Hi, has anyone got any remedies for a very dry coat? I've tried most things, so desperate now!

I know nothing about Husky but for coats in general I would say fish oil (not  CLO) and feeding Burns dog food gives a shiny coat . :-D I used to 'polish' cocker coats with a piece of pure silk cloth..wrap it to make a pad and stroke the coat!

Have you tried using a condishioner after shampooing???

Hi thanks for replies, yes used every conditioner going, including expensive human ones, hot oil etc. Have just bought a bottle of the new norwegian fish oil stuff as advertised in the dog papers, so will see how that goes. Had real trouble getting it though, they're not very organised. Someone suggested giving him milk?

A good coat, like human hair, comes from the inside out, as fur and hair is actually technically "dead" once it has erupted through the follicle.

The best way to ensure a good coat is by providing an excellent diet which would mean one that optimises the health of your dog and contains few, preferably no, preservatives, additives, colourings, humectants, emulsifiers, salts, sugars etc which can compromise health.

Plenty of complete animal protein, Omega 3s from Fish Body Oils available from all shops everywhere with a high EPA/DHA content, around 1000mg per day or more to begin with (and a great deal less expensive than the one currently being advertised by a TV vet!)  Add to this Vitamin E  d-alpha-tocopherol at 400 iu per day (plus i think in huskies zinc deficiency can be a problem) and stand back and wait for 8 weeks :D

ps forgot to say milk is not a natural food for any animal post weaning and can cause problems in some dogs if they are lactase deficient and cannot metabolise the lactose or intolerant o/allergic to casein the milk protein, which can produce gas and wind............ at best diarrhoea at worst

You can also try evening primrose oil,but the first thing to try would be the fish oil,i use a product named omega plus oil which contains:sunflower oil,safflower oil,flaxseed oil,cod liver oil,evening primrose oil,wheatgerm oil and vitamin E.

christine

How often do you bath.Certain coat types shouldn't be bathed too often and so over washing could dry the texture
Archer

HI,I feed my little one a can of sardines alongside her food every couple of days, everyone comments upon her glossy coat, and she woofs them down.  Usually buy them from one of the cheap supermarkets by the case, work out about 19p per can.
She

Thanks again for all the replies, very helpful all, esp.tohme. Will get some fish oils and vit e. Also sardines, he usually gets a can once a week, but will up it. Thanks for tip about cheap supermarkets, usually get from tescos, about 38p a tin. Now can I ask can he have too much of a good thing? If I give him sardines and fish oil etc. every day, will it be detrimental?

Archer, yes I know about bathing, unfortunately I have to bath him for most shows, probably once a fortnight, he has the type of coat that looks filthy otherwise, don't know how to get round this. Its actually only hair along his spine and croup that is dry, rest is fine!

Usually get them from either a netto or a aldi, wasn't sure if we were allowed to mention their names but since you mentioned tesco :D

I get my sardines from Netto's too, much cheaper than Tesco's!!  The dogs love them.  It's amazing how when at Netto's I have a full trolley of sardines, chickens, meat etc. and about 90% of it is for my dogs and the rest for me :d

Ditto, same here.  Do you have an Aldi near, they are quite good for dog food also, some of their tinned varieties have pasta added, my little one loves it.  Also get that really cheap stuff in a roll, it looks disgusting, smells disgusting but great for stuffing a kong toy.
She

Husky, what  shampoo are you bathing him in? I know human shampoo is used by lots of people but I understand you should not really use it on dogs cos the ph balance is wrong (where is Tohme are resident biologist..I am sure she can add to this??:-D ) I use T Tree Oil Dog shampoo..its very good :-)

Hi, always bath him in dog shampoo, tried most of them! Just got some ring 5 to try, as that was recommended. Noticed his coat is much softer when he's been out in the rain. We have very hard water here which I think makes it worse when I bath him. May have to start collecting rain water!

Hope you are not going to pray for a really wet summer! :D

Dont know if this is at all practical for a husky, but when one of our Yankees needs extra conditioning we give them a hot oil treatment.  VO5 or any of the commercial hot oils (probably need a few tubes for your dog!) and then pop the dog into a bin bag, and apply gentle heat with hairdryer for about 10 mins.  Then wash  and condition.  You can give a super conditioning treament using this method after applying conditioner, before final rinsing.

And re: the post which said dont use dog shampoos - this is a fallacy, probably put out by the manufacturers to back up the doggy shampoo product claims!  The PH levels difference between dog and human is minimal.  Main difference between the two types is that a lot of the pet market (as opposed to the professional ranges) have a much higher detergent content, not kinder to doggy sknins/hair at all!  And, interestingly, quite a lot of the professional type ranges are simply re-labeled or re-packaged from the hairdresser wholesale outlets.  This is a topic which comes up frequently from new groomers on my professional groomers list.  A lot of us have had shampoos etc analysed, and the USA groomer exam actually has a section of shampoo contents!  So, if a shampoo suits you dog, it realy does not matter whether it is labeled pet or human.  But take care with the stuff you buy in pet shops, some of it (the cheaper brands) are a bit like washing you dog in Washing Up liquid.

bye
Gwen