Staffords And Scurf

[shoemonster]

I was just wondering for those of you with short coat dogs, what you do for scurf?

I was just checking out the plush puppy site, looking for a spray on conditioner type thing that could help, as I don't bath them very often and don't want to either but find the swimming pool (they swim once a week) gives them a little dandruff ,mainly only around their necks

I have been lucky and neither of them have many allergies and don't really ever smell much so bathing doesn't need to happen very often for them (unless they find a mud puddle at training!!! lol

Can anyone recommend a spray on type thing? Are human spray on conditioners ok? Or are they too harsh? Maybe watered down

Any ideas? Thanks guys

Edited June 5, 2006 by shoemonster

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Vetadine, an iodine based shampoo for non-specific skin conditions which can be left on the coat. I use it a lot, and when I had my horse used it on him to get rid of the sweat marks caused by the saddle pad, that used to end up sort of "scurfy". It has a mild coat conditioner in it.

I would water it down a little and spray on to the coat, can be bought online at vetproductsdirect or from a saddlery shop.

[shoemonster]

Thanks hesa, that's great!

I will have a look for it

[Staffy-Lover]

I feel left out - i don't know what "scurf" is?????

If it is just dirt and smell etc - aloveen have a leave in conditioner that smells lovely..

but if you are talkign dandriff then don't use it cause it will add to the problem..

[shoemonster]

yeah its dandruff around the neckish area

I looked at the aloveen too, and thought it would be good

How does it add to the problem? Does it make it worse?

[Staffy-Lover]

heheh oh hmmm have to remember "scurf" hahah

aloveen conditioner smells unreal and does give a good shine to the coat but if i use it too often on my staffies or if i use too much it actually has caused a bit of dandruff.. on my black staffy i don't use it at all because it gives him dandruff regardless, i think it might be because of the coconut oil in it??

NOTE - the shampoo is unreal and on dogs with long hair the conditioner is too

So if u are using it to help the dandruff it will probably be no good.

But the people who make aloveen - Dermcare - have a big range of products so maybe you can check out their website - www.dermcare.com.au

Good luck

Edited June 4, 2006 by Staffy-Lover

[shoemonster]

Ah yep that would not be what I want then!!! lol

I was thinking it would be good watered down and sprayed on, but not by the sound of that

I will look at the dermcare too

Thanks

[zayda_asher]

What do you feed them? Are they getting fish oil & Vit E in their diet?

Dan

[shoemonster]

They have completely raw food

2 days raw mince and vegies, 3rd day chicken necks and one day a week of sardines in oil

Does that sound OK? They are shiny as, and always get comments on their coat, it just seems that for a day or two after swimming they get scurf

[zayda_asher]

Is there a variety in the meats they are being fed?

You definitely need the fish oil for omega 3s and the vit E... this will all help them keep coat condition. Most farmed meat has very low levels of omega 3s.

Thier coats should not be drying out that quick after a swim.

Here is a good group to get info on raw diets from, very relaxed and friendly http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BARF-lite/

I also recommend the moderator's book: http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN208

Dan

[zayda_asher]

And how old are the dogs? How many necks do they get in one day? That sounds really light on for bone...

Dan

[shoemonster]

They get 1.5 kg between them on the chicken neck day

I think I joined up that raw site a while ago, I will check it out again

Maybe I only notice it on the day after swimming as it is obedience and they have their chains on?

[shoemonster]

Oh and they are both 10 months

[shoemonster]

With the fish oil, is that just the one you can get at the supermarket?

[zayda_asher]

They get 1.5 kg between them on the chicken neck day

How're their poops the next day? Mine would be really hard if I gave them that much bone in one go... I spread out thier bone through out the week... but if it works for you

I think I joined up that raw site a while ago, I will check it out again

Cool. It is a great site and people are very friendly...

Maybe I only notice it on the day after swimming as it is obedience and they have their chains on?

Quite possibly as the chain would rub the neck....

Oh and they are both 10 months

Ok, so you really want to make sure they are getting a good variety of meat, both red and white and other foods too so they are getting all the stuff they need to keep them healthy whilst they are growing.

With the fish oil, is that just the one you can get at the supermarket?

Yep. I get straight salmon oil which is more expensive than mixed fish oil, but I have a dog that is allergic to a couple of fish (Sardines being one). If they aren't allergic then the blended fish oils are fine... :p

Dan

[shoemonster]

Great thanks for that

It is a different site than the one I thought but I think t ehother one was one that you had said about either here or on bbo (unless I'm getting you confused with the wrong person ) Looks good though

Their poo is lighter than noraml after the necks day but not really hard

Maybe I will spread it out and see if it makes a difference

They have sardines for dinner no probs, so will grab the mixed fish oil

I think maybe the chain does cause the problem, I have ordered yesterday some limited slip collars for training so will be interesting to see if it makes a difference

Do you think they need more bone? I get paranoid with bones, as Eddie ate a marrow bone a few months back, and spent the next day throwing bits of it up, and straining, scared the bejesus out of me

Thanks for your help, sorry I'm asking so many questions!

