Poor coat condition in elderly greyhound...

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My 12 year old greyhound has always been hard to keep weight on (I've had her 7 years now) but over the past few months she has also developed a very odd coat which has tufts of dead hair in it. I'm used to her being like that when she moults twice a year, but this time it doesn't seem to have gone away after her spring moult :(

I have read so many options on things I could feed her to improve her coat, but has anyone got any tried and tested additives/supplements they would recommend please?

I was wondering about Cushings but having googled the symptoms she isn't showing any of the signs of the disease, but I'm happy to have her blood tested if it would help, she means the world to me :)

Incidentally she is on a raw diet, and her coat has previously always been glossy and gorgeous (she is black so anything shows up)
 
My lot have salmon oil and the youngsters feel like silk. I made the never to be repeated error of shaving down big dog one time, so his fur is spiky in parts, silky in others. Weird.
 
Could be anaemia, hormonal issues or stress?

We feed mackerel occasionally - a nicely oily fish, which adds omega 3 to their diet.

Charlie's coat went really poor, with his usually soft hair getting coarser and thinner, but he had a tumour and couldn't eat at all.
 
Dog's coats go through changes, and often as they age. It would be more noticeable, probably, in those dogs with shorter coats. I have a short (relatively) coated sheepdog and this year (he's now 10 yo), his coat seems to have been retained and it 'blows'. It stands up in patches and it's obviously dead coat which hasn't found a way of escape. I've had short coated GSDs do the same thing, and I sometimes wonder if it's the weather conditions-or-ambient temperature in which the dog lives which encourages the growth of new-coat, and before the old slips away.

With the GSDs I found that the best answer was a plastic curry comb and simply brush the dead coat out. With my sheepdog, that won't be an option as he'll bite me, so he'll have to put up with it! I took him for a swim the other day, and he now seems much more comfortable!

Cushings? In horses one sign is the retention of a winter coat and beyond the normally expected release. With dogs? I wouldn't be sure, but I suspect that it's older dogs which tend to be affected by a degree of coat-retention, and again, it's simply that the old coat isn't released at the same speed as the new coat grows. It may be that a brush is the best remedy.

Alec.
 
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My greyhound has regular oily fish and it keeps her coat in good condition. I give it at bedtime so I don't have to sit with her breathing fish breath on me!!!!
 
CrazyMare said:
My greyhound has regular oily fish and it keeps her coat in good condition. I give it at bedtime so I don't have to sit with her breathing fish breath on me!!!!
Click to expand...

I clearly remember an occasion where I thought it would be a good idea to feed oily fish to my 4 hounds - they ate it with huge enthusiasm, then at regularly spaced intervals over the evening they each threw it all up again! It was a nightmare, just as I cleaned up after one the next one would start....

I think a quick trip to the vets might be in order then, just to stop me fussing :D
 
Sash, my old lurcher who is about 15 now, has got this this year. She is broken coated but I groom her every day now (never had to before) and great handfuls come out. She has sardines once a week but is on so many pills to keep her going I assume they aren't doing her metabolism any favours. It is her last summer, she struggled last winter and I am not putting her through another one, so I am not doing any tests to look into it. She seems happy enough lying in the sun and watching the rabbits in the paddock.

ETA - she only has half a tin of sardines as a whole one is too much for her.
 
all good suggestions above.The heat won't be helping either in this hot summer.I'd also suggest an oatmeal shampoo,giving her a really good rub to loosen the dead hairs...then as you dry her,use a fine comb to get through all the coat...finishing with a flea comb to get the last loose hairs away...
I've used flax seed oil with good results ,in the diet,small spoonful twice a week.
Also a hound glove every day will help the skin circulation.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions :) She is going to the vet tomorrow (because I am a sad worrying owner!) but I will also bath her this weekend if it is warm - which she will hate me for lol - and will get some sardines for her :)
 
Hi levrier...I was thinking about your dog this week and had a brain jolt...years ago I had an Australian Sylkie terrier for whom the breeder recommended I give a coat supplement.It was guaranteed to give a shine and luster to a dogs coat..here is a link.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24449

.mirracoat...
It is essentially a powder that you add to the dogs food..contains
Mirra-coat Powder
Ingredients: Soy Flour with Soybean Oil Added, Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Soybean Oil, Silicon Dioxide, Dextrose, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Zinc Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, and preserved with Mixed Tocopherols.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Moisture max 6.5%
Linoleic Acid min 10.0%
Zinc min 495 mg/kg
Vitamin A min 80,000 IU/kg
Vitamin B6 min 65.0 mg/kg
Vitamin E min 340 IU/kg
Biotin* min 1.04 mg/kg

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24449

It is used for a limited period than you have a break...it softens the coat so is not recommended for terriers etc with wire coat.it does work well so worth a try for your girl?
 
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Sardines and sunflower oil has helped my Grey's coat no end.

Hope she's ok OP, they are such special dogs. I hope all goes ok at the vets.
 
I'm so sorry, I haven't been on here for a few days - thank you very much for the link Bellasophia :)

I have to say that in the end I decided not to take her to the vets - she is SO well in herself, skipping around like a youngster, and everything else is absolutely normal, it is just her coat. So I am trying sardines and sunflower oil :) She loves them, so fingers crossed.

Just in case I felt disappointed at not going to the vets, Amy greyhound promptly needed a visit the following day and racked up a £250 vets bill for investigations, a dental and suspected myotosis! Fingers crossed she is recovering with painkillers and antibiotics, but I am keeping a very close eye on all of them now :)
 
Oh no! Just seen this Levrier. Hope Amy well soon.
We would be SO rich with no dogs and horses but money can't make us happy..... supposedly!!!!!
 
blummin animals-so good at emptying our purses and filling our hearts.

as an aside I used to feed my oldies and crook dogs micronised linseed on the advice of one of the (very good/down to earth) locum vets we had at work-it was fed for body condition and also coat and joints-cheaper option than most others and I had it anyway for the horse
 
Do you get that from an ordinary feed shop Twiggy? I've heard lots about it but haven't really seen it for sale.

Thanks Chiffy :) I paid out £700+ for vets bills for Amy and Frodo (the horse) this week, bless their little cotton socks :D Amy seems really bright & happy so fingers crossed the antibiotics are doing their stuff :)
 
Hope your girls and Frodo keep well Levrier and give your bank balance a rest!

Twiggy how much linseed did you feed? I use this for the horse but not sure what qty to try for a dog?
 
i ordered it online and sprinkled about a tea spoon full over the less than 10kg dogs food-my lurcher used to her herself out of the horses feed bowl so had a lot more-I was you should introduce it slowly the same as anything oil based and if they were getting too much their stools would start to become loose
 
I just checked back to see if there was any update OP, glad your oldie is doing well.

And wishing Amy a speedy recovery poor sausage, what would we do without our Greys!
 
Thanks KVH :) Amy seems to be doing well, fingers crossed - I'm going to stop her Metacam tonight (obviously continue & complete her course of antibiotics) and see what happens....

Islay is loving her sardines, the others are very jealous :D
 
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