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Thread: Dry, dull fur

  1. #1
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    Dry, dull fur

    I've been struggling with Maverick's coat. It is dull and coarse. He actually looks like he's right in the middle of shedding. Both dogs are on the same food. Both get fish oil and vitamin e. Both get the same probiotic. Both get a B complex vitamin. Mav gets vitamin c. Bear's coat is dark, shiny, and smooth. Maverick's is just gross. This started last spring and I was waiting for him to get done shedding. I explained it away as the gross dead shedding hair, as switching food, as allergies, but there is nothing left to blame it on.

    I have started rubbing coconut oil into his fur and I've really been going to town with the zoom groom to get some of the dear hair out. Was I too lax with his grooming? Or could it be a thyroid issue? Thoughts or advice please!


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    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    Assuming he checks out okay with the vet, some other ideas --

    Was he neutered? Sometimes coat texture/quality can change after spay/neuter.

    Are you running the heat more? You might add some moisture from a humidifier.

    What's the fat content in the food they're eating? I like higher fat foods like 30/20 or similar for Labs.

    Make sure to not just run a curry combo (like a zoom groom) over him, but to use an undercoat rake (not a furminator, that's damaging) to pull out that dull, dead, often orangey fur on chocolates. That will help.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    Let me try to answer everything

    No, he is not neutered.

    We are running the heat more. We live in Wisconsin. Humidity usually isn't a problem as we have numerous open top fish tanks, however it is worth checking the humidity level in our home.

    The fat content is 16%. I had wondered about that too, because I've been having trouble keeping weight on him.

    I don't think I've ever used a rake on him. I guess I should have been? I'll locate one and give that a try.


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  5. #4
    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meeps83 View Post
    Let me try to answer everything

    No, he is not neutered.

    We are running the heat more. We live in Wisconsin. Humidity usually isn't a problem as we have numerous open top fish tanks, however it is worth checking the humidity level in our home.

    The fat content is 16%. I had wondered about that too, because I've been having trouble keeping weight on him.

    I don't think I've ever used a rake on him. I guess I should have been? I'll locate one and give that a try.


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    I like the zoom groom for maintenance brushing and use it on my guys several times a week just to get off some of the fly away hair and dust they collect from running around the yard, but I find that with these nice thick coats you've got to get up underneath the topcoat to help the coat renewal process.

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  7. #5
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I think you know my recent bout with roundworms and that's a symptom of them. I mean Oban's bout, and he did not have that symptom, but still ....

    Yes, I really like the rake. Some shedding is starting here.
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  9. #6
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    Hmm didn't know about the fur. I haven't done a decal on him in a few months, but I have with Bear since he's a poop eater. His stool was negative so I assumed Mavs would be too. Worth a check.


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  10. #7
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    You have to get all the dead coat out, especially if he carries a heavy coat, so it doesn't mat. A warm bath (just hot/warm water unless it's time for a shampoo, shampoo is drying) to loosen the hair follicles, and a high speed blowout a couple of times when he starts shedding, will get all the dead fur out. Then a nice new coat can grow in, and the skin underneath will be healthy. One of my girls get itchy when the new coat starts growing in, so I massage an equine coat conditioner into her coat a few times and it helps.

    This is my favorite undercoat rake, it works really nicely without breaking the guard hairs.

    https://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Compan...undercoat+rake

    Edited to add, the rake above has two rows of teeth, and to be honest I haven't ever used that one. I use this one

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AQPKW..._t2_B0006349TY

    I would drop off a fecal sample (like Snowshoe said) from both dogs just to be sure you don't have any parasites going on with either of them. I also like a higher fat food (30/20 like Daos said) for Labradors, they need it for their coat to maintain that oily, waterproof consistency, unlike most other dog breeds.

    Since this has been going on for more than one shedding season, you may want to run a thyroid panel just to be sure it's not that.

    Remind me how old Maverick is?
    Last edited by Shelley; 02-08-2017 at 09:58 AM.

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  12. #8
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    He will be 3 in April. I wanted a higher fat food however.... He is on a grain free diet due to A TON of yeast issues. Then he ended up with a chicken sensitivity. We went with a food that had no chicken or chicken products, which ended up being fish based and as such, a lower fat. Do you know of a completely chicken free food that's also grain free with a higher fat content we could try?

    And I'll drop a stool off at the vet to see how that turns out.


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    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    Maybe try supplementing with a whole oily fish a couple times a week. I give my guys the Brisling Sardines in spring water. Good pricing from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000E...ID=51TQsB5VG1L

    I look for no-salt added.

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    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    A thought about the coconut oil. It may be collecting dust/whatever and make the coat appear dull. The problem may be skin and not coat so the coconut oil may not be getting to the "root" of the problem.
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