need some doggy help

[Guest guest]

You could try giving your dandruff pup an oatmeal bath or he could have a phosphorus deficiency.

Try some cod liver oil too. That's good for skin, hair problems & arthritis in dogs too.

sluggy

 

 

 

-

Leslie

RealSimple

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:47 AM

[RealSimple] need some doggy help

 

 

Hi, hoping for some assistance here.My black lab puppy has dandruff. I switched his shampoo, which helpeda lot, but he still has itchy dry skin.Our old dog (lab/golden mix) is a semi-retired service dog who will be15 next month. He has a severe shedding problem and his coat has beenlooking dull.Upon one suggestion and this has improved both dogs coats in terms ofshine, I started cooking chicken thighs. I added in a couple carrotsand less than a cup of brown rice. I cook/simmer it up, take thechicken out, remove it from the bone, chop it up and return to themixture. It becomes kind of a soupy mash of which they get about 1/2 aday. They love it and it's improved the shininess of their coats. Just not the dandruff or shedding. I'm open to ideas. I did look at a raw foods diet, but hubby felt thathis service dog was too old to start on that. The other issue is thatthe prep would all fall to me and for consistency, if I wasn't aroundfor a length of time or we were short on money - it wouldn't happenand that's not fair to the dogs. This at least I can prep ahead of time. Is there something else I can give them that might work on either dog?Any advice on what's worked for others would be great. Their dry foodis Science Diet.Thanks, Lesliein the oh so hot So Cal, but gray sooty skies

[Guest guest]

You could try a LITTLE BIT of vegetable oil in their food also. Start out at 1/8 tsp. and work your way up to about 1 tsp. Or you could always ask your vet.

 

I hope that it helps.

 

Andrea

On 10/24/07, Leslie <leslie wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, hoping for some assistance here.My black lab puppy has dandruff. I switched his shampoo, which helpeda lot, but he still has itchy dry skin.Our old dog (lab/golden mix) is a semi-retired service dog who will be

15 next month. He has a severe shedding problem and his coat has beenlooking dull.Upon one suggestion and this has improved both dogs coats in terms ofshine, I started cooking chicken thighs. I added in a couple carrots

and less than a cup of brown rice. I cook/simmer it up, take thechicken out, remove it from the bone, chop it up and return to themixture. It becomes kind of a soupy mash of which they get about 1/2 aday. They love it and it's improved the shininess of their coats. Just not the dandruff or shedding. I'm open to ideas. I did look at a raw foods diet, but hubby felt thathis service dog was too old to start on that. The other issue is thatthe prep would all fall to me and for consistency, if I wasn't around

for a length of time or we were short on money - it wouldn't happenand that's not fair to the dogs. This at least I can prep ahead of time. Is there something else I can give them that might work on either dog?

Any advice on what's worked for others would be great. Their dry foodis Science Diet.Thanks, Lesliein the oh so hot So Cal, but gray sooty skies

-- Remember to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Free-cycle! Go to www.FreeCycle.org to learn more about Free-Cycle.Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

-Douglas Adams

[Guest guest]

 

I'm open to ideas. I did look at a raw foods diet, but hubby felt that his service dog was too old to start on that. The other issue is that the prep would all fall to me and for consistency, if I wasn't around for a length of time or we were short on money - it wouldn't happen and that's not fair to the dogs. This at least I can prep ahead of time.

 

It is never too late to change the dogs to a better diet. The old dog would benefit even more than a younger, healthier one. And it doesn't have to be 'all or nothing'. They could be fed raw when you are around and canned or better dry when necessary. And there is no preparation involved with feeding raw. You just take a piece of meat from the fridge and hand it to the dog. Easy and fast. No consistency required either. When feeding raw, everything will balance itself over time of a week or two, or three. The notion of consistency and balance was drummed to us by the dog food companies as a selling point. Is there something else I can give them that might work on either dog?

 

If you don't want to go raw, then add fish body oil or salmon oil capsules at the rate of one capsule for 20# of dog's body weight. No vegetable oil is healthy for the dogs (for us neither), they are carnivores and only animal fat is good for them. There is one exception though and it is coconut oil. Dogs would benefit from it too. Whichever you will try, start slowly, one capsule a day for few days, and if everything is OK, you can increase the dose.

