# Food for Coat



## Doolin (Jun 23, 2008)

Don't know if this topic has been heavily discussed here, but would like to hear what others have to say. One of my pups just came for a visit today and I couldn't believe the coat she had compared to the girl I kept.(I acutally wished I would have kept the other girl as she is stunning). Anyway what is being fed right now by those of you out there trying to produce a nice coat? I have been feeding Taste of the Wild recently and will probably be trying a new food soon- Redpaw. Anybody had experience with this food? What are the popular ones? So far I have found Eukanuba and Canidae are the most popular. Just thought I would throw this out there....


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

LOVE the Eagle Pack Holistic line with the addition of a fish oil high in EPA/DHA. For Texas dogs, our girls have tons of coat. I also add some green tripe every couple of days.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

no, but I'm curious what the pup that came to visit is eating!


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> no, but I'm curious what the pup that came to visit is eating!


My question too? He mentioned Redpaw, maybe this is what she is fed. How old are these sisters?


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I really like Canidae, and am very pleased with the coats on all of my dogs. Creed carries a coat that is very different from what I am used to, but I like it  He always looks freshly groomed, no matter what.

Just recently I started adding in k9ShowStopper for 3 of my dogs. Haven't seen a difference yet, except that i was finally able to put weight on the Crested with it. I would imagine that it will take several more weeks before any differences in coat are noticeable.


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## Loboto-Me (Nov 13, 2008)

Please keep us updated on the coat progress with the K9ShowStopper. I'd love to try it out on my 2, especially for Duke who's got a horrid coat. Where can we get the K9ShowStopper in Canada?


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## KodyBear (Dec 2, 2008)

My golden eats Natural Balance, with some Salmon Oil and Nupro added in....his coat is gorgeous and so soft...everyone comments on it! :0)


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I order it from here:

http://www.k9power.com/

I don't know if they can ship to Canada or not.

It has been really good for the Crested, as she is finally eating most of her food and has gained well over a pound on it.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Doolin said:


> Don't know if this topic has been heavily discussed here, but would like to hear what others have to say. One of my pups just came for a visit today and I couldn't believe the coat she had compared to the girl I kept.(I acutally wished I would have kept the other girl as she is stunning). Anyway what is being fed right now by those of you out there trying to produce a nice coat? I have been feeding Taste of the Wild recently and will probably be trying a new food soon- Redpaw. Anybody had experience with this food? What are the popular ones? So far I have found Eukanuba and Canidae are the most popular. Just thought I would throw this out there....


 
Was the breeding an outcross?


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I have never heard of Redpaw!
Mine got gorgeous coats eating nature's variety Prairie Salmon but the price went WAY up!!!! So I switched to Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato so we'll see how it goes.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

I have to say that we switched Tucker from Pro Plan to California Natural lamb and rice about a week ago and we're already noticing a HUGE difference in his coat. He is just starting to get his adult coat, but since switching to CN his coat has been much shinier and even looks fuller. On the ProPlan, he had really dry and flaky skin and his coat seemed somewhat dull, but we got almost immediate results when we took him off that and started the CN.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Good luck. It's in the genes. Been there, tried it, didn't work!


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Oh, I definitely agree-the genetics have to be there to have a nice, correct coat. The food and supplements can only get you as far as the genetics will let you. I figure it just maximizes the potential.

I don't generally supplement, but thought I would try this on 3 of my guys. The Crested needed to gain weight badly and I remembered that k9ShowStopper puts weight on. She loves it, and actually eats almost all of her food now, so I will probably keep her on it. As long as I was buying it, I figured I may as well try it on Creed, who I hope will be going out this year to try his luck in the breed ring as soon as I can get a handler, and on the baby, 6 month old Bindi. 

