The somewhat different article on Haut & hair, as will soon be seen.
Beautiful fur & Skin not only has to do with external care, it also reflects the overall state of health of your four-legged friend. Just as unhealthy food leads to oily skin, stringy hair, etc. in humans, it can also be the case in dogs. You have to pay attention to the quality of the diet, avoid discounter food and the bad habit of dry food financed with huge amounts of advertising money and feed your dog species-appropriate. As he deserves! Or do you eat ready-made pizza every day? If the diet is right, not only problems with skin and hair will be solved, but your overall health will begin to shine.
A little digression
You can assume that cheap food cannot be of good quality. There is absolutely no way that a 99 cent can and a few £50 bags of feed can contain quality feed. But Stiftung Warentest wrote that the food from A or L or P is good. Please forget that quickly! You don’t even know what criteria they use to test dog food. You feed with discounter food? Or a feed from the huge (online) feed stalls? Don’t be angry, but I’m assuming that you have no idea. Your supposed knowledge comes from advertising promises from the feed industry, purchased test reports, fake reviews, questionable recommendation sites from the web, from equally unsuspecting acquaintances and maybe also from the veterinarian. He didn’t even have nutrition on the list during his studies and is now happy about commission payments from the feed industry for every feed recommendation. The great diet food, the grandiose hyperallergenic food, the special food for Chihuahuas and for furry friends with kidney disease.
There are also good and additionally qualified veterinarians, but they are very difficult to find and would never advise you to use such food. Hard stuff? Then please explain to me what poultry protein is, how fresh meat is calculated dry and what percentage of meat must be contained in animal feed for it to be considered animal feed. You do not know? No shame, but please don’t pretend you know what makes a good feed. But I have to be able to rely on someone. Do you really have to? Isn’t your protégé worth it to deal intensively with the topic of nutrition? Oh, you already know all this? Sorry, then of course you don’t have to feel addressed. But then you don’t have to read any further – or maybe you do?
But even with expensive feed, the price is no guarantee for high-quality ingredients. With such companies, the advertising expenses are usually even higher, which is reflected in the feed price, but rarely in the quality. And a wolf on the packaging also costs a lot 🙂 It’s good to read the declaration carefully, but you probably don’t understand it. No shame either, because a lot of dog owners don’t understand them. There is often a system behind it and if you believe that if it says “Fresh Meat” on it, it’s in there, then you have a lot more to learn. However, you should hurry with this, because the health of a family member is at stake. The advice of a certified nutritionist for dogs is also helpful (it stays with the consultant for now, enough gendered). He explains to you the system behind the feed industry and of course what really makes a wholesome and species-appropriate feed. Keep one thing in mind: 90% of all processed foods are not worth calling foods. That’s a fact! But back to the fur…
Because a healthy diet brings beautiful fur
If the feed does not contain any omega-3 fatty acids, you should add fish or krill oil and also vegetable oils such as linseed and hemp oil. When the skin is overloaded, skin irritation or inflammation can occur, which is also accompanied by itching. The performance of the internal detoxification organs is crucial to prevent this from happening in the first place. You can strengthen the kidneys and liver with herbs such as stinging nettle or dandelion, which you mix with the feed when chopped up. Changing the coat is often visibly difficult, especially in older dogs. Here, too, support from high-quality oils can be helpful. But my dog food has dandelions in it. Oh yes? Take a good look. What percentage? Oh, no percentage here? Or maybe 0.002%? In most cases, plants and herbs in ready-to-eat food are only for the good conscience of the owner. And if there are a lot of them, then be careful. But it says fats and oils in the declaration. Oh well then. Somehow the chunks have to fit together, chip fat helps there too (no joke). You really don’t know much yet. But on with the hairy things.
Hairy stuff from our four-legged friends
Fur and skin are the mirror of your dog’s health. It is all the more important that you know your dog’s coat and care for it according to type.
Short hair and nothing underneath – They don’t need a groomer. Their hair is only 1 cm long and they have no undercoat. Every 6 – 8 weeks they replace the old hair with new ones, mostly unnoticed. Every hair has a genetically determined lifespan. You can do something good for your dog with a weekly massage with a rubber brush, which stimulates blood circulation in the skin. It also prevents the short hair from perpetuating itself on cushions or the sofa. At least those who bother about it.
