# Avery's coat/skin health--suggestions needed!!



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Avery has never really had a great coat. From a distance it always looks nice but up close its a little dull and he tends to have some real dry skin. Lately though, what really getting me is his shedding!! I was just chalking it up to seasonal change but he has been shedding like crazy for the last 6+ months, last year he did not shed like this. So this got me wondering, am I missing something? Should I be doing something I'm not??

Lets start from the beginning:
I got Avery in August 2010 at around 8 months of age. At the time his foster thought he was allergic to grass as he was non-stop itching all the time. He was itching so bad he had a hard time sitting still. When I got him home, I realized immediately this itching was simply caused by a bad case of fleas (fun, fun I got to deal with their lovely dead corpses in my bed!?!?)...

Any who once the fleas were taken care of Avery's fur/skin dried out. So I began adding Vitamin E and salmon oil to his diet..That was short lived because then someone told me there was some reason I should not be giving him the gel capsules (I don't remember who or the reasoning).

I did eventually get salmon oil in the pump form and I know I probably don't give it to him enough (I have a hard time determining how much I should be giving him) but it really doesn't seem to have helped too much.

Now here we are nearly 2 years later and his coat/skin has never really been where I'd want it to be. Over the years I've been making excuses "Oh it's that time of the year for shedding or dry skin" or "Well maybe he just needs more salmon oil in his diet" or "Maybe he's due for a bath"...But now I'm wondering if there could be something more I could be giving him? Also recommendations for how much salmon oil a 60lb, 2.5 year old dog should be getting? Finally is there anything that will help with the shedding? Its getting to the point where I don't like to touch him in the house, one swipe across his back and you'll have a handful of his fur.

Oh I should add that when bathed with medicated shampoo or even oatmeal shampoo his coat and skin does look a whole lot better for a week or two.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

If it were me and my dogs I would definitely try to use the salmon oil on a more consistent basis, or coconut oil as it is very good for the skin/hair.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

what is he eating these days...what proteins are you feeding most?


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Lots of chicken quarters and beef heart. We just got some venison which we haven't had in a while. I also pick up some nice pork butt from the grocery store every once in a while. Everything but the venison seems to have plenty of fat on it (if that's why you were asking?)


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Does Avery like fish? I am thinking that maybe you could try adding in more of the omega 3's-- either via fresh-frozen sardines or mackerel-- or going back to the fish oil.

Coconut oil is also a good suggestion.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

What sardines do you buy? I've looked and looked but there just seem to be too many options and I am never sure which to buy. We did try fresh mackerel once, it was the only thing Avery ever turned his nose up to, I was able to get him to eat it after I cut it up a bit but boy fish is not my cup of tea LOL. And he had no interest once so ever in the one I froze for later...


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## twotonelover (Jan 10, 2011)

lauren43 said:


> What sardines do you buy? I've looked and looked but there just seem to be too many options and I am never sure which to buy. We did try fresh mackerel once, it was the only thing Avery ever turned his nose up to, I was able to get him to eat it after I cut it up a bit but boy fish is not my cup of tea LOL. And he had no interest once so ever in the one I froze for later...


Canned sardines are the only thing that has ever given Rosey cannon butt, so I avoid them lol There is a brand of frozen sardines that I buy called "Gonsalves" and Rosey loves them! I feed them frozen so they don't get too stinky/messy. Plus they're whole so she gets all the organs, brain, eyes etc


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

lauren43 said:


> What sardines do you buy? I've looked and looked but there just seem to be too many options and I am never sure which to buy. We did try fresh mackerel once, it was the only thing Avery ever turned his nose up to, I was able to get him to eat it after I cut it up a bit but boy fish is not my cup of tea LOL. And he had no interest once so ever in the one I froze for later...


I have been buying the frozen sardines from Hare-Today. Mateo will eat them right up....IF I cut into them a bit first (spoiled dog)- otherwise they just sit there looking sad at the bottom of his bowl...

I just ordered some whole Atlantic herring from them this week; we'll see how that goes...

Anyway, in a pinch I also keep some canned mackerel and tins of no-salt sardines around. Better than not including any fish in the diet, IMO.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

I'm all for tweaking the diet, but my favourite product in the whole doggy world is Dermoscent Essential 6 Spot-On. It is all natural, essential oils and omegas, but instead of having it work from the inside out (like adding salmon oil to the food), it gets applied directly to the skin. It comes with each "dose" packaged separately, about 1ml, and you apply it between the shoulder blades once a week for 4 weeks, and then "as needed" after that (every 2-4 weeks, approx).

I used this on George a few months after bringing him home from the Humane Society where he'd been eating Science Diet.. I'm sure you can imagine the condition of his coat *gag*. Within 3 days of the first application I could see a difference. I honestly can't say enough good about this stuff.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lauren43 said:


> Lots of chicken quarters and beef heart. We just got some venison which we haven't had in a while. I also pick up some nice pork butt from the grocery store every once in a while. Everything but the venison seems to have plenty of fat on it (if that's why you were asking?)


i'm thinking about the chicken, considering it's a major part of his diet...and yes, the fat, but not just the fat.....

if he's getting enough fat from animal protein, it wouldn't hurt to add in some plant fats, like coconut oil.....

emu oil worked well with mine, too...

and you might slowly increase the salmon oil.....from one pump to two......

go slowly and do one thing at a time..or you won't know what works.

mine get olive oil and coconut oil and emu oil....along with fat cubes....

i don't know how often you bathe him, but you may want to bathe less often and possibly look for a very gentle shampoo.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Chicken is the only way I can get bone in his diet, he is an aggressive chewer, so I worry about bone sources outside of poultry...

Besides the last month or so where I missed my meat order pick up, we usually do an every other day thing. One day chicken and organ meat (or some other addition) and then the next day red meat like pork, beef heart, or venison (sometimes a mix of two). So the chicken is there just to keep his poop firm, I used to do, 2 bone-less, then 1 bone in, not really sure when I switched to every other day...

I wish I took pics of this months order of beef heart, but to me it seemed rather fatty to me at least. Here's a pic from the last order I made, same distributor:














Finally I bathed him about 2ish weeks ago but it had been months since I bathed him last...He definitely needed it!

When I usually give him the salmon oil I do 4-5 pumps. So should I only be doing one pump a day?


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

I would suggest adding eggs. Local farmers market eggs, if possible.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

no. you're doing fine with salmon oil. i misunderstood...

eggs are a good source ......


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Eggs and salmon oil and sardines/fish CHECK!
I'll start adding all of the above more regularly and see if it helps

I'm going to look for some coconut oil just in case (for later of course)...


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

lauren43 said:


> Eggs and salmon oil and sardines/fish CHECK!
> I'll start adding all of the above more regularly and see if it helps
> 
> I'm going to look for some coconut oil just in case (for later of course)...


I didn't see whether anyone had mentioned it, but mackerel is also available canned (without the tomato sauce). It's usually right next to the tinned salmon & sardines.


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