Best Food For A Good Coat

[Guest sophiesmum]

We just adopted our second grey a couple of weeks ago. He was kept in an outdoor pen for 6 months before being picked up by the adoption group and then fostered. He has a thick downy black coat which is now coming off and he's starting to look a little patchy. Our first grey eats Canidae grain free with some raw meat mixed in. Ive been adding some sardines in oil and giving fish oil tablets (which unfortunately give them the runs).

 

Is there a better food to help with making is new coat come through nice and shiny?

 

Ive been brushing him daily and I could fashion a whole new dog with how much he's moulting. He also has bad dandruff.

 

Suggestions would be appreciated.

[Guest BrianRke]

I give mine melatonin and salmon oil every morning and they all have very soft, shiny, amazing coats. I feed Diamond Naturals.

[Guest KennelMom]

"best" food is a pretty individual thing...different dogs will react differently to different foods.

 

Honestly, the best thing you can give for a good coat is time.

[racindog]

I'm surprised the fish oil is causing a problem, maybe just reduce dosage until he gets used to it? Anyway if you supplement with fish oil you need to giev Vit E also. Others can elaborate on the reason I just know you're supposed to. Best thing I know would be Fresh Factors or maybe Longevity from www.springtimeinc.com

The Longevity I'm just now trying but the Fresh Factors have been workign all kinds of miracles for me and others on GT for years. I have always noted a quick and often dramatic improvement in overall health including coat quality when beginning a new dog on them. I just adopted Gilly Boy and his coat was rather dull, thin, patchy wih old hair, and stiff feeling. It is amazing how in 2 weeks on Fresh Factors it started to shine and its been about a month now and it is even soft and the patches of old off colored hair on his shoulders is almost all gone. I am also giving him melatonin to thicken it up if he is lucky enough to be one of the ones that respond to that. He also gets fish oil/vit E. But regardless I don't think a person could go wrong with the Fresh Factors- as far as I'm concerned that stuff has miracle power ha!

[XTRAWLD]

I add fish oil to the boys food, hoping it gives them a good coat, but to be honest, I can't tell that it's doing a thing - but for some reason I keep giving it to them. Food that we feed to Kasey that is more fish based, I find was better than anything else over the years just as a comparison.

 

I find they just get softer as they age. Kasey is super soft at 8 compared to Ryder at 3. Ryder is also super greasy still, I could give him back to back baths and he'll have a greasy feel to him.

 

What really helped was something called Dermo-Scent. You can get it from your vet. It helps to make the skin stronger and more resistant to the elements and their fur gets incredibly soft, and they have less dander. You would apply it like you would a liquid heartworm med, right between the shoulder blades. For us, the change was almost instant. It is just too expensive to keep them on, but I know that stuff truly works. We had Kasey on it for 2 months, and the change was incredible. For us, I just don't think there is a coat solution just based on a food alone.

[GeorgeofNE]

What really helped was something called Dermo-Scent. You can get it from your vet. It helps to make the skin stronger and more resistant to the elements and their fur gets incredibly soft, and they have less dander. You would apply it like you would a liquid heartworm med, right between the shoulder blades. For us, the change was almost instant. It is just too expensive to keep them on, but I know that stuff truly works. We had Kasey on it for 2 months, and the change was incredible. For us, I just don't think there is a coat solution just based on a food alone.

 

I had never heard of this, so I Google'd it.

 

You can get it on Amazon.com, but it looks like nothing more than topical oils.

 

Feeding essential fatty acids benefits more than the coat. There are natural anti-inflammatory properties and every vet I've ever used has recommended them (not a particular brand) for joint health in addition to the skin/coat benefits.

 

I do have a topical oil that I've used on George in the past--it's a spray on, and I put it where he's REALLY dry (his "arm pits"!).

[Guest Swifthounds]

What makes you think it's the fish oil and not the sardines?

[HoundHeavenAZ]

Ditto on the patience. I have also found that when I hose my kids down before an evening walk (95 degrees or more), that it keeps their skin and hair in terrific shape. They are shiny and dandruff free until wintertime arrives again

I don't supplement with oils but I do cook lots of healthy foods for them along with their kibble. An occasional meaty bone or chicken foot from time to time may help too

"best" food is a pretty individual thing...different dogs will react differently to different foods.

 

Honestly, the best thing you can give for a good coat is time.

[mychip1]

My JJ's coat is very shiny.....he eats Regal brand Adult Bites (the Turkey formula). But he also gets ecosaderm every day in his food. Not sure if it's the luck of "good genes" or the food or the supplements or all of the above that makes him shine! Dustin and EZ are on different foods for different reasons.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

The head of our adoption group complimented the sofness of Jayne's fur a while back. She's on Taste of the Wild, Pacific stream with add-ins.

[Guest sophiesmum]

What makes you think it's the fish oil and not the sardines?

 

 

 

I tried them separately. Also i really hate the smell of sardines so thats not a daily thing.

