Pyo op. fur coat changes - remedies?

[MurphysMinder]

Mikki undercoat or similar all the way. I also use a rubber curry comb and like CC also use my hands . I can vouch for the condition of CCs dogs ,including the lovely Floofy.

 

[skinnydipper]

Hey folks,

I’ve googled a fair bit about this issue, but drawing a large blank from vets schools/dog studies etc. There’s barely any mention of this issue. Wondering if any dog lovers here have come across this and can offer some suggestions?

My female gsdXhusky 10yrs old had a sudden pyometra last year after her normal spring season, which resulted in a full hysterectomy operation.
I specifically asked the vet what was removed, and he confirmed womb/uterus and ovaries.
Since then her fur has drastically changed.
It’s very dry, and lost its silkyness - its really a dramatic change. It mats so easily, like balls of dreadlocks, forming in places it never used to, due to her fur changing texture.
Im sure she’s also growing far more ’insulation, down’ hair beneath the long coat, as she has moulted more times than usual spring moult. Its this under-fur thats also very dry and mats easily.

I know human endocrinology hormone shifts due to menopause suddenly induced via hysterectomy can cause dry hair, skin changes, mood changes etc, and women normally take hrt like estrogen and progesterone so their bodies adjust more slowly.

I cant give hrt to my dog though!
There’s no other noticeable symptoms, shes still as active with me around the farm, her mood is somewhat withdrawn recently as her life-long buddy died at xmas.…but she now plays with the cats, and loves life.

She’s on a great varied diet that contains real cooked various meat/organs and some veg - shes done so well on it over the yrs. Her coat changed from being okay to fabulous when i switched her off grains a number of yrs ago.

But losing her ovaries and thus various important hormones, her fur has quickly, since the operation, really suffered.
I agreed to pyo surgery because it was life-essential as she got suddenly very ill - i didnt compute at the time it would mean removing her hormone ovary glands too….thought it would be womb and uterus, as most websites stated. I didnt think to check with vets prior, and got it confirmed after. Kicking myself now, as they could have left the ovaries, possibly.

Wondering if giving omega’s would help? Anyone know of this post-op effect of hysterectomy in dogs?

I have no experience of spay for pyo, all my bitches underwent routine spay, none of them suffered from poor coats.

I had a double coated dog develop hypothyroidism. His coat became thinner and hair loss on the tail was very noticeable.

I have had several long haired double coated dogs, including a Rough Collie whose undercoat was like cotton wool, and can tell you what worked or didn't for me.

Grooming daily is easier and more pleasant for the dog. I never found using a brush on a dense coat to be effective. I prefer a comb which can get down to the skin. Line grooming works well. Lift the top coat a section at a time and comb the undercoat, the dead coat can be removed simply by combing - no hacking required.

Cold water marine species are the best source of Omega 3 (DHA & EPA). I always gave my dogs salmon oil but now use Now Ultra Omega-3 capsules. The oil is from anchovies and sardines.

Plant sources of omega 3 are not as effective as omega 3 from cold water marine fish. The main omega 3 in flax seed is ALA with insignificant amounts of EPA and DHA. The body can convert ALA but does so inefficiently.

If you are feeding DIY raw, are you including bone for calcium and phosphorous?

I am sorry I can't be of more help, PB. She is a beautiful dog and I hope you can find something to improve her coat.

 

[Bellasophia]

Neither GSDs or Huskys are wire coated breeds.

There is absolutely no need to pull a German Shepherd's hair out by the roots. I also would never clip.

Thank you for reminding me.

You have saved me the trouble of copying the information again from the manufacturer's website which confirms the implement that you are recommending does indeed cut hair.

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/dog-drying-coats.808198/#post-14684279

For the last time,I repeat to you the blades are the teeth of the tool..
this website explains the tool does not cut hair.
Principally it removes undercoat and dead hair.
if you look on the site eg replacement blades..they are talking about the teeth heads ( teeth numbered) for the handle.to allow you to interchange the NON cutting rake heads. Eg 16 blades refers to sixteen teeth..
It isnt rocket science.
For further clarity Ive actually e mailed the suppliers to confirm that there is no blade in the tool,like the furminator,and will be happy to resolve your insistent misconceptions when the reply arrives.
Have a lovely day…
to persist i this argument further amounts to selective bullying and I hope you will desist in saying I’ve made comments that are not in the post.

https://www.nzshowdogs.com/mars-coat-king-fine

 

[skinnydipper]

Wow. So you can say what you want and I can't comment?

 

[skinnydipper]

• German engineered for high quality
• Cuts, strips and combs in one movement
• Reduces repetitive strain injury
• Comes in variety of styles for different breeds

https://christiesdirect.com/mars-coat-king-range.html

 

[Bellasophia]

And yet….On the nz link..
The Mars Coat King is available in various sizes for different kinds of coat. Coarse styles to comb out the undercoat – fine styles for finishing. The special geometry of the blades guarantees a good penetration in to the coat hair and with proper use, you can effectively and neatly remove around 90% of the loose dead hair.

