Show Stopper Supplement

I don't really see where it's worth the money.  If you want to improve something specifically, it's far cheaper and more effective to use individual products geared specifically for your dog, rather than thrown into a "kitchen sink" product along with a bunch of stuff your dog doesn't need.  Plus, I'd be worried something in the supplement might throw off the balance of the food I was feeding, or a supplement I was using.  For instance, it has a lot of omega-6, which really isn't needed in most cases - but too much and your dog is going to be very short on omega-3s and omega-9s. 

Adding an egg three times a week is a lot cheaper, even if you use humanely produced eggs, which these supplements don't.

They tend to overdo things like kelp, which can have an effect on iodine levels.  Too much iodine can mess with the thyroid, leading to future fertility problems or hypothryroidism.

I'm just not a fan of the willy nilly supplementations for short term effects, possibly at the cost of long term health. 

thanks for the reply...i wasnt aware of all of the negative side effects!  I really have alot to learn about dog nutrition.  Do you like the salmon oil?  It seems to have made Tessas coat look gorgeous, but again i dont want to giver her something that will have bad effects later. 

Beauceron.Akita.Golden

 Also, as far as the eggs...I wouldnt mind doing that, as atleast i know whats going into my dog, but how do you prepare them correctly?

I just give them raw. I give one egg a day on top of their breakfast. No shells though. Some people give the shells finely ground up. 

 I used some for Ena, and wasn't thrilled with the results. I agree that things actually aimed FOR the dog work better.

I use Seapet 200 fish oil (with vit e already added in!). It works great, for that shine. Maybe a can of no salt added sardines, a raw or poached or soft boiled egg, and some canned tripe for a rotation of toppers.... and you're set for beautiful coat. Those three are super high quality proteins, with good fats to help promote nice coat. 

Another thing that will put the "bloom" on a show coat (or any coat for that matter), is a high uality probiotic.  You find these in the refrigerated section of the health food store.  I use a powder - NOW acidophilus - and just a 1/4 tsp a day, except Zhi who basically sniffs the bottle , and you can really see the difference between when I do it and when I forget.

The reason is that a healthy probiotic environment helps to uptake minerals, and many of those minerals are vital to skin and coat health - zinc and copper are biggies, for instance.  You can dump as much elemental minerals in the front end as you want, but if their guts aren't set up to absorb what is needed, you won't see the results.  

Instead of using a one-size-fits all supplement, simply using a super-high-quality probiotic product, will help your dog utilize what's in the good food you are already feeding, which already has more than enough nutrients for superior health.

Adding things like tripe and eggs as toppers are not only terrific ideas, but their effectiveness is time honored and tested.  Show people have been using fresh food to put the pop and sparkle in their dogs since showing became a past time.  Don't use the shell in the egg though, more than once a week if your dog likes to play with them (some of mine do). 

Too much calcium in your dog's diet will interfere with the uptake of zinc (learned this one the hard way during my "balance over time" prey model feeding phase :-/).  A shell here and there doesn't hurt but again it illustrates the point that if you want your dogs to have that look and truly be in optimum health it's best to stick with the old stand bys - good food, exercise, excellent grooming. 

Good luck on your shows! Knock 'em dead!

Well, Willow went bald from the Prednisone and her vet put her on Welactin and her coat grew back really nice, she's even bluer than she was originally.