# Recommend a good hydrating conditioner?



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

If you want to use something that is organic and inexpensive, Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar is good to use. Some members use it as I rinse. I have a spray bottle of it mixed with water, it's around a 40/60 mixture. It neutralizes odors and leaves the coat very soft. 

I also add it to the drinking water of my two. 
I buy it at a local grocery store in my area. 

Here's a link for Bragg's website and it's uses for pets-

Bragg Live Foods, Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos,Systemic Enzymes, Bragg Live Organic Food Products, Patricia Bragg, Paul Bragg, Bragg Organic Olive Oil, Bragg Salad Dressings, Bragg Seasonings, Bragg Health Products

What a beautiful redhead you have!


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

I got the Furminator brand conditioner to help with shedding for my spayed girls when their coat changed. It seemed to help and leave their coats soft. 


I have been using Isle of Dogs Shampoos and love them. I haven't needed their conditioner but I use the shampoo version of this one and it smells great and leaves their hair really nice so I'm going out on a limb and recommending it:


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

Oh! and I love my Deb Oster Undercoat Rake...it pulls out the undercoat and fuzzies without damaging the top coat. It's also on Amazon.


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## heem6 (May 22, 2010)

Thank you both for the great suggestions, Carolina Mom and Christen113!

If anyone has any others, I'm happy to hear them!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Pro Gro is my lifesaver


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## heem6 (May 22, 2010)

Thanks, LJilly! That might be a good one for my dog as he also needs to grow some fur back.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> I'm also hand-stripping all the dead undercoat fur out and my buddy is looking much better already.


 This might just be me, but I'd stop this and all stripping of the coat. Leave the undercoat alone beyond a quick daily brushing. These dogs shouldn't really have their undercoats stripped out whether that's with blades or plucking....

Give baths every week with a good shampoo. Something like Cowboy Magic (rosewater formula) which isn't going to be really harsh and won't cost you a fortune. And you don't really need a conditioner. 

If you have a dryer - use that to help remove dead hair after the baths. If not, don't worry about it. Wait until the dog is dry and then brush a couple times a day with a slicker to get through some of the post-bath shedding. 

And give it a few weeks. If there's nothing wrong with your dog's health or the coat issues are absolutely not food related, the coat should come right back.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

You can also improve your dog's coat from the inside out as it were by adding raw eggs to your dog's diet including the shells. Most dogs love them. You may already be doing this of course!


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## heem6 (May 22, 2010)

Thanks Megora and Harley's Mum! Appreciate the advice about Cowboy Magic, not really needing a conditioner, and the raw eggs. 

I'm not sure if it's actually undercoat, but the fur I'm stripping out is grey and fuzzy. Both the vet and groomer said it needs to come off because it is overgrowing, and choking out the top fur that should be growing in. I found the Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar at the grocery store I shop at and both he and I are going to start taking it soon.


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

Is he neutered? That sounds like a spay/neuter coat and as far as I know and my experience, there's nothing to do but strip it out...but the nicer shampoos and blow dries make them look better overall.


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## heem6 (May 22, 2010)

Christen - he is neutered. Does that affect their coat? I've never heard of that before.

I picked up the Bragg's Apple Cider at Fry's/Kroger's today - 32oz for $6. I put a teaspoon full on a buttermilk biscuit, then turned it AC side down in his bowl and he wolfed it down. Tomorrow I'll try it on his food. (I'm drinking mine with Stevia and water.)

Here's some pics of Crash! (You can click on them to see the fur better.)


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

To be honest, I don't really see anything wrong with the coat in the pictures. I would leave the coat alone. No stripping. Ignore whoever is telling you to strip it out. It's not going to choke out new growth. It's hair, not grass. 

Just feed a good diet (meaning - the kibble, no eggs, oils, vinegars, other junk is necessary). 

Give him a bath every week... brush him every night. No plucking.

Don't use harsh shampoos on him.


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## Pammie (Jan 22, 2011)

Megora said:


> Give him a bath every week... brush him every night. No plucking.
> 
> Don't use harsh shampoos on him.


