Can Olive Oil Help Your Dogs Dry Skin?
A few years back my boyfriend made a remark about my dog’s skin and how smooth it was. “She doesn’t have dry, flaky skin like a lot of other dogs.” It was true, she didn’t. For the first few years she had the shiniest, healthiest coat I’ve seen — but this winter changed all that.
Does your dog have some dry flakes on his skin? Are his elbows a bit dry? Looking for a simple remedy for your puppies itchy skin?
My dog had some extra dry skin this winter. After taking her to the vet and ruling out any medical issues such as allergies we decided to try using olive oil for my dog’s dry skin.
The Most Common Causes of Dry Skin in Dogs
Many dogs experience dry or flaky skin throughout their life, and it’s especially common in the winter when the humidity drops. But it’s important to remember that not all dry skin is caused by a drop in humidity.
Before trying something new for your dog’s dry skin it’s important to figure out what’s causing it to begin with. For example, if your dog has food allergies adding a little bit of olive oil to their diet won’t solve the underlying problem and your dog is still gonna have itchy skin.
Figuring out what’s causing your dogs dry skin is the first step, and a trip to the vet is recommended because finding the underlying problem isn’t always simple. There’s a long list of potential medical issues that can cause your dog’s skin to become dry. It’s best to have your veterinarian examine your dog and to help rule out any medical problems.
Your vet can take a sample of your dogs skin to diagnose or rule out many different skin conditions. The most common causes for a dogs dry skin are:
- Allergies – both food & seasonal
- Fleas (can cause sever allergies in some dogs)
- Ringworm
- Skin Infections
- Mange
- Sensitivity to grooming products
- Stress or Hormonal changes
Luckily for my dog it wasn’t a food allergy or an infection; our vet thinks it’s related to the low humidity of winter. Just like us our dogs can get dry, flaky skin during winter. Remember that itchy skin is a symptom, not a disease.
Why I Chose Olive Oil For My Dogs Dry Skin
If I could magically create more humidity in winter I would since dry skin isn’t much fun to deal with. My dog and I get dry, itchy skin in the winter and it’s no fun at all. I got a humidifier to help, but it had limited results. And while I can just use lots of lotion to help soothe my dry skin that’s not an option for my dog, so I went searching for another plan.
There are many recommendations out there for treating a dogs dry skin, but I didn’t have any of those on hand. And since I didn’t have any advanced formula shampoos, nor any salmon or coconut oil I started with something I did have — some extra virgin olive oil.
I started adding a few drops to my dog’s food to see what would happen. I wasn’t expecting much from just a few drops but it was worth trying. If it didn’t improve her skin at least she was getting more omega 3 fatty acids and polyphenols.
Fatty acids are crucial to a healthy body; both inside and out. As many commercial pet foods are very low in beneficial fatty acids, a high quality pet supplement is necessary for most pets to avoid skin and hair coat problems and achieve their optimal health. – Dr. Donna Spector DVM, DACVIM
Much to my surprise it did work (and she loves the taste), and although her skin isn’t quite as shiny as it was a few years ago the flakes are gone. And she’s itching a lot less.
Dramatization of my dog’s dry, flaky skin – the drool icicle was her idea.
How Much Olive Oil Should You Give Your Dog?
When adding olive oil to your dog’s diet the general rule of thumb is to add no more than 1 tsp. for every 20 pounds of body weight. I give my 70 pound dog 2 tsp. of extra virgin olive oil twice a day with each meal.
There aren’t any health risks associated with adding a little bit of olive oil to your dogs diet, but with anything new it’s best to introduce it slowly since it can cause stomach upset. And if your dog needs to lose a few pounds you might want to consider an alternative because just one tablespoon of olive oil contains about 120 calories.
If you don’t want to add olive oil to your dog’s food you can apply it directly onto your dogs skin. (that sounded a bit messy, so I stuck with the food route)
Can Olive Oil Really Help Your Dogs Dry Skin?
Olive oil definitely made a difference in my dogs itchy and dry skin. Within a week I noticed a visual difference and by week two her coat and skin were back to normal. Granted she only had a mild case of dry winter skin, but it certainly did the job.
Olive oil is rich in antioxidants, especially vitamin E, and has been linked to promoting cardiovascular health. So even if my little experiment hadn’t worked on her skin I was sure she’d be gaining other health benefits from the addition.