 

What really helped was something called Dermo-Scent. You can get it from your vet. It helps to make the skin stronger and more resistant to the elements and their fur gets incredibly soft, and they have less dander. You would apply it like you would a liquid heartworm med, right between the shoulder blades. For us, the change was almost instant. It is just too expensive to keep them on, but I know that stuff truly works. We had Kasey on it for 2 months, and the change was incredible. For us, I just don't think there is a coat solution just based on a food alone.

 

I had never heard of this, so I Google'd it.

 

You can get it on Amazon.com, but it looks like nothing more than topical oils.

 

Feeding essential fatty acids benefits more than the coat. There are natural anti-inflammatory properties and every vet I've ever used has recommended them (not a particular brand) for joint health in addition to the skin/coat benefits.

 

I do have a topical oil that I've used on George in the past--it's a spray on, and I put it where he's REALLY dry (his "arm pits"!).

 

cool, what sort of topical oil are you using? It sounds like that could really help with his dandruff straight away. Its really bad under our guys "arm pits" and on the back of this thighs

[Guest Swifthounds]

If you're using fish oil caps, your hound might be allergic to soy and that could be the source of the problem. Many FBO caps use vitamin e as a preservative and many of those source the E from soy. It won't say it contains soy. You usually have to call the company.

 

As an alternative, Grizzly salmon oil uses Rosemary as a preservative. The down side is that salmon oil is usually less concentrated with the beneficial omega 3s (you don't want 6s or 9s for a dog).

[Batmom]

Honestly, the best thing you can give for a good coat is time.

 

Yep. Minimum 3 weeks and usually more like 6 to see skin/coat changes from changes in diet or environment. If he's blowing his coat, might take longer than that. I'd keep brushing, feeding a good food, and see where you are a month or two from now.

 

[Guest firegypsy]

your dog sounds like mine. He was a mess when he came home! His coat was dull and thick (not in a good way) and he had terrible dandruff.

 

I put him on a good food (Orijen, Taste of the Wild etc.) and added fish oil twice a day. I also brush him daily!

 

It took a few weeks, but everyone remarks on how he looks like a totally different dog. Shiny coat, bright eyes, sleek and lovely. I agree with giving it time, it won't happen overnight. And a dog that's well oiled on the inside shouldn't need a ton of topical stuff.

 

I don't know about dogs, but dandruff in humans can also be fungal in origin, not simply a matter of oils lacking in the diet. Maybe some canine experts can comment on that. Good luck!

[silverfish]

Yes, dandruff can be fungal in origin. My vet has just told me that if a few weeks of good food, oil supplements and a decent bath with conditioner doesn't help Ranger's dandruff, we should try Malaseb shampoo which is anti-fungal and antibacterial. She's put a 'pass' on his notes so that if we want to pick some up we don't have to have another consult, so I'm guessing it's presription only.

 

It's also worth checking for cheyletiella, otherwise known as 'walking dandruff'. It's a mite which infests the surface of the skin, but it's usually very itchy.

 

Honestly, the best thing you can give for a good coat is time.

 

Yep. Minimum 3 weeks and usually more like 6 to see skin/coat changes from changes in diet or environment. If he's blowing his coat, might take longer than that. I'd keep brushing, feeding a good food, and see where you are a month or two from now.

 

Yep, and also hand massaging to help get the circulation going without irritating the skin with too much harsh brushing - though you do need some good brushing, you can go at it too hard with a flaking dog.

 

We've had Ranger about two months now, I think, and his coat is beginning to look beautifully shiny, but as yet only at the neck/shoulders/back and along the flanks. I put this down to those being the places he gets massaged and stroked most!

[Guest SusanP]

I've always fed Diamond Naturals senior kibble, and all 5 of our hounds have had lovely coats. I do notice that at times when they get more peanut butter (for medicine or whatever), their coats get even shinier, though, so it *could* be the peanut butter in my homemade peanutbutter/pumpkin dog biscuits that does it.

[Walliered]

Neither of my greys can take fish oil. It give both of them the runs. Matter of fact, anything will give mine the runs!

[tra708]

I second the Taste of the Wild Salmon formula, with add-ins. I am always noticing how shiny the girls' coats are. I'm sure every dog is different, though.

[Guest BrindleBoy]

We don't feed food for a good coat, we feed food for firm poops. So we first found a food his system seemed to agree with (Science Diet Sensitive Stomach). THEN, for a shinier, softer coat, we started giving fish oil. 1 gelcap, with dinner, every day. Took about a month, but it's worked fantastically. No more dry skin flakes, and his whole coat is almost as soft as between his ears.

Edited September 8, 2011 by BrindleBoy

[Guest suzanne]

Evening primrose oil caps gave my hounds astounding coats. I've stopped using it and replaced it with salmon oi and their coats are still amazing.

[Guest sirsmom]

We currently feed a mix of plain old Iams and Purina One and at our recent vet check up our vet noted our girls' shiny soft coat and even asked what I was feeding. The only add ins are a few morsels of our table food.