excessive shedding

[Chantal]

hi! my husband and i are about to adopt my brother-in-laws female. she's about 14 years old. i have two females myself (ages 2 & 3) they all get along great. anyway, the older girl, Nina, has excessive shedding- all year long. nothing like my two have. i brushed her and bathed her the other day, and i swear enough hair came off of her to make a whole new dog with!! her skin is also very dry. she is getting iams food now, but i will switch her to nutro - which my two get . anything i can put on her food to help with this? i saw something in one of those catalogs called vita-coat. anyone ever use it? any suggestions would be very helpful. thanks!

[AngelBunny]

Chantal:

I'm sure if you put her on a premium food, the problems you're seeing with her coat will end. Most of the dogs we foster have miserable, awful coats due to Lord knows what they were fed. A couple of weeks on a premium food brings miraculous improvements. And this occurs w/o giving the dogs much more than a premium food, a frozen raw beef marrow bone from time to time, and fruits & veggies.

[mmgy]

At her age, consider a blood test for thyroid disease. It can cause all kinds of skin issues, and is easily regulated by inexpensive medication. If she doesn't have hypothyroidism, fish oil caps would help, plus they're good for older dogs anyway. Between that and a better food, she'll look great in no time!

M2

[KellyWrae]

I would suggest a brisk brushing everyday to stimulate blood flow and oil production in the skin. Coupled with the previous posters' suggestion of a premium food, it will work wonders on a falling coat and help build a relationship with a new addition to the family.

Kelly

[The Barleys]

I hear you with the shedding. My 11 1/2 y/o male is a major shedder. I brush him (with an undercoat rake - works GREAT) every other day. He gets Back to Basics food, along with Vita Coat Plus from Drs. Foster & Smith and vitamins. His skin is fine and his coat is shiny, but thick and doesn't stop shedding.

I feel for ya ;)

[sable375]

I feed my 2 Nutro as well. When they came to me there coats were ok. One was shinier than the other and I give 2 tablespoons yogurt in the am and 1 tablespoon olive oil at night. The yogurt is for the belly and the olive oil is for the coat and skin. Just plain old regular olive oil. Works great! In 2 weeks the one that was not so shiny is shiny and the ok shiny one is very shiny. :) HTH

[Rott-Wiley]

The B Complex of vitamins can cause heavy shedding in a dog too. Some of the natural sources of B Complex can be found in; liver, milk, eggs, brewer's yeast, kelp and other sources.

[jessaroo]

Sable375 - tell me more about the yogurt remedy. My 13 yr. old female makes terrible gassy sounds from her belly, most often after eating. She eats Iams to which I add boiled chicken. She's had this problem for sometime. I asked the vet about it and she said to give her Digel or buttermilk a couple of times a week. I opted for the buttermilk which she LOVES but it hasn't helped. Would the yogurt help in this case, do you think?
As for shedding, she's always been a MAJOR shedder but has always had the best coat, if that makes any sense! It's always been shiny and she's never had a hot spot or any skin problems at all. Go figure!

[Rott-Wiley]

I get the 2 oz. containers of flavored yogurt and my dog loves it. Good quality yogurts contain lactobacillus acidophilus which is a beneficial bacterium produced by the intestinal tract of a dog. It also contains a weak antibiotic substance called colicine. Yogurt can help prevent bad breath and aids the digestion of B complex vitamins, some amino acids, fat and milk. It also offers protection against contaminated food or water.

[jessaroo]

Thanks! I'll give it a try. She loves buttermilk and cottage cheese so yogurt should be OK with her.

[Maddiesgirl]

Chantal,

Mine is shedding like the world is ending right now, but we brush everyday because I think it makes both of us relaxed and happier.

I actually just wanted to congratulate you on adopting a senior (what a great age, speaks well for her life thus far) girl. Good for you!:) :D :D :)

Heather

[sable375]

sorry I got here a little late in the game! Thanks Rott-Weily for answering for me. :) My dogs LOVE to eat the yogurt. If I would let them, they would eat it straight out of the container. I do not buy flavored yogurt though, just a preference. I buy the big container of unflavored yogurt. Cheaper and lasts longer b/c it's bigger. I give 1 heaping tablespoon mixed in with thier kibble.

[jessaroo]

I'll try the unflavored next. I gave her a little bit of pineapple yogurt that I was eating, just to test her reaction, and she didn't like it at all!