They both actually have good coats and are in good condition but it can't hurt.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I feed Pro Plan and have beautiful coats. I asked the OP if the breeding was an outcross because of the genetics factor - I've seen outcrossed litters with puppies within the litter ending up some with gorgeous, full coats, some with very minimal coats. Inconsistency is much more likely in an outcrossed breeding. Food is not going to make a dog grow big hair if he is not genetically predisposed to doing so. Good nutrition will only help make the most of what a dog can have. 

I also wonder if the visiting puppy has been spayed?


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

The only real coat difference I've seen that definately wasn't because of seasonal change(he always looks bad just before a seasonal shed and just after a shed no matter what he's eating) was the difference between a very inexpensive brand (Purina Dog Chow) and the premium brands like Eukanuba, ProPlan, Innova and even Iams. His coat was very bad on the inexpensive brands.


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## Doolin (Jun 23, 2008)

Well to answer the questions....

Yes this was an outcross litter, as much of an outcross as can be. The bitch that visited was spayed. obvioulsy genetics and the fact that none of her energy is wasted on maintenance after going into season, plays a factor. Coat is not a big issue with me, but I do believe it reflects the quality of the food(how well it is digested/absorbed)

Since I was planning on switching foods, I just wanted to hear what others liked. 

I have used show stopper with mixed results.


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## Doolin (Jun 23, 2008)

In response to saying it is in the genes, I agree to a point. Creeds brother who lives here never did great on Canidae, but has done really well on the Taste of the Wild. Eire the mother of the two sisters(by the way the one visiting in on Canidae) does best on a high protein diet like Evo or Tast of the Wild. Some dogs have a higher metabolism or don't process certain grains like others do, so certain foods are better then others.

Don't get me wrong a dog who's never carried coat isn't going to miraculously from eating a certain food, but coats do improve(to a degree) with different foods.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Doolin said:


> Don't get me wrong a dog who's never carried coat isn't going to miraculously from eating a certain food, but coats do improve(to a degree) with different foods.


Yep, that we certainly agree on!!!


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

I second Nature's Variety and California Natural


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

We have beautiful coats on Innova and Eagle Pack Hollistic, but they were not as glossy on Eukanuba Performance.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Doolin said:


> Well to answer the questions....
> 
> Yes this was an outcross litter, as much of an outcross as can be. The bitch that visited was spayed. obvioulsy genetics and the fact that none of her energy is wasted on maintenance after going into season, plays a factor. Coat is not a big issue with me, but I do believe it reflects the quality of the food(how well it is digested/absorbed)
> 
> ...


As you know, once spayed (or neutered) dogs can develop much more coat than when intact.
And as I stated, in an outcross you can get all sorts of inconsistencies as far as appearance goes.
I have used Coat Booster with decent results, but am aware that I truly am only enhancing what the dog is genetically capable of producing.

I'm very happy with Pro Plan Performance, not just because of coats but overall health, condition, vigor, and longevity. The only thing I add now is probiotics - for all the dogs, and when traveling hard cooked, shell on eggs for the extra protein.
The raw bones that I give are mainly for teeth and to satisfy the need to chew, not necessarily for nutrition, and I do adjust the amount of kibble given on bone days to maintain balance.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

Genetics of course to facter in..... but good coat care and good nutrition make a lot of diffrence in having an okay coat and nice ready to put in the ring coat. Bathing weekly or even twice a week will greatly improve the coats condition. As will good nurition. I fed TOTW and liked it, dogs liked it but here in Canada its about $65 a bag. They have no breeders program but when at one time I was spending about $400 a month on food - nothing else no cans, no cookies, no treats, no bones or chew (LOL I was buying them of course but that was not included in the $400). I have now switched to Acana and I am very happy with it. I truley believe a food with some grains whether its rice, oatmeal, barley a good quality grain makes a diffrence. Just some good quality carbs. Acana also has a good breeders program LOL that helps a lot. I also feed Show Stopper and I notice it helps. Good luck. I am curious what that other girl is being fed too as generally the pet buyers see my dogs and go WOW they have soooo much more coat then mine.


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