With the large variety of dog breeds out there, it can be confusing to decide on how to best take care of their coat. Dogs’ coats can range from dense hair to light hair that either sheds or excessively grows. It is easy to think that a dog’s coat is simply different from other dogs. But there may be some factors that you contribute to as an owner, that is causing your dogs coat to not perform to or look its best.
A dog’s skin is its largest organ that has a rapid cell turnover, making it an important factor in a dog’s health. Dogs as such require a balanced, nutritional diet to ensure their coat and hair remain in a healthy state. A diet consisting of highly digestible proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins are essential while maintaining the appropriate number of calories to meet your pets energy needs. A dog’s nutrition plays a significant role in their overall health and more specifically, their skin health.
If your dog experiences stress or an illness, it will be likely that their coat will differ significantly from others within its breed. Stress or illness within dogs have the potential to impact the coats appearance and skin conditions such as environmental allergies which can affect the coats growth. Additional coat problems such as excessive licking and scratching of particular skin spots can cause further irritation to your pets coat.
As dog owners we try and ensure our pets health is our top priority, that is why bathing and grooming your pet should be a daily task. Dogs coats can significantly benefit from regular grooming to help remove loose hairs, dead skin cells and keep the coat free of dirt. Regular brushing of the coat helps to increase the distribution of the natural oils in your pets coat.
The internal health of your dog is as important as their coat health as they work hand in hand. While grooming helps clean and revitalize their coat, internal supplements help add additional oils and nutrients to their skin. Adding oils to their diet such as fatty acids, can help you to add additional supplements to better their coat and skin.