Puppy Lacking Omega 6 ?

[SHEPPO]

Hello all,

Our 12 week Staffy was taken to the vet today for his vaccinations. We asked about the, what looks like, dandruff all over his coat. The vet said he is lacking Omega 6??

We feed him wheetbix & puppy milk for breakfast. And lunch & dinner are usually diced up red meat, or pet mince from the butchers (fresh) with carbos (rice, paster, noodles, etc). He also gets chicken necks, chicken frames, etc.

This is a diet alot of our friends and my family feed their dogs (including one staffy), and never had any problems like this before.

Is it really the diet causing dandruff, or is the vet only saying this to get us onto their recomended dry food (science diet)??

Is there a way of treating dandruff in dogs, like a different shampoo, etc?

Any un-biased assistance would be much appreciated.

Dave.

[The Mack]

i always chuck a raw egg on top of their dinner.. ive heard that does good for their coat.

or you can try head and sholders.. works for me (my head)

[poodlefan]

I doubt your vet is motivated purely by profit.. however I don't doubt that he or she thinks that Hills Science Diet will solve the problem.

If you arent' going to feed a premium kibble, you will need to make some adjustments to your dog's diet. The carbs and Wheatbix are just fillers with no real nutritional value to a dog. I'd either research raw/home cooked meals a bit more carefully or add the best quality kibble you can afford to his diet.

Fish oil capsules are also a fabulous source of Omega oils. Staffies can have sensitive skins so doing a bit of homework should see you with a glowing pet in about 6 weeks.

[KitKat]

What Poodlefan said

It may also be worth scrolling through a few threads in this forum as this topic comes up a fair bit and you can, at your own leisure, check out what has been saked and answered before - well worth a flick thru The health/nutrition forum is also worth a flick thru if you find the time

[First Time Puppy Owner]

What PF said and perhaps substitute the pet mince meals with tuna or sardines! Homebrand in either olive oil or springwater will be fine!

Edited August 29, 2007 by First Time Puppy Owner

[Eileen]

Our (staffy) breeder also recommends adding a dash of safflower oil. When we brought our pup home she got dry skin and this fixed it straightaway.

[BlitznBear]

Our 14 week old staffy had dandruff really bad when we picked him up from the RSPCA, I washed him as soon as we got home as he reeked of pee n stuff, and he was really flakey, started giving him fish oil tablets, 1 in with breaky and dinner, now it was like "BAM" and its gone.

Give it a try, his coat is beautiful..

[SHEPPO]

we give him a raw egg every couple days for his coat, along with a table spoon of oil mixed in on other nights, again for his coat. all our other dogs in the past have thrived with this.

i'll give the matter some research, i like the idea of the fish oil tablets, feeding him fish, etc. we'll see how it goes.

thanks

[Eileen]

Just had a thought, if you don't rinse out – and I mean really rinse out – the dog shampoo after washing, it looks like dandruff when the puppy is dry.

[Poodle wrangler]

I'd give the Hills a miss. Has a lot of corn in it and doesn't offer good value, especially at vet clinic prices. If you want to feed dry food, you'd do better elsewhere. Suggest a budget, and we can comment. No point suggesting Eagle Pack etc. if you don't want to pay about $80/ 15kg bag.

Ideally, I'd feed my dogs an all-raw diet, but kibble (dry food) is very convenient, so I do about 50:50.

Skin problems very common in staffies. I second the shampoo comment. Also do you use a brush? Slickers are good for massaging the skin and getting rid of excess fur, too. If you get one, just make sure it's "EXTRA GENTLE" or your dog will hate you. Doggyman and Lawrence Tendercare are very good brands. If in doubt, use it on your arm first- should NOT hurt.

[trifecta]

Chicken is full of omega 6. Feed carcases, wings or necks as a main constituent of the diet & supplement a can of sardines twice a week to balance omega 3.

Alternatively there is a product called Megaderm which can be added to the food. It is for dogs with dry, flaky, itchy skin; but I would be making chicken the main constituent of the diet.

[Gayle.]

My Aussie had a patch of dandruff on his rump for a while. I started adding some tinned sardines to his diet (which is mostly raw, veges, eggs, cheese, oatmeal and Eagle Pack large puppy kibble) and within a few weeks, the dandruff was gone and his adult coat is now coming through very soft, silky and glossy.

[SHEPPO]

Mack gets lots of raw chicken. chicken necks and/or chicken frames. I'd say he'd average 1-2 necks or a 1/2 frame daily, as we give him somthing when we leave to go out. also when i cook chicken for dinner (for our meal) i give him the off cuts.

We'll try the sardines and up his chicken in his diet.

I really want to avoid giving him dry food day in day out, for some reason i feel he should be eating raw meat and things with bones as he is a dog. i may be a bit misguided, and yes top shelf kibble is perfectly balanced, but the poor little man cant eat the stuff day in day out, its boring, hahahahaha.

[poodlefan]

SHEPPO I don't feed kibble at all.. but I do feed a balanced BARF diet. If that's the way you'd prefer to go, you can feed him 50% raw meaty bones (he really should get the bulk of his meat on the bone) and a home made BARF mix. I can provide a recipe if required.

To ensure the diet is balanced, I do feed a nutritional supplement also.

[SHEPPO]

Poodle Fan you have a PM.

My OH has decided to try what the Vet has suggested, if only to humour her. So we're going with the Science Diet kibble as recomended by the vet, and will see what happens. I'm against it but i dont mind being proven wrong if it means our pup is fit and healthy.

We'll still be giving him chicken necks and frames to chew on whilst we go out for the day, but kibble it is