Stick hair – this is what the fur of dogs is called, whose top hair is less than 4 cm long and smooth, and has a dense undercoat. It is renewed twice a year, the top six times. In autumn, the short, fine wool hairs of summer die off and the first winter wool emerges. The fine undercoat hairs must now be brushed out. In late summer once a day, in spring even twice a day.
If the undercoat and top coat are the same length, it is very nice and cuddly. But such a dog sheds all year round. In summer, the dog is therefore quite susceptible to heat. You should always brush your dog as often as possible to keep the so-called double coat airy. Too busy or no time? Probably not paid attention to what kind of dog comes into the family. Your dog, your job.
Then there are dogs like terriers, for example. They have an undercoat covered with rough, longer, often curly or wavy guard hairs. They often get stuck when we’re dead. Therefore they have to be plucked out every 4-6 months, so it takes some work. You can pluck it out by hand or with a trimming knife.
Then there are the poodles, doodles and some other dogs that don’t have an undercoat and their curly top coats don’t shed. So they don’t shed either, which makes them particularly suitable for people who are allergic to dog hair. But wait, you’re allergic to dog hair and got a dog? Did you pay attention primarily to his hair and not to his character? A dog from animal welfare was probably out of the question. Humans, a wondrous and often selfish species. Well then, the hair also needs to be cared for, neatly with scissors or a razor. Otherwise the curls will become matted and continue to grow. It may be that they start to smell musty. No, that’s all way too much for me, I’m going to the dog groomer. Well sure, why not. Thinking beforehand and finding out what to expect helps, however, at least most of the time. But exactly the dog would be my dream dog. Ok, but then your time and work of caring for the coat is part of it. Always, without exception.
Wet dogs smell fur – where does that come from?
Dogs sometimes have a strong smell, especially when they are wet. The coat then has a characteristic mostly very unpleasant smell. Yes and? It’s a dog and not a perfumery! Many dogs smell when they are wet, that’s the way it is. Or rather, they smell harsh to our noses. Do you want to know why that is?
You have to know that a dog is a real microcosm. Thousands of bacteria and yeasts live in dog fur and on the skin. As veterinarian Claudia Nett-Mettler said, almost every wet dog smells bad or rancid 🙂 Due to contact with water, the metabolic products produced by microorganisms are released. This creates the classic “Wetdog” smell. As soon as the dog has dried again, the smell disappears as if by magic. These yeasts and bacteria in the dog’s fur are neither harmful nor pathological, that’s the good thing about it. They produce organic compounds that come to us as foul-smelling odors. When water evaporates in the damp fur, these substances are dissolved and carried into the air. I bet there are readers shaking now. No, something disgusting. A good-smelling shampoo is needed so that the dog always smells nice. You probably don’t know that human shampoo is harmful to dogs? Chemical scents aside, the pH of a dog’s skin is different than ours. Yes, but dog shampoo doesn’t smell at all, so that doesn’t help either. see. The dog smells like dog. Point! Ok, if he has happily gotten bogged down in a lake or river with old, rotten fish at the edge of the bank, that’s an olfactory pain limit for me too. But then please only wash with a good dog shampoo! The remaining muff is already gone. But he always wants to sleep in my bed. I won’t go into that now, that would really go beyond the scope.
But what do I need for grooming?
Nowadays, dog people are inundated with pet store and internet dog grooming offers. 90% of it is complete nonsense. Only a few small things are necessary to ensure a healthy coat. We already had the nutrition, there is only one brush left and that is important for every breed. There are nubbed brushes for dogs with short hair. The longer they are, the more you can achieve when brushing. For all other breeds with curly or longer coats, a wire brush is helpful. The longer the fur, the longer the pins should be. This is important so that you can get close enough to the skin and that fur does not become matted. A good wire brush is not scratchy and is made of a non-rusting material.
A good comb should also not be missing in any dog household. After brushing, this is very effective. Because you should also comb the fur with it to get out small tangles. You have to take this time especially for the so-called Coat breeds, such as Tibetan Terrier, Briard, Bearded Collie. Because you can only remove the undercoat with a comb – otherwise the color of the fur will be paler and the air circulation will be less. This causes the fur to become matted faster. Combs come in many designs, of course: with and without a handle, with or with rotating teeth, etc. The materials are also different: wood, metal or plastic. It is important that you take them in hand to test them before you buy them. There are also black sheep among brushes and combs.
Now I wish you much success and good luck. As always, every word written was for your dog’s health. Have you felt caught here and there, think about what dogs would write if they could. It might be better for some people that they have a hard time with it.
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