If you find your dog getting a little dry this winter help ease his itching with a few drops of olive oil. It’s not only an easy home remedy for dry skin it also has numerous health benefits:
Rich in monounsaturated fats, olive oil prevents and lessens the effects of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It contains oleic acid, in addition to some compounds (squalene and terpenoids) that are believed to be effective in preventing cancer, which kills a staggering 50 percent of dogs over age 10. – 8 Reasons to Add Olive Oil to Your Dogs Diet – Dogster
Additional Resources/Dry Skin Remedies
- Omega Fatty Acids – Sources, Effects, and Therapeutic Uses for Dogs
- Dog Nutrition for a Healthy Coat (Fatty Acids)
- The Benefits of Fish Oil to Your Dog’s Health
What Home Remedies Do You Use For Your Dogs Dry Skin?
I’m definitely impressed with how well olive oil worked on my dogs skin. But after much research it seems many pet owners have even better results with coconut oil. What have found that helps ease your dogs dry skin?
Next winter I might have to buy a bottle of coconut oil to try it out. If it doesn’t work as well as olive oil I’ll just make some smoothies instead, I don’t think it’s a complete loss either way.
This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I might earn a small commission.
Recommended Reading:
- 26 Quick & Easy Ways to Relieve Dog Boredom
- 3 Simple Ways to Check Your Dog For Fleas
- 39 Healthy Treats You Can Stuff in a Kong
That is a great idea! Olive oil has a lot of great properties. This winter has been really dry around here too. I will have to check and see if it is a kitty-safe idea.
Great post! I’m glad the olive oil helped Laika!
Interesting! Good to know. Thanks for sharing.
Linoleic acid. Though olive oil is great, it isn’t actually exceptionally high in linoleic acid. However, does contain some great stuff, such as vitamin E. For Jasmine, I was mixing olive and evening primrose oil.
I knew you’d have an excellent suggestion – thank you so much. That explains why I saw some people saying they’ve had a lot of luck with sunflower oil.
Essential fatty acids are great for humans and dogs alike! I’m glad she’s feeling better 🙂 We have humidifiers going constantly in our house because I cannot handle the dry, Montana weather after growing up in the humid east coast. Mauja and Atka have been getting salmon oil, but olive and coconut oils are great, too!
Great suggestion. I love that most issues can be made better with a healthy diet.
I’m glad this helped Laika! Jada had dry skin and we supplemented her food with salmon oil and it made her coat super shiny! We stopped because we found out she is allergic to salmon! Her coat was shiny, but her ears were super itchy!
Thanks for the info <3 I also love the coconut oil 🙂 I rinse my pup after a organic shampoo with 1 part white vinager to 4 parts water and it sure balanced his PH and helps all year 🙂 xoxo Jodi and Odin from Furry Philosophy
Easy, homemade remedies are always the best! Awesome!
great post, thank you for sharing your experience with us.
I agree all the information here is great. Anytime nutrition can add comfort to our four legged friends I’m all for it. I have seen numerous dogs with a variety of skin issues benefit from Mineral Spa Shampoo by RELIQ.
Thanks for your sharing~~~~~~
Interesting to know the benefits of olive oil when the weather gets really dry!
Olive oils has so many healing power. I am glad it worked on your dog
I’ve gone back and forth on fish oil and olive oil and I think both are helpful, but the fish oil seems to work better for Haley. Her coat looks shinier and her skin is less dry and flaky. I think her dry skin is mostly a wintertime issue too. Loved the dramatization photo, lol!
I wasn’t sure about olive oil, but glad to hear it works and is OK for dogs. I give Ace coconut oil sometimes, and it does seem to make his coat softer and shinier. Good to know about the olive oil though because I’m more likely to have that on hand since I use that more often for cooking.
Olive oil is a good idea! This winter was the worse for dry skin. Far worse than last winter for some reason.
We feed our dogs salmon based foods which helps. We don’t really bath the dogs so shampoos are out. In the summer they swim which helps their coats and they do not have an issue. Chessies have naturally oily coats but they can get brittle in winter when they are not swimming so we condition their coats a bit. There is a product called B&B Super Grow. It is cheap. You can buy at Sally’s Beauty and Walgreens. You take a spay bottle of plain water. Wet the coat. Take a small amount of B&B and rub together in the palms and over the backs of your hands and then rub through the dog’s coat. Rub it in gently. A very little goes a long, long way. Repeat twice or three times a week when the weather is dry.