• Strips large areas fast, quickly and easily removing loose hair, especially thick undercoats from cats, dogs and horses, without damaging the topcoat.
• Mars Coat King for easily stripping undercoat and dead hair.
• Replacement blade available
• Tempered high-grade stainless steel blades
• Easy to install replacement blades
• Engineered & manufactured in Germany
• An indispensable item for every groomer.

I will post the reply from mars themselves..can you drop this for now?

 

[PurBee]

I have no experience of spay for pyo, all my bitches underwent routine spay, none of them suffered from poor coats.

I had a double coated dog develop hypothyroidism. His coat became thinner and hair loss on the tail was very noticeable.

I have had several long haired double coated dogs, including a Rough Collie whose undercoat was like cotton wool, and can tell you what worked or didn't for me.

Grooming daily is easier and more pleasant for the dog. I never found using a brush on a dense coat to be effective. I prefer a comb which can get down to the skin. Line grooming works well. Lift the top coat a section at a time and comb the undercoat, the dead coat can be removed simply by combing - no hacking required.

Cold water marine species are the best source of Omega 3 (DHA & EPA). I always gave my dogs salmon oil but now use Now Ultra Omega-3 capsules. The oil is from anchovies and sardines.

Plant sources of omega 3 are not as effective as omega 3 from cold water marine fish. The main omega 3 in flax seed is ALA with insignificant amounts of EPA and DHA. The body can convert ALA but does so inefficiently.

If you are feeding DIY raw, are you including bone for calcium and phosphorous?

I am sorry I can't be of more help, PB. She is a beautiful dog and I hope you can find something to improve her coat.

Thanks for the tips SD ….due to her undercoat growing more fluffy, when i lift a section and groom i could see how dense it really has got. So i bought a while back, a round tooth rake comb, where each tooth spins, so that if it encounters knots it doesnt pull hair out. The teeth roll and tease through any knots. The teeth are round ended too, and she seemed to like that against her skin as a massaging effect. Its good at getting loose underfur out.

She loves a finger massage, i havent done them daily but when i do massage her her face expressions are hilarious ?

Her diet isnt raw, unfortunately, as i dont currently have a freezer! She’s on cooked various real meats/organs in large cans that balance with added calcium/phos.… and she gets grain free dry food as snacks. Switching to grain free years ago vastly improved her coat and her runny nose/itching symptoms.
Once i get a freezer (im off grid electric, so finding a very low power large one is challenging) i will include more raw. She gets raw when im in town and pass the butchers as a one-off treat.

There’s no other overt symptoms since the pyo op, which is amazing, considering her age. She’s still very active, playful with the other animals, has a great appetite. When her buddy dog died at xmas, who she knew since a pup, i was worried she might grieve and change, but amazingly she‘s been ok. If she can be with us running around the farm, and run about barking at deer, her world is a happy one!

I’ll update thread in a few weeks once her spring coat has shed and she’s had supplements added. Hopefully there’ll be a vast improvement!

 

[PurBee]

Im no expert on grooming tools at all, i’ve just done it through trial and error which worked best…and admit i’ve been had by good marketing!

I always had a thin bendy arched multi-layer tooth moulting comb that is brilliant when she moults. It gets out just all dead hair and leaves attached hairs. It cant get to the base of her coat, the teeth are short and wirey.

When she was a yearling i bought a furminator - due to the advertising saying great for helping de-shed thick coats - i used it for about 10 strokes and decided it was horrible! The teeth are so close together it cant comb through hair, it just catches the hair and pulls/cuts….including the top coat, so i never used it again on her.

The rake style, round wide spinning teeth comb is good for getting to the base of her coat - the round ends massage too which she seems to like.

I have a ‘finishing brush’ - for the top coat, that gets out some dead hair and smoothes the top coat but i rarely use that, she prefer the rake.

I’ve only got the clippers out on knots that the rake couldnt tease out. Dont tell OH, i used his beard trimmer! ?

 

[skinnydipper]

After reading a rather convoluted reply from a Coat King distributor in New Zealand (posted on another thread) I dashed off a quick Email this morning directly to the manufacturers -Mars Coat King.com.

I hope others will find their reply helpful.

I didn't muddy the waters with any talk of furminators - a tool I would not use and have never referred to on the forum.

I simply asked if the blades on the Coat King were sharp enough to cut through mats in a dense undercoat.

I am very impressed with Mars customer service and their prompt reply to my enquiry.

I was informed that the regular original Coat King does cut hair and would be best suited for my needs. They recommended starting with a Coat King with fewer blades and finishing with one that has more blades.

I was informed they do a blunt version that does not cut hair.

Amazon sell the blunt version:

Mars Coat King Blunt Dematting Undercoat Grooming Rake Stripper Tool for Dogs and Cats, price £39.25 for 12 blade

I trust this brings clarity to the debate and that nobody could possibly regard this post as bullying.