[zayda_asher]

Great thanks for that

It is a different site than the one I thought but I think t ehother one was one that you had said about either here or on bbo (unless I'm getting you confused with the wrong person ) Looks good though

Nope, that was me... and it was another forum This one is a yahoo group and is very chatty and laid back... no nazis

Their poo is lighter than noraml after the necks day but not really hard

Maybe I will spread it out and see if it makes a difference

Do you think they need more bone? I get paranoid with bones, as Eddie ate a marrow bone a few months back, and spent the next day throwing bits of it up, and straining, scared the bejesus out of me

The actual bone portion of their RMB should be about 10%. Here's how I do mine:

Raw Meaty Bones 35% (I get frames and cut them to 10% size portions and add meat to them and feed daily. Except after training on Sundays when they get a huge frozen chunk of Roo tail to munch on)

Meat 45%

Offal 5%

Veggie 10%

Treats 5%

I work it out on how much each dog needs to eat on a percentage of their body weight.

They probably are getting enough bone given how many you are giving them and how boney chicken necks are... But personally I'd rather give them a bit of bone each day... like I said what works for you...

The Marrow bones are not a good idea... they are big, hard bones and will take a lot to digest and will cause constipation which is what happened with Eddie. Try things like ribs and chicken pieces. If you find they gulp then freezing them can help slow them down. Try not to feed weight baring bones to dogs like staffies cos the buggers will chew them and get themselves constipated, and they are really hard on their teeth!

Sometimes when they're getting used to the bone they will hork a bit... a digestive enzyme and probitotic can help the gut learn to cope and digest the bone.

They have sardines for dinner no probs, so will grab the mixed fish oil

Cool, lucky for you as the blended ones are cheaper!! :p

I think maybe the chain does cause the problem, I have ordered yesterday some limited slip collars for training so will be interesting to see if it makes a difference

Could be... good luck with the limited slips. These are the ones I use: Handcraft collars They're good as they only need a very light correction and the little buggers can't back out of them!

Thanks for your help, sorry I'm asking so many questions!

No problems!! Glad to help

Dan

Edited June 5, 2006 by zayda_asher

[zayda_asher]

oh and try for a variety of meat sources... If they can eat beef and lamb then that's good. My girl can't so mine get: horse, donkey, roo, chicken, pork, goat and sometimes camel. And mackeral and salmon (tinned).

And offal... are they getting some sort of offal?

Dan

[shoemonster]

Wth the frames, you give them chicken frames?

That is a great idea to give them that every day with their meat

They gulp everything in 2 seconds flat! and often bring their necks back up for another go

I give them liver, kidney, tripe every week to 2 weeks, I should mix it up a bit more i think

Maybe part of a frame or some necks (or wings, more bone?) with their meat/veg mix, and a can of sardines or some offal everyday instead of having certain days for things I think

I think it is beef that the meat/veg mix is, I've never actually asked the guy, it's somewhere that the breeder always goes and I just continued with it, that's really bad huh?! I will ring him and ask

Raw feeding is really confusing but what you've told me really makes sense and it really really helpful to me, thankyou so much

[zayda_asher]

Wth the frames, you give them chicken frames?

They gulp everything in 2 seconds flat! and often bring their necks back up for another go

Yep, Whole chicken carcases! We cut them up and freeze them in portions with the meat. I feed all RMB frozen, my guys love it as it gives them something to really chew... If you do this though, watch them and make sure they don't still try to gulp the whole thing if that is what they're used to! Should slow them down though...

That is a great idea to give them that every day with their meat

Mine get meat (including tinned fish), veg glop, liver paste and yoghurt for brekkie and then RMB (the frame with extra meat) for dinner. On training days they get no brekkie before training and a large piece of frozen roo tail when we get home. Then they get their normal brekkie for dinner...

I give them liver, kidney, tripe every week to 2 weeks, I should mix it up a bit more i think

Maybe part of a frame or some necks (or wings, more bone?) with their meat/veg mix, and a can of sardines or some offal everyday instead of having certain days for things I think

I find it easier to give them a blend of everything daily. A lot of dogs don't particularly like raw offal either, so blending it as a paste and mixing it with the other stuff helps that... Also feeding a large amount of offal in one go can give the runs!

And offal should be about 5-10% of the diet too, so once a fortnight might not be enough either...

I think it is beef that the meat/veg mix is, I've never actually asked the guy, it's somewhere that the breeder always goes and I just continued with it, that's really bad huh?! I will ring him and ask

Well we tend to go with what we are told until we start learning more You certainly need to give them more varety in meat if that is all they are getting though... they wont be getting all the vits, minerals and other things they need from just beef and chicken!

Oh, I forgot mine get turkey and duck too. Oh and rabbit.

Raw feeding is really confusing but what you've told me really makes sense and it really really helpful to me, thankyou so much

There is so much out there that is confusing and conflicting!! I really recommend Carina's book when people are confused as its very simple and straight forward and you can build on more complicated stuff from the good ground work there as you learn more!

Glad it helped / made sense (not something I always do I think )!

Cheers,

Dan

Edited June 5, 2006 by zayda_asher