Shiny Coat, What A Dream.

[OZ Grooming World]

He is a coated breed that blows coat - how old is he? Dogs will change coat roughly once a year; Bitches twice a year. And if you think his coat is dry then he NEEDS conditioning, and more than a very quick one. A leave in conditioner would be helpful and help protect his coat from sun damage. If you dont condition you will get a fluffy coat rather than the shiny hair you want.

My Kees dont eat anything special - Coprice Family dry and thats all except for the odd raw meaty bone. They are bathed in Wool Wash & #1 All Systems Whitening & Brightening Shampoo, then a Bluo rinse put through. They are not conditioned from either inside or out, and I have nice shiny coats. I think you can feed all you want, and use all the product in the world, some dogs just dont have a shiny coat.

Do you mean leave conditioner bit longer then rinse off?

my girls do not have conditioner at all, and have exactly same food of he has, but their coat are much much better than his.

He is 2 and 9 month old now. before he reachs 1, his coat was nice; I do not know why, not sure where is wrong.

[Cala]

I would also be cutting out the beef mince, more chicken, and a good quality dry food. I don't use suppliments, but I do feed fish....... sardines mainly.

Shampoo I use a good quality one, my girl is allergic to Aloveen. I use Laser Lites and Champion tails for the whites. Also a conditioner that I spray on as I am drying the coat. Mason Pearson brushes are great!

[Miranda]

tony I don't have a double coated breed, but I do have long coats and I've found that Aloveen shampoo doesn't work particularly well on my dogs and that their conditioner is virtually useless. I think Aloveen is a good shampoo but in my experience it is better suited to short coated breeds. I'm sure that Pet Barn have very efficient sales assistants, but I wouldn't rely on advice from a pet shop employee as to what sort of shampoo to use on my dog. If you wish to show your best source of information will be your breeder as the grooming and presentation of show dogs is sometimes quite specialised and he/she should be able to advise on the most suitable products and the best way to prepare and maintain your dog's coat.

I bath my dogs fairly regularly using Laser Lites Lanolin shampoo (I have a hydrobath) and use Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil as a leave in conditioner, I dilute it at the ratio of one tablespoon (which I think is 20 mls) to 4 litres of warm water. This does leave the coats a little oily immediately after bathing, but within 24/48 hours the oil is absorbed into the hair and the oiliness disappears. I swear my this stuff, I think it's brilliant, one of the best products on the market and it keeps my dogs' coats in superb condition. Of course this is purely a maintenance regime, I can't advise on what to use on your BC prior to a show which is why I suggested that you contact your breeder.

Excessive sun exposure, regular swimming in sea water and using hot air whilst blow drying will also damage coats.

As for diet I'd be adding more meat and bones (chicken wings/frames,beef brisket), some cooked liver a couple of times a week, the occasional raw egg and some fish oil capsules, one 1000mg capsule per 10kg.

[~*Shell*~]

Do you mean leave conditioner bit longer then rinse off?

my girls do not have conditioner at all, and have exactly same food of he has, but their coat are much much better than his.

He is 2 and 9 month old now. before he reachs 1, his coat was nice; I do not know why, not sure where is wrong.

Some dogs do well on terrible diets - things that would make my dog look like hell. That's probably why your boy doesn't have the same look to his coat. Not because they're on a terrible diet, but because what's best for one dog, isn't necessarily best for another.

You can buy a leave in conditioner (spray on, brush through, don't wash out) which was what Rysup was talking about. I haven't had any experience with leave-ins but I've seen Rysup's dogs and they have fantastic coats.

Edited April 29, 2009 by ~*Shell*~

[Odin-Genie]

I wash my dogs every two weeks since they are inside dogs. Their coats are quite nice and shiny (I get loads of compliments about their coats). I use organic shampoos (can't remember the brand) with aloveen leave in conditioner. After drying, I spray a bit of Plush Puppy deodorant.

The leave in conditioner is meant to be massaged in after rinsing and towel drying the dog.

