Improving a dog's coat thru diet

what kind of food are you feeding now?

Grain free is always great for a good looking coat. Casey is on Blue Buffalo - which I think has helped a TON with his skin issues (we only have outbreaks during the fall, when the weather changes).

I give fish oil and vit. e as well for the coat/skin.

Depends what food you're using now, and what your dog finds palatable or tolerates or does well on.

This is what I do for Apollo...

For supplements to improve coat, I use 100% salmon oil. For Labs, since they have an oily coat and you want to keep it oily, I only bathe Apollo when he needs it. Other than that he just gets brushed.

I'm not sure what IS bathing needs are.

 I bathe Fynn once a week and Lillie every 2 weeks. I brush them 3 times a day also. Dont know if that helps but I think it does?

I just add 1 egg a day to Lillie and Fynn's food and you all have seen how shiny Lillie's coat is because of it. I feed them TOTW.

My dogs' coats and skin improved when I switched to Evo, chicken large bites.  I also add mackarel and the occasional egg three times a week.  I'm probably going to switch them to Blue Buffalo, Evo is just too expensive.  I hope I don't see their coats decline with the switch to Blue.

Jackie, the Blue Wilderness is mostly grain free, with just some oatmeal.  BUT don't follow the feeding guidelines on the bag.  i've noticed with Blue that no matter what the Kcal's are, the foods pretty much suggest the same amounts.  Thunders coat actually improved on the Wilderness this winter.  I put him on it since he drops so much weight when it's cold.

The very best coats my dogs have had have been with Blue.  I thought they looked great on Innova, but there's been a real improvement on Blue that I didn't think was possible.

Thanks Glenda and others for input on Blue versus Evo.   I don't generally follow the feeding guidelines on dog food bags.  My dogs would look like barrels!  The kcals are pretty close to the Evo I have been feeding.  I going to give the Blue a try and hopefully I will have good results too.  It's hard to justify the Evo prices at this point if I can feed the same amount of Blue with good results.

Well, yeah.  Innova has gotten so pricey I couldn't afford to feed it when we were both still working!  And EVO?  Forget it.

Blue is a nice food, and quite comparable to the Innova ingredient wise.  I like that the list starts with DEBONED meats.  When you figure that chicken is 70% water, then take out the bone weight, there isn't a heck of a lot left.  And then followed immediately by the same meat meal.  I've been really happy with this food.

I am amazed at Josie's coat. It's literally one of the nicest coats i've ever felt on a shorthaired dog. She has been on canidae grain free ALS since she was able to eat, and now i mix that with TOTW pacific stream.

 Orijen, all though spendy has worked wonders on Tootsie and the cat, with their coats. Both the cat and the dog get salmon oil daily too.

Just a small note, I have found that when traveling heavily or switching foods from availability issues the one thing that has really held my dog's coats together wonderfully is adding Biotin... since I am on the road sans dogs at the moment I do not have it with me...so can't tell you the amounts. However I get high shine and lovely soft coats by adding it, I have bought it from the health food stores in capsules which I simply open and sprinkle on top OR my favorite is from the Farmacy a supplement store for animals you can find them on line they are awesome.  IT is mixed with rice hulls ( one of the only ways my pack gets any type of grain but this is primarily added fiber) I sprinkle a teaspoon over the top of food and it is happily scarfed up like a treat...

best of luck with the boy's coat!

Bonita of Bwana

I agree that grain free foods have the best affect. Penny's coat was dry and dandruffy on Nutro. Once we made the switch to EVO, her coat SHINED. Both dogs are now on Orijen and have wonderful sleek coats.