Greasy coat - possibly Seborrhoea oleosa - any experience here? - Page 1

I normally do not start a post and am doing this for a friend. She has a GSD that is past eight (8) years of age and is displaying an unusually oily coat. Some background here - the dog recently moved across several states with her and may be stressed. In the past this dog has displayed this condition before and it disappeared after he was bathed a few times with a medicated shampoo. Which brand/type of shampoo? I do not know; and presume it was one of the blends that is easily available.

Some very quick research suggests that the greasy coat may be the result of Seborrhoea oleosa - an inflammation of the skin by some type of parasite, yeast, or bacterium that causes the skin to become very oily. I understand from the articles I read that the GSD does have some predisposition towards this malady. I have always known that the GSD has delicate and sensitive skin and that diet has much impact on skin and coat appearance. I also know that certain medicated shampoo mixtures are available for treating the different types of Seborrhea. One (1) suggestion I read was the use of omega-3 fatty-acid supplement to help alleviate this condition.

But; there cannot be any real treatment without a true diagnosis to determine what is the specific aggravating organism(s) that are is/are present on the dog's skin. For the time being I am interested to hear if anyone else has dealt with a "greasy coat" condition that was determined to be Seborrhoea oleosa; and what was the root cause?

Best Regards,
Bob-O

I have no knowledge of what might be causing this but your friend might try giving the dog a thorough scrubbing with a mild shampoo then rinse the dog well then do a vinegar rinse with either cider or white vinegar and rinse that out well.  Sometimes it will help with greasy a coat. 

I don't think shampoos will do you any good on the long run, since seborrhoea is caused from the inside and not on top of the skin. With an older dog I would check vitamin and mineral deficiencies first and feed a raw diet, meat with vegetables and a teaspoon of chopped garlic a week, considering that senior dogs need less calories and different mineral content than younger dogs.
If you are open for alternative remedies I would suggest you try homeopathy - Calcarea Sulphur C 30, one dose of 3 pellets daily until symptoms are much better or gone. Don't give homeopathy when there is no symptoms.