So I have read that chi's are prone to dry skin, but I am still concerned. Miya has been itching a lot lately. We just gave her a bath today, hoping it would help, and it seems to have helped a little bit, but she's still itching. We used natural (organic) human conditioner. Any thoughts?

Also, she's been sneezing quite a bit. She just had a checkup and doc said she was happy and healthy?????

__________________

Ahhhhh itchy skin. Reese always has some degree of itchy skin and it drives me CRAZY trying to fix it. She may be drier/ itchier if youve had the heat on in your house. We have tried different diets, benadryl daily and other things to try to stop Reese from getting the itchies, but nothing works. Some things make it worse, but nothing makes it totally better. I do use an unscented, hypoallergenic shampoo on him with lukewarm water when he gets a bath, thats the most gentle on his skin. If she does have sensitive skin I would definitely recommend finding her a hypoallergenic shampoo without any fragrance as that will just make things worse, as does bathing too frequently. Good luck, hopefully its just dry winter air thats bothering her and it will let up after the season. I have ultimately concluded that Reese has some food and some environmental allergies, and the best we can do is give him a special diet and try to manage it. You could try an air humidifier in the room at night and possibly a moisturizing treatment to use after shampooing, we sometimes do coconut oil and sometimes use Fur Butter. You could also add in a bit of salmon or coconut oil to her meal and that may help as well.

__________________

Sparkles is a itchy girl and virgin coconut oil from GWlittle has been a Godsend!

well, I don't think bathing would really help if the itchiness is because of dry skin because it takes away the natural oils on the skin
and I am not so sure if using human conditioners is a good idea, I think the pH of their skin is different to humans
I would agree that coconut oil is very good
Another great thing is cocotherapy chips (coconut chips)
And try using hypoallergenic dog shampoos

__________________
If you want the best seat in the house, you've got to move the Chihuahuas!

Also take a look at her food. Ginger itches horribly if she has any corn or wheat. These are very common allergens and unfortunately very common pet food ingredients. I also add oil to their food daily but this helps more with shedding and their softness, etc than with itching.

Also, I use tropiclean puppy shampoo with my dogs as it is also corn and wheat free and all natural.

__________________
Michelle and..
Susu, Ginger, Cori, Cinna & Fen say Hi!

Having dogs is like having beautiful innocent children who never grow up.
All the best parts of childhood are right there with wagging tails.

Anyone who ever wondered if I was crazy lost all doubt once they saw me with 5 chihuahuas in clothes!!

When Cricket gets a bath, I bathe her with an Oatmeal dog shampoo. It seems to help with her itching. I'm sure hers is dry skin. The oatmeal is for sensitive skin and keeps her coat shiny too. I'm not sure how often we are supposed to bathe them, but she gets a bath once a week.

__________________
I playing!

I did a lot of research before I got her and I recall reading where it was ideal to bathe them once a month, however, I couldn't tell you where I read that. I took a look at her food, no wheat or corn stuff found. Maybe she's just itchy. I will check out that coconut oil, I love the smell of that stuff too so win win!

__________________

Do your chi's eat it or do you rub it on their coat?

__________________