Dandruff .. I think

Yesterday the OH said, look Willow's all dandruffy. Didn't think much of it, both papillons used to get a little dandruff in hot weather, it soon clears up for them.

Today I looked more closely. Its not regular dandruff, there's great big chunks and flakes of dead skin. It looks a little like the psoriasis I used to get as a kid, and she's spending a chunk of time scratching, so I think its as itchy too. The weird thing is, it is only on her back, an about 3 inch strip down her spine from the collar to the base of her tail, and absolutely nowhere else. In this strip there is a complete layer of dead white skin flakes - it looks like the entire skin surface just died. Underneath the white flakes the skin looks pink and healthy, apart from where she's beginning to scratch and chew herself bloody. I really don't want to put a coat on her to stop the scratching in this weather.

I'm not sure what on earth it is. She's just coming in to her first season (at 14 months old!), so I thought hormones? But that should affect the whole body, surely. Is it possible she's got sunburnt? All the affected skin is under red longish fur though, and I would have thought the white shorter fur on her muzzle etc. would be worse affected. The only other thing I can think of is thats she's brushed under something thats she's reacting to - allergy-like (she loves rubbing her back underneath seats and stiles etc).

So far I've done a quick anti-dandruff shampoo, and am adding a supplement (omega3 rich oil) to her food that works for the paps. If she doesn't get better over a couple of days, or gets worse I'll be making a vet appointment for her.

Does anyone have any ideas, cause or treatment? Is there something I can apply to her back fur to ease the itch (I'm reluctant to try a cream, because she will lick it all off)?

I feed fish4dogs salmon oil to my dogs every day and that keeps the dandruff situation away and gives them a lovely shiny coat and great skin condition, can't rate it highly enough. Perhaps you need to up the level of the omega3 as some dogs need a whole lot more than the recommended simply because their system is a bit lazy compared to others.

Do you use a spot on flea treatment?

I don't think its regular dandruff, she's never had a problem before, so since puppyhood she has always had a lovely silky and shiny, beautifully waterproof coat, and thats without any form of supplement. I'm happy to use the oil for now to reduce the dandruff, or make it a little less itchy, but I don't think its going to fix the problem. Doesn't that sort of dandruff appear all over the dog?

No, Soso (papillon) had a bad reaction to spot-on, so we use spray-on frontline. Last treatment was beginning of April, so it shouldn't be a reaction either to that or to fleas/ticks. Good idea though.

You might find Quistel lotion spray useful

Just had a quick google - it sounds just about the sort of thing I'm looking for, itch reduction and non-toxic both. Thanks smokeybear. Have you tried it?

I'd say try some evening primrose oil maybe? or salmon oil. I would say aloe vera based cream, but if she'll lick it off thats a serious no no!

It is lovely, I always keep a spray bottle in my FA kit. Smells nice too. Aloe Vera Gel may also be useful and of course as it is non toxic (as many people give their dogs Aloe Vera drinks etc) it is not a problem if they lick it off.