 

Barbara

 

Any advice on what's worked for others would be great. Their dry food is Science Diet.Thanks, Lesliein the oh so hot So Cal, but gray sooty skies

[Guest guest]

Leslie, I agree with Barbara - it's not too late to change your dog's diet to a natural one. You may even extend his life. Don't bother cooking the food. Cooking destroys some of the nutrients dogs get from raw food. And don't bother with veggies. Dogs are carnivores. Science Diet may be considered one of the top brands, but the first ingredient is corn which is hard for anyone to digest. Here's a list of the next 11 ingredients: Soybean Mill Run (mill floor sweepings) Chicken By-Product Meal (ground carcasses, organs, beaks and feet) Peanut Hulls (can damage the intestinal tract) Corn Gluten Meal (non-nutritive filler, can cause allergies and sugar imbalance) Soybean Meal (indigestible, can cause bloat) Chicken Liver Flavor Soybean Oil Dried Egg Product (waste product of egg industry) Dicalcium Phosphate (can be toxic) Vitamin E Supplement Iodized Salt (can lead to kidney disfunction)Kari

[Guest guest]

Hubby is a bit of a cynic and tough to

switch. He’s concerned about the raw meat because of potential for

bacterial infection. We get a lot of that around here. I’m lucky to have

gotten him to agree to the cooked chicken. I haven’t found canned that

seem ok and for the most part, cooking myself is less expensive.

 

As to the puppy… he eats his regular

food, plus mud, grass, plants, rocks, stucco, roofing material, plastic, paper,

wood, anything he can grab. And if he gets over excited or anxious, in it all

goes if I don’t grab it on time. Makes for some very stinky output.

 

So what meats would be safe to give them

raw and would it ease the stinky output? He can clear a room.

 

Leslie

 

 

 

 

 

RealSimple [RealSimple ] On Behalf Of Kari Carlisle

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

12:40 PM

RealSimple

Re: [RealSimple] need

some doggy help

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leslie,

 

 

I agree with Barbara - it's not too late to change your dog's diet to a

natural one. You may even extend his life. Don't bother cooking the food.

Cooking destroys some of the nutrients dogs get from raw food. And don't bother

with veggies. Dogs are carnivores. Science Diet may be considered one of the

top brands, but the first ingredient is corn which is hard for anyone to

digest. Here's a list of the next 11 ingredients:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soybean Mill Run (mill floor sweepings)

Chicken By-Product Meal (ground carcasses, organs,

beaks and feet)

Peanut Hulls (can damage the intestinal tract)

Corn Gluten Meal (non-nutritive filler, can caus

e allergies and sugar imbalance)

Soybean Meal (indigestible, can cause bloat)

Chicken Liver Flavor

Soybean Oil

Dried Egg Product (waste product of egg industry)

Dicalcium Phosphate (can be toxic)

Vitamin E Supplement

Iodized Salt (can lead to kidney disfunction)

 

Kari

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.10/1091 - Release 10/24/2007 2:31 PM

 

 

 

Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.10/1091 - Release 10/24/2007 2:31 PM

[Guest guest]

Chicken is a good meat to start with, very easy to digest. A good rule of thumb is 2-3% of his body weight per day. My dogs are 60-65 pounds, and they each get 1/2 a chicken. Either pieces or a whole fryer cut in half. If you can feed outside, it's better. Otherwise, people use a towel or tablecloth and either wipe it or wash it every few days. Try that for a couple of weeks before branching out to other kinds of meat. There's a raw feeding that is fantastic for first-timers. Probably every question you could ask has been asked there. But please feel free to ask me any questions you like. Let me know how it goes. Oh, one more thing - if you're freaking out about the bones, don't worry. As long as they are not cooked, bones are a healthy, safe and essential part of their diet. Cooked bones will splinter, so they must not be fed. Raw bones are good from chicken, lamb, pork, game, etc., but not cows. Cow bones are too hard and

