Dry coat question

One of my fosters Gertrude's mom emailed me today to ask what could be done for a dry coat, I'm not really sure so I came here to ask what the experts have to say.

Fish oil! I use Noble Herring oil, liberally.

I've been giving fish oil and Missing Link to my crew and their coat is so soft and shiny. Also make sure she is feeding a high quality food.

How much fish oil do you guys feed?

sallyandtilly wrote:How much fish oil do you guys feed?

I buy the Grizzly brand in the pump and use one pump in breakfast and one in dinner.

sallyandtilly wrote:How much fish oil do you guys feed?

I give 1000mg of fish oil per day.

I believe coconut oil is also good though I have not tried that.

Thanks I will pass it on. I spaced on the fish oil, I give Viv one everyday.

I think she is on a special diet, not sure, she had bad diarrhea when I had her and it took her new mom a while to find food that worked for her.

I'm getting her back for two weeks the end of Sept to babysit.

Snifter&Toddy wrote:I believe coconut oil is also good though I have not tried that.

I had great lkuck with coconut oil. I like fish oil for the antioxidants, but coconut oil actually had more of an effect on their coats when I was using that. The dosage for that is to work up to 2 teaspoons a day. (Well, 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight, so roughly 2 teaspoons for most pugs.)

I love coconut oil, too. It makes Marlee noticeably softer, more than salmon oil did (although I loved the convenience of the Grizzly salmon oil pump bottle!).

The coconut oil, where do you get it?

You can get it in a lot of supermarkets and health food stores. Some of it is VERY expensive but I have used the cheap stuff (West Indian Pride) for years - the stuff used in cooking and hair/skin conditioning for humans. I think I pay about $3 for a 500 ml. tin. I just found their website: http://westindianshop.com/coconutoilnatural100pure12oz1-1.aspx

pugpillow wrote:You can get it in a lot of supermarkets and health food stores. Some of it is VERY expensive but I have used the cheap stuff (West Indian Pride) for years - the stuff used in cooking and hair/skin conditioning for humans. I think I pay about $3 for a 500 ml. tin. I just found their website: http://westindianshop.com/coconutoilnatural100pure12oz1-1.aspx

Thanks, I am going to give that a try with Viv.

I've never seen it at grocery stores here, but all health food stores have it. Mine is more expensive than what Hilary found it for, but still not bad considering how long it lasts-- around $15, I think. The stuff I get is labeled unrefined or extra virgin or something like that. I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not.

GingerSnap wrote:I've never seen it at grocery stores here, but all health food stores have it. Mine is more expensive than what Hilary found it for, but still not bad considering how long it lasts-- around $15, I think. The stuff I get is labeled unrefined or extra virgin or something like that. I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not.

It does make a difference. Penny used to get it, and I'm not sure why we stopped, but we're gonna start it again. You want the extra virgin unrefined - the refined is very heat processed and all of the good stuff is processed right out of it.

Also, try using a boars head bristle brush and brush her once a day. That will help stimulate the coat and distribute the oils on the skin. Don't bathe her if she can help it. Brushing will get off any dirt and baths will just further dry the coat out.



Unfortunately, I have to bathe Baby Girl because she pees and poops on herself. But I met a pug with THE SOFTEST COAT, and the owners said that they only bathed her about 1-2 a year.



I will second the fish oil. Not only for the coat, but for eyes and cardiovascular health. I buy organic fish oil capsules and just us a tack to pierce it and squeeze it in their food 2xday. I think I am going to check on the pump though. I am not sure what the coconut oil does for the eyes, but I'll go check on it.

Pugsaunt wrote:It does make a difference. Penny used to get it, and I'm not sure why we stopped, but we're gonna start it again. You want the extra virgin unrefined - the refined is very heat processed and all of the good stuff is processed right out of it.

Yep, I was told to only get expeller-pressed, unrefined extra-virgin stuff. It's about $16 for a big container that lasts quite a while. I get it at the local health food store, although I occasionally will buy online if I have a free shipping coupon.