Idaho Hunter 59

Hey i have a 2 year old yellow lab. His coat is starting to look/feal dry to me. I brush him often, just got a new brush from Sharper Image. But his coat just seems so dry. I have been mixing a egg or two into his food, but i am not noticing much change, if any.

So... What food do you feed your dog? Any ideas on the dog washing places? I would think that they would clean the coat, but dry it out more. I don't know though.

I am really confused on what to do, and we are moving into a new house where he will be able to spend a lot of time indoors, and i need to get him smelling and fealing (to the touch) good.

Thanks for the help, please throw any ideas my way!!!

Idaho

Idaho Hunter 59

Here is a cool site:
http://www.lrr.org/reading-room/stinky-dog.html

That is an idea to make sure he smells good.

Here is an item to buy, not as cost effective as the above site.
http://www.k9power.com/catalog/produ...products_id/43

johnch

Are you washing him ,if so what soap .Buy a soap for dogs / short hair dogs . Some people use baby shampo ,that will dry out his coat .I have heard that a higher fat content food will help with the coat , also a "little" condisener .My lab gets peted alot and his coat is realy shiney.

Idaho Hunter 59

I haven't been washing him with anything more that some water and a towel.
I guess i will try going out and getting a dog shampoo.
thanks

longrifle1000

I had this same problem with my black lab. It got to the point that it looked like he had dandruff. The vet put him on omega fatty acids. The ones i use are from Pala-tech. You get 60 tablets for $10. Just give one daily until it clears up, then one every few days. I have not had a problem since.

chipmunk

We had a similar problem with our chocolate lab...vet said to put a tablespoon or two of safflower oil on his food...it seemed to do the trick.

What is happening is the constant contact with water is washing away the dog's natural oils in his skin that keep his coat nice and shiney and smooth.

Doc E

What brand (and variety) of food are you feeding?

Are you giving your dog cooked or raw eggs?

Idaho hunter 58

raw, it seemed to help a little bit before.
Last night i washed him with a tiny bit of white vinegar mixed with water, and brushed him for quite a while. He loved it. It made his coat feal a lot better that what it did feal like before. He also smelled quite a bit better. We give him atta' boy (sp?). I have been looking around for something better, just haven't found it yet. Science diet stuff does look like good stuff thou

Doc E

NO RAW EGGS !!! never give raw eggs to any mammal. Egg white (albumin) can only be digested if it's coagulated. There are only 2 ways to coagulate albumin - one is by cooking, the other is by the animal using HUGE amounts of a nutrient called Biotin. If you give your dog raw eggs, they can quite easily become Biotin deficient (not a good thing).

IMO, Atta Boy is junk (the bag has more nutrition than the contents). You need a good premium grade dog food. If your dog works hard (trains and hunts a lot) it neds 30% protein and 20% fat. If your dog is "average" in physical exertion, a 26%/16% should be alright.

Best three brands (in order) Eagle Pack, Diamond or Black Gold.

Idaho hunter 58

Great, thanks for the information. I was oringinally told to put raw eggs into the food by a friend, obviously they have/had no idea what they were talking about.

I went to a Farm and Home store today and saw that they had some Science Diet with a ratio of 28-18. Would that be good?? The food was specifically for curing dry coats and skin.

What do you think?
Thanks for the help,
Idaho