Dog Foods Skin and Coat Problems
Dec 8th, 2007 by Teri
The most common problem with our pets is skin and coat issues that can be severe causing itching, a dull look, and a good amount of shedding of fur.
These problems can lead to a bad smell, a greasy look to the fur, matting, or rashes that lead to incessant scratching by your dog.
If your pet’s fur appears broken and or there are tiny bumps it could be a condition called Mange. If your pet is healthy it will not have mange, but if it has a poor diet, or lack of vitamins it can develop through a bug that lives in the intestines.
Remedy: Vitamin C, E, Zinc and Lecithin are recommended.
Chinese Herb: Astragalus, and Echinacea.
Natural Remedy: Soak a dozen or two lemons and the peels along with 6 mashed garlic cloves, in a pot of water, boil and let cool. Bathe your dog in this mixture avoiding the eyes and genitals. Rinse the fur thoroughly and this should take care of the problem.
Quality Pet Foods:
The choices of natural foods will also improve your dog’s immune system to ward off these little pests that cause major problems with fur.
You must consider the sources of you dog’s disease and primary causes of those vulnerable areas of which you have great control and that is what goes into your dog’s mouth.
The optimum quality of food that you feed your dog contains vital nutrients that repel diseases, including skin disease. The equation is very simple, you increase the quality of food and you decrease the causes of illness.
Pure unadulterated, and unaltered foods in their wholesome natural state, as they are from nature, like vegetables, wholesome grains and real chicken, and beef.
I do not know too many pet owners that are feeding their dogs anything but wholesome natural foods and have changed their dog’s diet. If not, the result is a series of expensive veterinarian bills and deadly diseases.
Deli Fresh Pet Foods:
I recently was approached by a major Natural Dog Food Manufacturing company who saw my site and sent me a request to try their new pet food.
The company is called Deli Fresh Pet Food and their new line of product is called “Pet Fresh” which is a natural fresh dog food. I agreed on the basis that if my dog Whoopie ate the food as we all know she is a very picky eater that I would talk a little about this product. No promises though because I have been disappointed in what passes for food for pets these days, I thought it was going to take some convincing for me and for the Whoopster. Well here is the proof of my experience with Deli Fresh.
Well to my surprise I put the food which comes in a sausage like form and is kept chilled in the refrigerator, into her bowl and walked away as she likes to eat alone, thank you very much.
I was surprised when she bounded into the room I was in and wagging the tail and the whole back side, she was jumping up and down. I went to her bowl to give her praise for eating all her food. The bowl was completely clean, and I mean not a speck in sight of any remnants of food- not one morsel.
I was so amazed at this I said well thank goodness they sent me two packages!!
In 2005 a group of pet food experts and nutritionists got together and formed a company that started a new product called Deli Fresh and Homestyle Select. The combined expertise gives you the consumer over 100 years of experience in a formulating a healthy diet just right for dogs.
The food is gently cooked at low temperatures and includes anti-oxidant vegetables and vitamins. The best part is when I opened the package and caught a whiff of the food; it actually reminded me of a good cognac pate. That is because it contains human grade food, so my nose is working fine, but also it was a scent of a stew or something cooking on the stove, indeed it is fresh wholesome quality dog food. Added value for you dog’s coat are ingredients such as Sea Kelp and Flaxseed Oil which provides a shiny healthy coat.
The products come in: Beef, Chicken or Turkey and contain peas and carrots, my dog eats both peas and carrots and loves green beans.
From their website you can see what they mean by Fresh:
“Pandean or PAN diets stand for Pasteurized, All Natural, and Nutrient Dense. PAN is a scientific descriptor for fresh pet foods that adhere to the principle of minimal processing to retain nutrient value, are fresh meat-based and contain all natural ingredients (fresh vegetables, brown rice for fiber, etc.). “
The Deli Fresh sanitary plant in New Jersey is spotless and you would think it was processing human food with the quality control standards upheld by this company.
They are opening stores daily so check their website for updates on new locations.
You can buy this fresh dog food here : Deli Pet Fresh Foods
Keep your eyes peeled for this product - and let me know if you get a clean bowl too.
Grooming:
There is nothing like giving your dog or cat a good brushing -they seem to balk at the brush initially but when you get going they really seem to enjoy the benefits and that is a good back scratch in the process.
The brushing removes loose fur, cleans out leaves, stimulates the skin and blood flow below the skin and in general gets themats out of the fur. You can also get a wet washcloth and give a rinse over on the fur followed by a dry towel rub; it also stimulates the skin of your dog.
Bathing is not a bad thing either considering MRSA and other bacteria available these days. I bathe my dog once a month in winter or spring she enjoys the after effects and I use an oatmeal shampoo which contains no chemicals.
You can try natural shampoos with other ingredients that do not contain chemicals at the link in the Blogroll called: For Pets.
Teri Salvador
Author.
I have to give my dog pills because of the itching, he is scratching alot so I will give the lemons a try. Also the vitamins, I didn’t know they had vitamin C for dogs. Thanks for the information.
Marnie
My dog has an itching problem which usually goes away in winter, is that because of the food, how do I tell if my dog is allergic to the food. Thanks.
Wendy, thank you for your question. My dog Whoopie has the same problem, she is itchy in the summer perhaps due to insect bites, be they mosquitoes, or fleas although she is protected against the fleas, there are now allergies from the bites.
If it goes away in the winter, it is usually a sign that it is an allergy due to insect bites, rather than a food allergy. Also pets can be allergic to the environment they live in, namely air, and water quality. In the article there are a few products and tips that will help your dog. Season greetings!!!
Teri
Teri..I’m curious about the ad I saw for Dremel’s cordless groomer, a quiet, battery-powered rotary tool for dog’s nails….I’m reading that dog’s nails should just touch the floor?…I’m thinking Casey has a few that are longer…would something like that work for a big dog do you think?..or have you had any feedback on this product yet?
Thanks Lani
I think its a great way to trim nails actually thought of using that type of tool as well. It is gentle and there is less chance of cutting the quick in your dog’s nails. I would think it would work fine on a bigger dogs nails and saves money. I haven’t heard anyone give me a review of the product - but I will check into it further for you and email you directly. Thanks for your question..
teri