# Puppy Food and Coat Condition - What's best?



## Rick

Hi, 

First off, this is a great forum and we've taken loads of the advice that has been posted on here so thanks.

We have a 15 week old Vizsla pup, Meg, she east well but the breeder fed her pedigree chum vital puppy, which is apparently really bad for her. We are starting weaning her off it on to Wainwrights but in the weeks she has been on it her coat has become a little rough. So my question is two-fold, is wainwrights Turkey and rice the right food for her and also is there anything we can do or give her to improve her coat condition?

She is having a bit of an upset tummy during the switch to wainwrights but I'#m guessing this is just the change and she'll get used to it.

Thanks for your help.
Rick


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## trevor1000

I'm not sure about the food choices, there are LOTS of opinions in here on food.
Although they are the same breed, they are all different.
Food that works well with one doesn't work well with others. 
What do you mean by rough coat? Maybe she has a food allergy?
Some people in here give their dogs Omega Fish Oil's for their coat.
I cut open I capsule a day and dribble it over his food.
I use Jamieson RED %100 Alaskan Salmon Oil but there are many.

http://www.jamiesonvitamins.com/IntroducingOmegaRED


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## Rick

She seems happy enough with the wainwrights food so I think we will stick to that for the time being. Her coat is just not coming through as thick and it's lighter in places so I will give the oils a try. Thanks for the tip.


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## wbavos

I'll stay out of the dog food debate too but do you think her coat is looking "different" because she's getting her adult coat? I'm new to this breed but my breeder has said that they'll go through a transition where their coat will change. I haven't noticed it yet in my 17 week old but all dogs (ahem, Vizsla's) are different.


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## R E McCraith

Transitions -pup/adult - season/season - the first thing you look 4 is dry skin = not enough natural oils in their diet - a V should shine like a new penny ! if your V has a odor their natural Oder's are not being distributed over the fur - a light brush or run in tall grass corrects this - PIKE likes EVO on his dry food a few times a week during winter - if all the great advice given on these post fails - GO 2 the Vet !!


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## Rick

organicthoughts said:


> To me, it is just no surpirse when dogs who eat processed, preservative rich diets every day for their entire lives have skin and health issues. Imagine what we would be like if we only ate fortified cereal filled with fillers and byproducts. We'd have problems too.
> 
> Take it for what you will but when I fed my boy kibble for the first 8 months of his life we were at the vet almost 2-3 times a month and he looked skinny, smelt weird and had persistent eye goop. Ever since switching to natural home cooked and raw diet, we have been once in 7 months for a minor minor skin abrasion and my dog looks extremely healthy with no lingering issues.


Interesting idea and might be something for us further down the line.

Meg has been in wainwrights for 4 days and her coat is already looking much healthier..steer clear of the rubbish pedigree chum vital, I'm surprised the breeder was feeding it to them!

Thanks


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## Rick

This is what she looks like now...15 weeks old


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## giandaliajr

Cute pup.

We give our 15 month old Orijen (switch between the three flavors after a bag runs out) with fish oil, joint supplement powder, greendog daily powder for digestion, and cold milled flax seed. We used to do the supplements with taste of the wild but when he turned 12 months we switched to orijen. His coat is noticeably softer in the last couple months than it's ever been. Although it was still nice with totw


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## MindyRaeRiley

Not wanting to hijack the thread, it's a great discussion with valuable info (thanks for asking so I can learn more), but...

Organicthoughts, does it matter if the egg is raw or cooked. In one of the many dog books I read, it suggested giving a dog half a hard boiled egg to augment their diet. I also read, on this forum somewhere (I think), that there is a much reduced risk of salmonella since their digestive track is so much shorter. I wonder at the truth of that last one since I know I've heard about dog food recalls and dogs getting very ill from food-born illnesses...

Also, Giandaliajr, where do you get the Orijen? Is it a small pet store, a chain, online, or something I haven't thought of yet. I wanted to switch to that one, but I can't find a place that carries it. I checked the Orijen website and the 2 places that I visited that were supposed to carry it didn't. Taste of the Wild is good, we're not having any problems making the transition; I was just wondering...

Thank you!


