A perfect coat for our pets
In my profession, I often notice that the animals in poor health that visit us have a dull, sparse, dry or fluffy coat. On the other hand, the healthy animals I see have a perfect coat! Many factors can explain the loss of vitality of a coat: a lack of maintenance, a disease (parasitic, skin, or metabolic) and/or a bad diet. The quality of our pet's coat can therefore reflect its state of health.
Maintenance
Our pet's coat needs to be well cared for in order to give it its full beauty. Combing and brushing are essential to remove dead hair, knots, dandruff, everyday dirt and sometimes certain parasites. A good brushing also allows to eliminate the dead hairs and undercoats throughout the year. In addition, regular brushing activates circulation, allows the skin to breathe, prevents a number of skin diseases and, in the medium term, can also promote hair growth. Depending on the nature of the animal's hair, coat care should be done daily or weekly.
To groom your pet, use a brush and a comb specifically adapted to the type of hair of your four-legged friend. I also recommend that you get your pet used to grooming from a young age by giving it rewards. This way, he will enjoy being groomed and grooming will always be easier if our pet does not mind.
We can complete the grooming of our four-legged friend with a bath. Cats rarely need a bath or a shampoo, but our dog could benefit from it. We should use a quality soap with a neutral pH, such as oat milk or nettle milk, and not our human shampoo. Bathing should not be too frequent, as it can be irritating. The ideal frequency is a bath every three months at the most for short-haired dogs, every two months for medium-haired dogs and once a month for long-haired dogs. Another great way to make a coat cleaning enjoyable for pets that don't like water; waterless dry shampoo or no-rinse foam that restores softness to the coat while cleaning the skin.
Here are some of my favorite shampoos and coat care products:
Diseases
A dull coat could also mean that our pet is suffering from a general health problem, metabolic disease or a skin condition. Illnesses directly affect their immune system and unbalance our pet's entire metabolism. An external or internal parasitic infestation (lice, fleas, demodex or worms) cannot be ruled out. In severe cases, symptoms such as red patches, dandruff and frequent scratching will be observed. Also, it is recommended to treat our pet against parasites between two and three times a year.
However, if our pet still has a dull coat, scratching and redness after a parasite treatment, he may have a skin or endocrine disease. In a case like this, I advise consulting a veterinarian so that he can identify the disease in question and establish the right treatment to cure our pet.
Balanced diet
The expression "we are what we eat" also applies to our pets. Also, a dull coat in our pet can simply be the result of a poor quality diet, unbalanced with a lack of essential nutrients. It is important to avoid generic or supermarket food brands.
To keep his coat shiny, our pet needs a high quality, digestible and well-balanced food. The ingredients in our premium formulas are carefully selected for their quality and high digestibility. Not only do these kibbles or pates contain good products, but they are better assimilated by our pet's body. Although these foods are more expensive, they are more satiating, so our pet will need a smaller amount to satisfy its hunger and daily nutritional needs.
If a change of food is made, it should be done gradually by mixing the old and new food over a period of five to ten days. The old food should be phased out in favor of the new food. Once the new diet is adopted, the positive effects on the coat will take 4 to 8 weeks to appear.
Food supplements
To solve dull coat problems, some people suggest adding natural ingredients such as calf's liver, lanolin, egg yolk, fumitory, meadowsweet, sarsaparilla, burdock, echinacea, fish oil, brewer's yeast, olive oil, silicon, elderberry, etc., to the food or directly to the coat of our pet.
Personally, I prefer to use patented and tested professional formulas that contain essential fatty acids, Omega 3 and 6 as well as collagen. These supplements can simply be added to either feed or pate and the results on the coat are guaranteed.
My favorites are the following ones from Zanimo:
Conclusion
In order for our pet to be in great shape and have a beautiful coat, it is essential to give him a balanced diet with food supplements. Also, let's not forget to groom him regularly and to have him examined regularly by our veterinarian.
Where to find the products in this article?
Use our store locator. You will find our products at many retailers.
Sources :
- Poils ternes du chien : entretenir et rendre brillants les poils de son chien ?
- Beauté du poil chien : 5 solutions naturelles pour un poil soyeux
