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Why is my German Shepherd's skin dry, flaky, and shedding particles?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 120 lbs

He is 7 yrs old gsd male.. Dont knw whats happening to his skin.. Hv visited several vets bt yet no solition even after treatment.. Whenever i move my hands under he neck arra this dry particles falls down from his skin.. What could b rrason for this?

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on August 22nd, 2017

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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