Why Your Dog's Skin Gets Dry in Winter (and How to Fix It)
Central heating, cold outdoor air, and fewer baths. Winter creates the perfect conditions for dry, flaky, itchy dog skin. Here is what causes it and how to manage it.
5 min read | October 2026
If you have noticed your dog scratching more than usual once the heating goes on, or found white flakes on their coat or your sofa, you are not dealing with a medical problem. You are dealing with winter skin, and it is one of the most common and most overlooked issues for UK dog owners from October through February.
The cause is actually quite straightforward. And so are the fixes.
Why winter is so hard on dog skin
Your dog's skin needs moisture to stay healthy. In winter, two things happen simultaneously that strip that moisture away. Outside, cold air holds less humidity than warm air, which dries the skin on walks. Inside, central heating warms the air but removes moisture from it too, leaving your dog sitting in warm, dry air for hours at a time.
The result is skin that cannot retain its natural oils as effectively, leading to dryness, flaking, and the itching and scratching that comes with it. Some dogs are more prone to this than others, particularly those with thinner or finer coats, but it affects double-coated breeds too as their undercoat grows in and creates more friction against the skin.
The three winter skin culprits
Central heating
Warms the air but dries it out, stripping moisture from your dog's skin and coat over hours of indoor time.
Cold outdoor air
Low humidity outside dries the skin on every walk, compounding the dryness from indoors.
Over-bathing or harsh shampoo
Bathing too often in winter, or using a harsh shampoo, strips the natural oils the skin needs most.
Spotting the signs of dry skin in your dog
Dry winter skin shows up in a few different ways. The most obvious is flaking, small white or grey flakes visible in the coat or left on bedding and furniture. Your dog may scratch or lick at the same spots repeatedly, particularly along the back and flanks where the coat is thickest. The coat itself may look duller than usual, feel rougher to the touch, or lose some of its normal sheen.
In more pronounced cases, the skin can look pink or slightly irritated, particularly around the neck, belly, and between the legs where the skin is thinner. Most of the time this resolves quickly with the right grooming approach. If the irritation is severe, patchy, or accompanied by hair loss, a vet check is the right call.
How to adjust your grooming routine in winter
| What to do | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Brush more often | Distributes natural skin oils through the coat and removes dead skin cells that contribute to flaking |
| Switch to a gentler, pH-balanced shampoo | Reduces the stripping effect on natural oils, particularly important when skin is already under stress from dry air |
| Bathe less frequently in winter | Every 6 to 8 weeks rather than 4, unless the coat is genuinely dirty, to preserve the oils the skin needs |
| Dry the coat thoroughly after every bath and wet walk | A damp coat indoors with heating on accelerates moisture loss from the skin surface |
| Use dry shampoo between baths | Keeps the coat fresh without water, preserving skin oils through the driest months |
What about diet and supplements?
Grooming handles the outside, but skin health also has an inside component. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil and some quality dog foods, support the skin's natural oil production and can noticeably improve coat condition through winter. If your dog's skin dryness is persistent, it is worth discussing with your vet whether a supplement would help alongside the grooming changes.
Fresh water access matters too. Dogs drink less in cold weather, which contributes to dryness from the inside. Make sure the water bowl is always full and at room temperature rather than cold from sitting near a door or window.
Winter skin is one of those things that is much easier to prevent than to fix once it is established. A few grooming adjustments from October onwards keeps most dogs comfortable all the way through to spring.
Protect your dog's skin this winter with the ITSY Pets Mousse Shampoo. Gentle, pH-balanced, and kind to coats all year round.
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