Dry hair?

[nickiklaus]

I am feeding lamb shoulder,beef chuck,chicken wing,chicken breast beef liver and egg (once a week) to my dogs a 9 year old silky terrier and 4month old havanese and my silky before raw(when she was on Nutro dry food) had soft hair but not super soft i was sort of expecting super soft on raw but i got quite the opposite she now has dry almost brittle hair :( it only feels nice when shes been brushed out but 5minutes later it feels dry again and my puppy had super soft shiny hair the first few days we had her and now it looks dull and not as soft :/
i thought maybe its because there is no fish in their diet i added fish oil but they had bad poop/vomiting from that so i stopped giving it. i cannot find sardines in water just oil and it is quite expensive at 6USD a can for 90g of sardines.. (3oz)
and some people said fish is not so important if it's hard to find so i am currently not giving any omega 3
What are some ways i can make my dog's hairs softer/better?
or a alternative way to add omega 3 as i read omega 3 makes coat shiny?
any advice is very appreciated
thank you

[Kat]

Are you giving them enough fat in their diet? I also give Ruby a half teaspoon of organic extra virgin coconut oil every other day. I notice a huge difference with the coconut oil almost right away - and dogs LOVE the taste

[nickiklaus]

I have kept the fat on in the meats but i have not been giving oils i have looked for coconut oil before and was not able to find it where i live.\. is there any other oil good for the coat? like walnut oil or extra virign olive oil?

[whiteleo]

The ONLY way the fish oil or fish wouldn't be important in the diet is if you are feeding ALL naturally grass fed red meats, meaning they have come from cows/lambs who are pasture raised, no grain/no hormones/antibiotics eating grass that have not been modified in any way. They will get plenty of natural omega 3's from eating meaqts that are raised this way and in the wild. If not, it is essential to add in fish or a fish oil capsule. Hope this helps!

[nickiklaus]

Oh is see, yeah in japan they do not tell you/know how the animal was treated
i tried fish oil, but i as i said they had soft poop and vomiting :( and i used a good quality alaskan wild salmon fish oil with vitamin e in it
Maybe i should try the fish oil they sell in gel form in pharmacy? is it ok to use fish oil supplement for humans? but i am worried it will have the same effects as the salmon oil had.. :/

[whiteleo]

I use to give them the pill form for humans, maybe see because she is so small if you can find one that is not 1000 mg. maybe less, and start there. Look for one that does not have a bunch of additives to the pill. They make some with anchovy oil too which would be good, maybe she couldn't handle the salmon...

[funshine]

Have you tried raw fish? Not sure about the price, but I'd think you could find some mackerel or sardines easily in Japan.
I know it can be a pain if your dogs don't like it, but you could try it frozen or chopped frozen pieces mixed with something else. My fish picky also "approves" filet/cleaned fish better although the nutritional value drops when fish is gutted. Maybe that could be a starting point?

For coconut oil, you might be able to find raw coconut flakes (nothing added) that could do the trick (no personal experience here). Or even order oil online from a seller with international shipping.

Anyways, I'd try the fresh fish route first and add some 'red meat animal' fat to the diet since your cuts look somewhat low fat.

[nickiklaus]

Thank you all for the replies
Yes i have tried fish filets but cooked becuase i am scared for the parasites but unfortunately i cannot continue with real fish because it is very hard to find it from safe areas as most of japan fish has radiation. Which is why i tried the fish oil. I will re-try the wild alaskan salmon fish oil in tiny amounts with their meals now 3 times a week... if they do not tolerate it then i will try and find a different type of fish oil.
For the coconut oil if i find it will it replace the fish oil in their diet ? or is it suppposed to be fed as an addition to the fish oil?

[naturalfeddogs]

Like whiteleo said, fish oil maybe just a smaller dosage. Oil will cause soft poop if given too much no matter the dog. So, try a smaller dosage, and as pure fish oil as possible. Try to find one with the fewer ingredients as possible.

[Liz]

It seems your pup eats alot of lean meat - can you add some fattier meat to her diet? Richer meat maybe like heart?