I have seen the advise of frequent bathing suggested many times on the forum when people are looking to enhance the coat.
I have always wondered how does bathing help?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Pammie said:


> I have seen the advise of frequent bathing suggested many times on the forum when people are looking to enhance the coat.
> I have always wondered how does bathing help?


I think it's important to wash out all the excess oils, dirt, dead skin out to stimulate healthy hair growth and keep the skin healthy. 

You can definitely go longer between baths with your dogs and it would hurt anything, but generally you can feel the difference in the coat between a dog who is bathed at least weekly and one who gets a bath every 3 months or less. Especially adult dogs.


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

Spaying and neutering definitely affects their coat and leads to a more "fuzzy" undercoat. At one point I thought mine might have a thyroid problem but it just ended up being a "spay coat." I actually found that shampoo and conditioner helped her coat look better, as well as using the undercoat rake and frequent brushing. In my case, my vet recommended stripping the fuzzies out or plucking/clipping it off and said that was about all I could do. Once I got it under control, all it really takes is frequent brushing to manage it and the occasional use of the undercoat rake. Of course when I got her spayed, I had no idea that it could affect their coat but apparently it's very common. I'd also agree that the diet helps. Higher quality food does seem to make their coat look better.


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## heem6 (May 22, 2010)

Thanks so much Christen! That is a lot of good information that you just gave me. Just by your description I can tell that's EXACTLY what's going on with my dog. The undercoat is quite fuzzy. It's hard to tell in those pictures (the flash I was using makes his fur look darker there) but so much gray fur was poking through that he was looking more like a medium golden than a red. Also, people remarked that they could see his fur "changing color," and some patches looked gray. I've talked to a lot of "experts" and you were the first one to help me figure this out. Going forward the game plan is - more frequent baths and brushing, finish the hand stripping and then maintenance with an occasional undercoat brush. Not using the Furminator again, ever. Oh, and we're both taking Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar now.

Can I ask what food you are feeding? My guy has been on Earthborn Primitive Natural (grain free) for awhile now, he seems to love it and his stools seem healthy.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Other thing that could be going on is your dog is just getting gray hair.... the reds show grey earlier than the blondies. Which case again, I'd leave the coat alone.


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

heem6 said:


> Thanks so much Christen! That is a lot of good information that you just gave me. Just by your description I can tell that's EXACTLY what's going on with my dog. The undercoat is quite fuzzy. It's hard to tell in those pictures (the flash I was using makes his fur look darker there) but so much gray fur was poking through that he was looking more like a medium golden than a red. Also, people remarked that they could see his fur "changing color," and some patches looked gray. I've talked to a lot of "experts" and you were the first one to help me figure this out. Going forward the game plan is - more frequent baths and brushing, finish the hand stripping and then maintenance with an occasional undercoat brush. Not using the Furminator again, ever. Oh, and we're both taking Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar now.
> 
> Can I ask what food you are feeding? My guy has been on Earthborn Primitive Natural (grain free) for awhile now, he seems to love it and his stools seem healthy.




Yup! That's exactly it! Glad I could help  It looks kinda grayish but really I think it's just a lot more dull than the "normal" coat which gives it that grayish look.

If he's doing well overall, I wouldn't necessarily switch your food. I looked it up and it gets great reviews on dogfoodadvisor, the only thing I saw is it's kind of high on protein and I've read mixed things about that. Ultimately, I think the best test is if they're doing well. I personally feed Nutrisource Chicken and Rice and Fromm (switching off the Fromm for Cooper and back to only Nutrisource once this bag is gone because I think it was too rich for him and he seemed to have a lot of really loose stools). My breeder uses Nutrisource and both of mine have done really well on it so we're sticking with it. I've heard a lot of people say they thought their dogs had the best coats on Pro Plan....but really if you ask 100 different people, you'll get 100 different answers on food. My vet is against coconut oil but pro fish oil/salmon oil so that might help some too. My guess is once you get all the "fuzzies" out, his whole coat will probably look better overall.


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