CD'ers i'm setting you a challenge..

I have one very very very bald Bernese who is still loosing his coat.. I need him to have a coat for Richmond, so that is in about 3 weeks time..

He is having F4D salmon mousse in his dinners daily and i'm not noticing any difference.. He's never liked Yumega original on his dinner and previously would walk away from it.

HELP!!!!

My young bitch lost her coat dreadfully - I put her on Fish4Dogs Salmon Oil and Dorwest Malted Kelp tablets.  Her coat is coming back really nicely, thick and shiney - although not particuarly quickly unfortunately.

I'm looking forward to other ideas.....

I have kelp pills for when I was trying to grow my own hair, I wonder if they are in date, if so i'll pop one of those into his gob too ;-)

Give him a really deep down bath and get all the old coat out. A clean and shiny bald dog is better than a dusty looking fluffy one. It will not grow back any quicker so you will have to get the best out of what you have. Once he is bathed for the show get some coat enhancer from plush puppy and rub in his coat prior to blasting it will give what he has got a lift. Give him a really good brush every day and  massage his skin, keep dragging the dead coat out, otherwise he will have a brown coat. Good luck.
See you at Richmond then....His brother had a wonderfull day yesterday ! BIS , and in the rain too...
Aileen

I don't have Ringo's brother(any more :-( ), unless of course you mean Woody, but I doubt that..
I send Ringo's owner an email saying well done :-)

Sorry Sue What a stupid woman I am No offence meant. Aileen xx

Been there....

My bitch won BIS at a club show 4 weeks ago and her coat was hanging on by a thread. Next day..out it came in handfuls!

So for the last 3 weeks Ive got all the old stuff out, bath and massage the skin to remove the dander, and have been brushing her with a good bristle brush in long firm sweeps ( like body brushing a horse) to improve her skin.
I have a big showing weekend this weekend and she looks fair to middlin but I'll bath her tonight, light misting of Biogroom oil...then tommorrow ( day before show) I will rub a mixture of 50% spring water - 50% Bay rum into her coat all over and she will be the best I can do.

Going into the ring she will get a light misting of Biogroom oil to darken up whats she got and hope for the best :-)

I have used a supplement on shih tzu coats that seems to work very well it's called Restore. I think you can get this via internet or from Hub or most other suppliers.

Keeper's Mix is what helps mine more than anything else I've tried.

what is keepers mix and where do you get it ?

It's a mix of Herbs, Dorwest sells it (often at shows) but I actually pick mine up from my vet as they sell it too.
http://www.dorwest.com/Catalogue/Dietary-Supplements/Keepers-Mix

How do you find it benefits your dogs, Marianne? I've seen it in my local pet shop and always wondered about it. Also, it says 3 scoops for a dog over 25kg, but how much is in a scoop? (trying to work out how long a tub would last).

I use it when they moult and it seems to me it makes the process quicker -was recommended it by a puppy buyer and have used it for years now. The scoop is in the tub and it is very small, no idea really what size it is (about same diameter as a 5 p piece I'd say) but a lot smaller than a teaspoon! It does last well. (Does Rue really weigh over 25 kg? All my bitches are below that, the dogs are just over so I use 2 scoops for them all. And a knife edge for the Paps, LOL.)

Its fine, I know you didn't mean any offence, and none taken..:-)

Thanks for the advice everyone, will look at the grooming oils etc shortly, but a bath is what is going to happen tonight with the new bathing mit and see how we get on :-D

Good luck!
A bath is the first place to start, getting all the old stuff out is vital.

I think the jury's out about pills and potions because Im quite sure there is no scientific evidence that any product has yet been invented which actually speeds up hair growth rate.
Well being and skin condition maybe - but growth rate..unproven....as yet. :-)

Well my girl had such a dreadfull moult this time that I really began to wonder if she was ill.
Five  weeks ago the coat started coming back and  two weeks ago she was placed second in a veteran class of twenty she looked fab.
The only thing I did was take all the dead stuff out and give her a very good grooming and a spray of coat conditioner every day for a week or so before the show.

> I use it when they moult and it seems to me it makes the process quicker -
> (Does Rue really weigh over 25 kg?

Thanks, I might try it then, especially as Rue has suddenly developed an exploding coat! (And thanks for the tip about the Furminator, too - very necessary piece of kit for her!). I don't know what she weighs exactly but she's very stocky. Merlin's over 25kg though.

> I think the jury's out about pills and potions because Im quite sure there is no scientific evidence that any product has yet been invented which actually speeds up hair growth rate.

When I used to show/breed rabbits we fed them linseed cake or linseed jelly when they were moulting, and it really did help. Linseed contains essential fatty acid Linoleic acid which is rich in Omega 3 and 6, and deficiency of which I think causes skin issues.

Royal Jelly, fresh if you can get it, if not Groomer's do a liquid supplement.

I would also buy some Quistel and use it as per the instructions.