can potentially crack teeth. I hope this isn't overwhelming. Once you understand the basics of a healthy diet, it's so incredibly easy to feed. KariLeslie O'Brien <leslie wrote: Hubby is a bit of a cynic and tough to switch. He’s concerned about the raw meat because of potential for bacterial infection. We get a lot of that around here. I’m lucky to have gotten

him to agree to the cooked chicken. I haven’t found canned that seem ok and for the most part, cooking myself is less expensive. As to the puppy… he eats his regular food, plus mud, grass, plants, rocks, stucco, roofing material, plastic, paper, wood, anything he can grab. And if he gets over excited or anxious, in it all goes if I don’t grab it on time. Makes for some very stinky output. So

what meats would be safe to give them raw and would it ease the stinky output? He can clear a room. Leslie RealSimple [RealSimple ] On Behalf Of Kari CarlisleWednesday, October 24, 2007 12:40 PMRealSimple Subject: Re: [RealSimple] need some doggy help Leslie, I agree with Barbara - it's not too late to change your dog's diet to a

natural one. You may even extend his life. Don't bother cooking the food. Cooking destroys some of the nutrients dogs get from raw food. And don't bother with veggies. Dogs are carnivores. Science Diet may be considered one of the top brands, but the first ingredient is corn which is hard for anyone to digest. Here's a list of the next 11 ingredients: Soybean Mill Run (mill floor sweepings) Chicken By-Product Meal (ground carcasses, organs, beaks and feet) Peanut Hulls (can damage the

intestinal tract) Corn Gluten Meal (non-nutritive filler, can caus e allergies and sugar imbalance) Soybean Meal (indigestible, can cause bloat) Chicken Liver Flavor Soybean Oil Dried Egg Product (waste product of egg industry) Dicalcium Phosphate (can be toxic) Vitamin E Supplement Iodized Salt (can lead to kidney disfunction) Kari Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.10/1091 - Release 10/24/2007 2:31 PM Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.10/1091 - Release 10/24/2007 2:31 PM

[Guest guest]

Hi Leslie,

 

I see you've gotten some good advice already. The only thing I'd add

is to take a look at Shirley's Wellness Cafe for some other ideas on

what to feed your dogs if you don't want to go raw, or what to try

for their coats.

 

You can even just add in some raw chicken thigh if you just want to

supplement your dogs diet. You can always just chop it up, bones and

all, into rough pieces and add it into your dogfood before you feed

them. Dogs are not picky and will eat anything, as you well know,

lol.

 

Your homemade recipe is still better than anything you could buy. You

can also give them a couple pieces of raw pineapple every day to help

with their digestion. I do this for my dogs too. I also add in raw

carrot pulp left over from juicing, and they gobble it up.

 

Let us know how you make out. There's a ton of homemade dog food

recipes out there, you can experiment and see what works best for

you. :-)

 

Cyndi

 

 

RealSimple , " Leslie " <leslie wrote:

>

> Hi, hoping for some assistance here.

>

> My black lab puppy has dandruff. I switched his shampoo, which

helped

> a lot, but he still has itchy dry skin.

>

> Our old dog (lab/golden mix) is a semi-retired service dog who will

be

> 15 next month. He has a severe shedding problem and his coat has

been

> looking dull.

>

> Upon one suggestion and this has improved both dogs coats in terms

of

> shine, I started cooking chicken thighs. I added in a couple carrots

> and less than a cup of brown rice. I cook/simmer it up, take the

> chicken out, remove it from the bone, chop it up and return to the

> mixture. It becomes kind of a soupy mash of which they get about

1/2 a

> day. They love it and it's improved the shininess of their coats.

>

> Just not the dandruff or shedding.

>

> I'm open to ideas. I did look at a raw foods diet, but hubby felt

that

> his service dog was too old to start on that. The other issue is

that

> the prep would all fall to me and for consistency, if I wasn't

around

> for a length of time or we were short on money - it wouldn't happen

> and that's not fair to the dogs. This at least I can prep ahead of

time.

>

> Is there something else I can give them that might work on either

dog?

> Any advice on what's worked for others would be great. Their dry

food

> is Science Diet.

>

> Thanks, Leslie

> in the oh so hot So Cal, but gray sooty skies

>