[bobchic]

A raw egg or two a week can help... (at least my parents dogs and my old dog benefited from that)

Maybe give a huge hair cut and try maintain what grows back?? (no bases to this suggestion btw)

[poochmad]

The water we have in our town is very drying. All of us in our family, including the dog need to moisturise to stop dry skin developing.

For Henschke we use a 'show' shampoo which we were recommended to help with his 'sheen'. We also use a 'leave in conditioner' that is sprayed onto his coat while still wet.

However, we also use Omega 3,6 and 9 oil which you can get at specialty dog stores. If we only used the shampoo/conditioner, his coat woudl not be as nice. (Not sure if they have it at Pet Barn.) Attached is a photo of Henschke showing his lovely shiny coat.

My suggestion to you would be to talk to your breeder about the product/s they use and then go to a dog show next time there is one near you and purchase the products from there. They can provide you with them on the spot and then you know what works for your dog and can then purchase online.

Edited April 29, 2009 by poochmad

[grabonsam]

My BC boy has a fantastic thick, long, shiny coat. He eats sardines in OLIVE oil twice a week, not any of the other varieties. He is bathed in either plush puppy natural body building shampoo or aloveen. He usually gets a light rub down with the aloveen leave in conditioner. Swell so fresh once he's dry. Not sure if it's his diet/cleaning regime or if he's just incredibly lucky. Like odin-genie above I get heaps of compliments about his coat and other BC humans in the park asking how I get his coat to look like it does.

Good luck

[Bonzawani]

Almost all the members at the Am. Cocker Spaniel forum I belong use Coat Handler Leave-in Conditioner.

It dilutes 15:1. They swear by it!

I will be ordering/trying it myself in the near future.

//www.senproco.com/coathandler/index.html

I dunno if shipping charges may deter you from ordering it from the US though.

Bonz

[OZ Grooming World]

Thanks for all your help, will write down all your suggestions, and try to get these great products for my boy.

[sas]

I use on my dogs and even myself from time to time Eqyss Mega-Tek Rebuilder: http://www.eqyss.com/pet_mega_tek.asp

Bit pricey though, but you don't need to use much, it does go a long way.

It's available from http://www.petsonthepark.com.au but I think you have to e-mail them about it.

[Shelby]

Full bathing every two weeks will dry out the coat. If you are planning on showing him, you need to read your standard to see what it says about coat texture. Not all long haired breeds are described the same. Between bath times when you are brushing him, are you misting the coat with water? This helps to stop the coat from breaking.

[espinay2]

If you have dead coat, nothing you will do will 'fix' that part of the coat - after all it is dead. What you need to do is "replace" that coat with new good coat. This may or may not take time (Can't say without seeing the dog). Here are my suggestions:

Work on getting rid of dead coat - Can you strip it out? If you are going to show him DON'T cut it off.

Work on improving damaged coat that can be saved - I am a fan of plush puppy products and they have some good conditioning treatment products. A good conditioning treatment will be useful. I too love the seabreeze oil as a final rinse - I use this stuff all the time and couldn't do without it. Think of using a sunscreen too if red tinge is a problem on his black coat. I agree with shelby - never brush a dry coat. Always mist the coat with a (non-silicone) coat spray or a little leave-in conditioner in some water (or even just plain water if you don't have anything else) first.

Work on growing new healthy coat to replace the damaged one - To do this you work from the inside out with a healthy diet. Lots of tips given on what to add. IMO your biggest help in this regard is omega 3 essential fatty acids. I find the simplest is ordinary fish oil capsules from the chemist (I buy from a discount chemist for about $20 for 44 capsules). 5 or 6 capsules a day would be what I would give to a dog like this. My dogs eat them like treats.

Edited May 6, 2009 by espinay2

[OZ Grooming World]

..........Between bath times when you are brushing him, are you misting the coat with water? This helps to stop the coat from breaking.

oh, I just brush him with buttercomb, ok I will mist the coat next time when I brush him, thank you!