# Dry Itchy skin after swimming



## Suzie G (Jun 29, 2008)

Hi - Suzie G. here and Maggie

We have been swimming/retrieving at Lake Superior every day -I rinse her in cold water after each swim (warm compared to the lake ) The lake is very clean. I hardly ever give her a bath and when I do I condition her. (Foster-smith oatmeal shampoo and conditioner-leftover from Delilah who passed away ) I towel her dry (nice short field coat  ) I do apply frontline plus (but this is not new )-have seen no fleas or ticks . (lots of woods-Duluth ,Mn. ) We had the same problem last year when swimming. When we stopped swimming the itching stopped. No hot spots, no rashes. I give her 2 tsp of Timberwolf salmon oil per day. (all year round -bottle says 1/2 tsp per 40 #- she weighs about 58 #-so I'm already giving her a little extra. I feed her a raw diet with a huge amount of variety. (including lots of red game meat-has shown no allergiesd to food-she eats this all year . No grains,no vegs.She eats eggs.No dairy. I am starting to add extra venison / pork /chicken fat(whatever I have at the moment ) to her meals.None of her meat has additives. She never has this problem any other time of the year- even in cold winter with the furnace blasting. 

For those of you who spend lots of time in the water-what do you do afterwards ? Today I rinsed her with plain cold water as usual then applied oatmeal conditioner-rinsing it off -will see if that helps. I am not using a hairdryer and her coat smells nice and clean. Nothing else in our environment has changed-except lots of WONDERFUL swimming which we won't be giving up-she and I love it too much.

Any suggestions ? Is this just something you put up with till the Lake freezes ?

Thanks for any help you can give !

Suzie G and Maggie (Topbrass Magnificent Maggie )


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Wow, it sounds like you are doing everything right for Maggie. She is a beauty by the way and looks to love the water. Frankly I'm a bad dog dad and let my guys swim in the salt water and don't even rinse or dry them off and have been lucky so far. Hope someone has a hint for you and Maggie.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

I don't use anything on my dogs after swimming. I just rinse the sand out and let them air dry. 

As far as feeding goes, just normal kibble (Eukanuba) and no supplements of any kind. No itching or scratching here. (Even after swimming in Gitchee Gumee.)


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