My cat has really dry skin, I would if olive oil would help him. I’ll ask my vet.
My dog’s paws are itching, do you think olive oil could help for that too? Or should I rather buy a natural remedy such as Dermapaw? I have checked this review but would love some more feedback before ordering it! http://blogger.thepetsperspective.com/dermapaw-question/
Do you know what’s causing the itching? When my dog began itching and having some dry skin we took her to the vet so we could rule out allergies and other conditions first. We started using olive oil only after the vet assured us her itching/flaking was a mild reaction to the dry weather. Itchy paws can be related to lots of things – I’d recommend a trip to the vet to find out the cause before trying to treat it. Some treatments might end up making them worse depending on the cause. And as far as Dermapaw goes I haven’t personally used it so I can’t speak for it’s effectiveness.
Thanks so much for your advice Jen. To be honest, I am not sure. It might be allergies. I have done quite some reading and research on the internet and was therefore wondering about Skin Eze, Dermapaw, Benadryl and the likes, as well as using natural products such as olive oil. We might well go to the vet though before making a decision. Thanks again.
“If I could create more humidity in winter I would, my dog and I would be itching mush less. Since I’m not mother nature I had to find a backup plan.”
Ever heard of a humidifier?
We do use a humidifier during the winter which helps somewhat, but we still end up with dry skin.
how many drops of olive oil do I give my 2.7lb teacup poodle, she’s 6 and a half years and she has really flaky skin. And what’s the difference between regular olive oil and virgin olive oil? Does it have to be virgin olive oil?
Since she’s much smaller than an average dog I’d start out with 1 or 2 drops in her food to make sure she has time to adjust to it. Well unfortunately if you’re in the US any bottle labeled extra virgin is probably just regular olive oil anyways – we had success with it and didn’t have to buy the specialty kind. Good luck.
I put some olive oil on Mikie’s skin to heal a sore.
Hi there.is really interestd and helpful all the advises. I got a small chihuahua,Lulu.break my heart.i dont know what to do.all the vets gave her is just cortisone and antinflamatories and nothing work. I started to use apple cider vinager for to rinse after her special shampoo.but now is more dry her skin.has ugly marks from allergie. Pls help me.she is 1 and half y.o.so small. She cannot sleep scratching and leaking her sking. SOS.txs to any advise. We ate in south africa.lots win and dust. My place is very clean.i got tails at floor.not carpets and her toys and clothes are always clean. Help Lulu pls. Im Luisa(chilean)from south africa. Txs so much.
Do the vets have any idea what might be triggering her dryness? Did they say it sounded like allergies or a result of coming into contact with something directly?
The olive oil worked for my dogs mild case of dryness; I’m not sure how well it would would on dryness caused by something other than seasonal/environmental/humidity changes though.
I haven’t used one myself but I’ve heard good things about dog conditioners with humectants, as a follow up to baths. And some have had success by adding in some digestive enzymes to their dogs meals (probiotic bacteria) or some added vitamin e.
I started giving Diamond bathes with dog shampoo to help keep her clean as well as eliminate fleas and ticks, but, it seems that every time I bath her in the shampoo she itches more than she did before I gave her a bath. I suspect the shampoo may be the cause, So thanks a lot for the advice about using the olive oil. I will try it tomorrow and see if she responds well to it. If she does I could kiss all of you for your help.
Olive oil for a crusty nose…….I have an old frenchie, they readily get crusty noses! Almost like barnacles…. forget all the costly nose balms, soak up a Q-tip with olive oil and cover the nose( leaving the nostrils free)…. 2 -3 days of doing this u can gently wipe all that crust off. Been doing this for years
Thanks for the tip 🙂
When I saw this Post, I couldn’t believe how much that dog looks like my dog Buddy! Can you tell me what breed it is? We don’t have any idea what Buddy is.
Thanks for the info on using olive oil for dry skin!
Which dog are you referring to? If you’re talking about the dog on the Pin itself it’s a German Shepherd/Lab mix.
An old toothbrush, poured olive oil on, 2 lb. 6 week old Coton de Tulear….he chewed and chewed the brush. I think he was actually brushing his own teeth! Loves it more than any other treat.