issues. Had been using Dawn followed by Tropiclean oatmeal. Last time they were in, their owner brought in Karatolux (sp?0 shampoo that she got from the vet. Worked great, so I ordered some for me.

[4Sibes]

Great advice you guys! Thanks. I'll scope around here tomorrow...I think I actually have just about everything you all have mentioned....right down to the Tropiclean...so I might just line them all up on the counter and do an eenie-meenie-mynie-mo for starters.
I see him frequently, so I'll keep track of what I use and results. 'Preciate it!

[Terry]

salicylic acid

Don't know if this would help, but I seem to remember Helly posting a long while ago about how to use regular aspirin to make any shampoo contain salicylic acid. Maybe that would let you make your own combination that would suit this dog.

[D'tails]

I wouldnt use oatmeal shampoo on a dog unless the skin is simply dry with no other issues. Oatmeal is a carbohydrate and it feeds bacteria, yeast, and "goo." I wouldnt apply conditioner either, it will only cause more probs.

Sounds like he needs degreased with a good medicated or tea trea shampoo to help halt the growth of the "goo." I would follow up a medicated soak with a simple 50/50 water vinegar rinse.

[sheilabgroomer]

Since you say he has very flakey skin that isn't irritated, I would give him a good sugar scrub w/whatever medicated shampoo you decide on, wrap him in a warm, damp towel and let him sit for a bit. I usually do my sugar scrubs w/the second shampooing.

You have a recirc right? Add a handfull of epsome salt to the water along w/a bit of conditioner (oatmeal or aloe maybe) and use that to condition him. Doing it like this won't be strong enough to grease him up, and I find that using the epsome salts in the water w/conditioner just seems to "boost" the conditoner and makes the skin and coat feel so nice w/out leaving a heavy feel. I learned that tip from someone on this board (sorrry!! can't remember the name).

This is how I bathe/condition a little Shih girl that I groom that also has cushings except I add the sugar to the recirc water instead of direct scrubbing because she does have fragile skin. Her owner brings in her own medicated shampoo which I "think" is a salyic base (I will check on that next time she comes in).