Ive found beef fat powder works on mine, husky not had a full blow now for over a year since she went on it (just a bit of hair twice a year but nowhere near the extent of the naked dog i used to have! I get mine from holisticpetproducts with is Ireland based.

> Ive found beef fat powder works on mine

zooplus.co.uk carry it also Ox Fat Powder and often have good offers on prices.

my vet has told me to give my dogs propolis from the bees a couple of times a week he said it is good for the immune system and fab for dogs coats ...
The reason he actually gave it to me with echinacea was when I had been in contact with a dog with Kennel Cough to build up thier immunity then said to carry on with the propolis for the coats if I wanted. He also told  I could  take it myself! .

Any visable signs of a coat yet?

very interesting Starryeyes, I have a hive and didn't know that.

Well I have to say, my method worked.

My little bitch came out and beat 320 other exhibits to win the CC and BIS just 4 weeks after dropping most of her coat :-) Not fully in but looked fab....if I do say so myself

fantastic result! well done--note to self, must look up bay rum...

They sell it in Boots - it's an old-fashioned mens' hair preparation, mainly alcohol, about £2.50 a bottle. I used to it on my shorthaired cats when I was showing - it really did make a difference.

Used to use it on the Pom's years ago too!

Can I ask whether this is a permitted substance on the coat...sorry, I have to ask!

At the moment there are no banned substances...but this is sure to change once the Kennel Club gets its act together.

I understood that no products which enhance the coat  were allowed on the dogs going into the show ring, I know many judges seem to ignore this though. 

The simple fact is that coat testing has been suspended - therefore there is no way to prove wrong doing at present.

Lady with Leo's swore by Keeper's mix - she told me about it 10 years ago when I was training at Isfield.  I always used it on my dogs, wonder why I stopped, must get some!

I wish my boy would grow his coat! Seems hes decided he doesnt need one.Hes been on Yumega for 3 months and nadda!
Showing is suspended until appearance of a coat.

If you find out the quick coat growth secret, can you PM me..lol

wishin u gd luck

I'm giving Keepers Mix a try as I have some in. Would like to try the Propolis but worried that it may boost the immune system. Years ago I was told that allergies were caused by an overactive immune system and had my hands slapped for giving Echinacia to an allergic dog.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220437612003?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

is this stuff the bay rum ?

I also have some keepers mix that i am trying :)

> is this stuff the bay rum ?

Um... I'm not sure.... the stuff I used to use was a different colour....
http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Bay-Rum-original-115ml_982433/

> Um... I'm not sure.... the stuff I used to use was a different colour....
> [url=http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Bay-Rum-original-115ml_982433/" rel=nofollow]http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Bay-Rum-original-115ml_982433/[/url]

Thank you, at risk of sounding very daft, which section of boots will i find it in? i looked in the hair part and resorted to asking an assistant who didnt know anything about it but they had bay rum aftershave ?

I found it in the mens section, next to some sort of cheap eau-de-cologne/aftershave. If you look on the Boots link above, they list it under Men > Hair > Damaged.

many thanks :) i'll get myself back to boots.

Just don't let him drink it; it's for external use only!

Glad you reminded me of bay rum today :)
My lad had a big marrowbone yesterday and he's a bit greasy and whiffy, being longhaired it gets into his ruff riound his neck as well as on his front paws. So I've just been down to Boots and got some - it was on the bottom shelf of aftershaves near the Brut - put some on the palms of my hands and worked it into his ruff and smoothed down his front legs. Combed out, and now he's nice & fluffy again and no longer smells like a butcher's block!

> i'll get myself back to boots.

It might be quicker to buy online :)

I went Googling when this stuff was first mentioned and it's a popular fragrance so used for all sorts of things - just make sure you say you want the hair and scalp tonic NOT the aftershave.  Although, in some places I looked, tonic and aftershave seemed to be one and the same thing!

> It might be quicker to buy online :-)

Come to Street! Boots has it in stock :)

Yes thats the bay rum I use ...good ol' Boots best.

Dont forget to mix it half and half with spring water then rub all over the hair and then brush into shape.

She came out and challenged for the RCC again today....... smelling of Bay Rum   :-)

I used it neat Toolz, it does a good job, but I think it works by dissolving any surface oils or grease leaving the hair very fine & soft and shiny - so not suitable for coats that are meant to be harsh or wiry or oily.

Worked well neat for the butcher's grease, but I'd probably put it in a small travel spray bottle and maybe dilute it too, for a finishing spray application.

Well done on the RCC - long ago, my oriental cat won GCCs smelling of the same :)

Too astringent for my lots skin and coat when used neat.....reminds me of the old Anne French toner I used to use on my skin.....sucked it dry of oils. The water added before spritzing just stops it from being too drying yet still gives it a zing!

Nope its still coming out... It looks nice and shiny though what he does have.. Oh well what will be will be

Hmm,I have a double coated breed - lacking th undercoat! was thinking of trying the rum to boost the coat - not sure it would though? any suggestions?

Well it's 2 months on, so how did it go???