# Puppy has dandruff and dull coat



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Kira's coat seems rather dull and she has dandruff.
13 weeks old, still has puppy fur.

Is this normal?

I'm expecting a fresh coat to start growing in soon, but was wondering about the dandruff.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Is she still eating ProPlan? 

Puppy fur will start dropping out over the next few weeks. Dandruff could come from diet or environment, like if it's dry in your house.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Have you bathed or brushed her yet? My mom's gsd ate Pro Plan for years and she shed like mad, had a dull coat so it might be the food. Give her time to shed the puppy coat, maybe give a raw egg every few days and brush her daily to stimulate the skin and remove flakes.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

I'll address all the questions:

Yes, she's still on ProPlan large breed puppy. She loves it, her stools are solid, and it scares me to change right now.

Yes, we brush her (sort of). We use a shedding blade, that we had leftover from our Lab days.

She only had one bath. She smells, and I would like to give her another.


Here's a picture of her last week.
Since this pic was taken, I noticed her fur got real dull.

http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/...48574416730_1323035100_2819267_79179856_o.jpg


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but dull coat, dandruff, and smelling bad are all signs that a food isn't agreeing with a dog. If she loved it, her stool was solid, her coat was glossy and she didn't stink I'd say great-- go for what works. But the coat, the smell, and the dandruff are signs it's not really working. 

Since dogs don't sweat, they shouldn't be stinky unless they've gotten into something smelly. My dogs get baths once or twice a year, and they never smell. I have my mom (who's not a dog person) smell them occasionally because I know she'll tell me the truth. The smell is a sign something isn't agreeing with her.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

It's not unusual for a puppy's coat to get dull before it starts transitioning to its intermediate coat. If she's 13 weeks she is approaching that window so it is probably that.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

Does she have worms? They can be in a shedding cycle (the worms) and not get caught in a stool sample. My pup had a dull coat and was thin until we finally got a positive sample. Now he's shiny and healthy. Plus, he's never smelled at all. I think I might have to agree with Emoore on the food.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

OK, I'm glad we're talking about this. So much to learn from you prior experiences.

The "smell" smells like "puppy breath" It's not foul, but it smells like she was rolling in hay, or dry grass.

Her stool looks good, but we have to bring a stool sample to vet tonight anyway. So that will be addressed.

The food: ??? Well, I've been suspect of the food since last week. I started another thread asking about the different foods for that reason. I ended up buy a 34lb bag of ProPlan Large breed puppy on sale for 27.99, and keeping her on that. It may turn out to be pennie wise / dollar foolish.

Let's ASSUME it could be allergy related, what would YOU do?
What food would you run to the store and buy?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

The only way to get rid of the puppy breath smell is to let get get a little more age on her.


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

I think it's the food. Here is Chief, who because it was the 80s and I didn't know better, fed Purina and Wolfie who I feed Fromms. The pictures are when they are a year old


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Ok I am feeding Fromm puppy gold large breed right now (breeder fed it and I did not want to change right away as it looked ok to me - most the grain frees I have seen are too high in calcium and in ash for my liking) and Omega 3's are much higher in my puppy food than the pro plan (realizing that DHA is only one omega 3 so the purina omega 3 number may be higher than 0.05%). 0.4% for the Fromm vs. 0.05% DHA for the Purina -- . Either way, even my puppy (about the same age) gets one assayed triple strength fish oil right now daily as well.

For now I decided to stick with this food..yes it has grains....no dandruff or puppy breath of any kind. My pup is 12 weeks old. My dogs who get fish oil (one gets two pills one gets three a day) have very glossy coats. Puppy also gets 1500mg glucosamine/MSM and the Vet supports that...(I was concerned about giving such a large dose to a tiny puppy!)

Fromm Family Foods - Large Breed Puppy Gold Holistic Entree

Oh, one grain free I do like is Natural Balance LID but the protein is too low for my liking ..........


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Anthony8858 said:


> The food: ??? Well, I've been suspect of the food since last week. I started another thread asking about the different foods for that reason. I ended up buy a 34lb bag of ProPlan Large breed puppy on sale for 27.99, and keeping her on that. It may turn out to be pennie wise / dollar foolish.


Holy crap, I get get a 40lb bag of Victor for $28 and it doesn't have byproducts or corn. 

The first thing I would do is get her on a premium food where the first ingredient is meat meal and there's no byproducts or corn. Some dogs do fine on corn but many do not.

Where are you located and what's your budget?


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

It may very well be the food but be aware you are not going to have a shiny coat like wolfie's pics in a 13 week old puppy. When her immediate coats starts coming in (next 4 weeks) you will see a line of shiny hair down the middle of her back. It will have different texture and shine than puppy fuz. 

Having said that she does need to be on a quality food.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Emoore said:


> Holy crap, I get get a 40lb bag of Victor for $28 and it doesn't have byproducts or corn.
> 
> The first thing I would do is get her on a premium food where the first ingredient is meat meal and there's no byproducts or corn. Some dogs do fine on corn but many do not.
> 
> Where are you located and what's your budget?


 
I'm in NY, but in "internet land", I'm your next door neighbor  I don't have a problem with online ordering.

If need be, I'll donate the remaining food to the local shelter of animal hospital.

Budget wise... most foods arent priced that much different than the other. 40.00 or 60.00 for a large bag is not enough money to lose sleep over. I just dont' want to start trying 100 different things. That's a bigger concern for me.

What are you suggesting?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

The Fromm that Jocoyn suggested is quite good.


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## JulieBays (Jun 26, 2011)

GSDAlphaMom said:


> It may very well be the food but be aware you are not going to have a shiny coat like wolfie's pics in a 13 week old puppy. When her immediate coats starts coming in (next 4 weeks) you will see a line of shiny hair down the middle of her back. It will have different texture and shine than puppy fuz.
> 
> Having said that she does need to be on a quality food.


I completely agree with this having just gone through it. Sasha's coat was sort of funky when she started losing her baby fur. She is now so shiny NOW, she'd blind you. :laugh: I say chill out, stay with your food until her main coat starts coming in. You really don't want a big change in her bowel movements at this time. IMHO


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## JulieBays (Jun 26, 2011)

Oops, I forget to add that she had a puppy stinky smell for a while too. Now, she has a wonderful smell and I never changed her food. I do brush her everyday even if she doesn't need it.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

find a nice organic or natural shampoo.
have you tried an under coat comb
and pin brush???


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## JulieBays (Jun 26, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> find a nice organic or natural shampoo.
> have you tried an under coat comb
> and pin brush???


I agree with Doggiedad on the bath and combing. I think (not sure because I'm new to this) that I won't need to give Sasha very many baths as she gets older. But, while she was shedding her baby fur, the smell and itching became unbearable. I have given her 3 baths since I have had her. These were during the worst period of her losing her fur. I used a natural oatmeal bath. It helped the smell and her itching. She rarely itches any longer and her fur looks very healthy. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow. I think her funky fur/stinky period started at around 12 weeks and ended a month later. So, I say give it time, give her a bath and brush her a lot.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

A bath and a good combing did the trick. She lost a bucket of baby fur, and she looks terrific.

I'll also gradually work on a better food for her. The Fromm is one I never heard of, but sounds like a quality food.


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

I used to think that some people obsessed about food a bit too much. My old dogs ate Alpo and table scraps. When they got older we switched to Nutro, then Canidae and they lived to 14. Now, I see a huge difference in Havoc--way more energy, solid stool, more focus since we started Origen. Our elderly. cancer ridden pit bull has a huge fondness for Merrick foods. She eats Tailgate Party like it's tripe. It makes her happy.


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