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## tknafox2

Rick, Meg is adorable, and from you photo, her coat looks great. I too will stay out of the food debate, but I just wanted to say one thing about eggs... An Egg is Natures perfect food, and as for raw, I believe in raw feeding, they even give the egg whole, in the shell. If you withhold the yolk, it is about 100 calories GOT less.
I did want to mention, that pups coats are constantly changing, as the grow, and it seems that about 15,16 wks may be a transition period. Also light areas are common and normal markings. Light areas on the neck under the ears, light swirls and stripes down the hind legs, and what we call angel wings on the shoulder blades. My pup is 8 mo, and has all of these lighter areas. He has a dark face,head, ears, spin, and front legs, his back legs are only dark on the fronts. It is fun to watch them transition, and it happens way to fast.

search "Angel wings"


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## giandaliajr

MindyRaeRiley said:


> Also, Giandaliajr, where do you get the Orijen? Is it a small pet store, a chain, online, or something I haven't thought of yet. I wanted to switch to that one, but I can't find a place that carries it. I checked the Orijen website and the 2 places that I visited that were supposed to carry it didn't. Taste of the Wild is good, we're not having any problems making the transition; I was just wondering...
> 
> Thank you!


Usually I get it from www.chewy.com but I have also gotten it from www.wag.com. Both are great sites but chewy.com has better prices. Cheap red barn bully sticks too! And free two day shipping


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## einspänner

giandaliajr said:


> MindyRaeRiley said:
> 
> 
> 
> Also, Giandaliajr, where do you get the Orijen? Is it a small pet store, a chain, online, or something I haven't thought of yet. I wanted to switch to that one, but I can't find a place that carries it. I checked the Orijen website and the 2 places that I visited that were supposed to carry it didn't. Taste of the Wild is good, we're not having any problems making the transition; I was just wondering...
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> 
> 
> Usually I get it from www.chewy.com but I have also gotten it from www.wag.com. Both are great sites but chewy.com has better prices. Cheap red barn bully sticks too! And free two day shipping
Click to expand...

All the smaller "boutique" type pet stores around me carry it. You can check their website http://www.orijen.ca/where-to-buy/


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## Rick

tknafox2 said:


> Rick, Meg is adorable, and from you photo, her coat looks great. I too will stay out of the food debate, but I just wanted to say one thing about eggs... An Egg is Natures perfect food, and as for raw, I believe in raw feeding, they even give the egg whole, in the shell. If you withhold the yolk, it is about 100 calories GOT less.
> I did want to mention, that pups coats are constantly changing, as the grow, and it seems that about 15,16 wks may be a transition period. Also light areas are common and normal markings. Light areas on the neck under the ears, light swirls and stripes down the hind legs, and what we call angel wings on the shoulder blades. My pup is 8 mo, and has all of these lighter areas. He has a dark face,head, ears, spin, and front legs, his back legs are only dark on the fronts. It is fun to watch them transition, and it happens way to fast.
> 
> search "Angel wings"


Thanks that is really useful and good to know. The new food is working really well and we have just started her on fish oils too...I'll know about the coat when we get a second one!


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## Laztastic

Hi. I've been feeding my 19 week old male salmon oil or pollack oil every day and about double the dose called for on the bottle. He loves it and his coat is great. But his poop is a little messy. The vet doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I'm wanting to try coconut oil and flax seed oil. Does anybody see a problem with this?


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## R E McCraith

Pick 1 - stay with it a few weeks - ? no quick answers 2 diet - 2 many Veriables - the pup will know b4 you - if the pup is losing weight - GO 2 YOUR VET !!!!!!!!!!!


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## Janders

My 8 week old puppy, Gus, is starting to experience dry skin. I'm sure the weather here has a lot to do with it. I used to give my lab 2 cod liver oil gelcaps each for her dry skin. I still have plenty of those & am thinking about giving some to Gus. Any suggestions on how much to give him since he is so little. I forgot to ask the vet yesterday. She never mentioned his dry skin.


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## trevor1000

I give my boy 1 Capsule of Omega Fish Oil a day drizzled over his food.
Maybe 2-3 times a week i also drizzle a tablespoon full of EVO on his food.
So far his coat is fantastic.
Have been giving him this since he was about 8 weeks
He is almost 6 months.


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## Chaos911

I give 1 tsp coconut oil in Blazes morning feeding 3-5 x a wk. he's almost 5mo.


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## trevor1000

I may actually switch the EVO for coconut oil.
Or just add some in.


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