Nicer Coat?

[Guest Anonymous]

Ok DO pm'd me with some things to get for Boonies coat.. do you all hae any other suggestions? oh man i can't even remeber what she said.. Flax seed oil sticks out..
anyways if you see his picture his coat doesn't look like it's in the greatest shape and i'd love to get it grown out and nice and shiney and healthy.. any Suggestions?
[img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_113.gif[/img]

[TDG]

the best foundation is a good, clean food.

on top of that, you can give raw egg (if the dog is large enough, 40ish lbs+, even daily) and fish oil, which is better than flax oil.

there's also a great DIY supplement (recipe by dr. pitcairn) that you can add to the food daily.

2 cups nutritional yeast (this is not the same as brewer's yeast!)
1 cup lecithin granules
1/4 cup kelp powder
1/4 cup bonemeal or 5 teaspoons eggshell powder or 9,000 mg calcium)
1,000 mg vitamin C (personally i use 10,000 to 15,000 mg per recipe)

mix all ingredients well in a 1-quart container. refrigerate. shake well before scooping out the needed amount.

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote name='TDG']the best foundation is a good, clean food.

on top of that, you can give raw egg (if the dog is large enough, 40ish lbs+, even daily) and fish oil, which is better than flax oil.

\.[/quote]

it's a 6 pound pom..

[imported_Kat]

vitamin E and a teaspoon of cod liver oil in his food.

[TDG]

vitamin E is nice, but i would [b]not[/b] give cod liver oil to a dog who eats a commercial food - especially not a 6 lb dog. cod liver oil is very rich in vitamin A and D and the risk of causing toxicity is way too high, since commercial foods are already vitamin fortified.

regular fish (body) oil, at a mega dose of a maximum of 600 mg per day would be a good idea tho. alternatively, canned mackerel or sardines a couple times a week. a raw egg a week.

if you are feeding a high quality dry or canned food, the food itself is going to take care of most if not all malnutrition problems. i've seen it first hand with a dog who was seriously underweight and had a coat so brittle that the individual hairs would break off at the slightest pressure. the dog looked short haired but after a few weeks of eating a better diet it turned out it's actually medium length.

also, don't do too many things at once, especially if the poor little guy isn't used to a good food. you are likely to just get his digestive system upset, which will put more stress on him while getting used to a new environment.

a good thing to keep on hand is a can of pumpkin (not the pie filling mix, just the plain stuff) because it helps with both constipation and diarrhea. you only need a small amount (i use about a scant teaspoon for a 30 lb dog), so when you open a can, divide it up in a few small plastic or glass containers and freeze it. that way you always have an emergency stock. :)