# keeping a gsd's hair shiny



## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

i was wondering how every one keeps there dogs hair shiney and clean looking without baths all the time? i can give duke a bath and he looks so good, and smells wonderful for about a week and then its back to that old, dry, dirty look. 
I brush him a total of an hour each day but to no avail. he eats pinacle dog food for healthy skin, and shiny coats, he takes a multi vitamin for that also. but nothing just seems to work at all. HELP ME PLEASE, I WANT MY BOY TO LOOK BEAUTIFUL AGAIN









Thanks
Stacey


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## BJDimock (Sep 14, 2008)

The food seems to be the key in my house. Even though you feed a good food, it may not be right for Duke. My foster pups always have very shiny skin and coats on Abady raw and kibble. Ilan does very well on Evo. (and believe it or not, and please no one shoot me, I have a boxer/pit cross who can only eat Iams.) 
Dull coat can also be a sign of allergies, fleas, and med problems such as a thyroid inefficiency.


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

ok, thanks alot for the reply. he doesnt have fleas, but not sure about the allergies or med problems. i thought maybe it could be some of the cold weather also. some dogs go through that rough looking stage as it gets colder. and he is only a year old so hes at that rough point now anyway. 
maybe after this bag of food ill try something different for him, sad because i just put him on this about 2 or 3 weeks ago. maybe im not giving it enough time. 
he seems not to like this food all that well, i give him 2 cups a day one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and it takes him forever to eat it not while hes eating it but it will sit there for ever before he will eat.
and he doesnt eat the 2 cups all the time either. so i dont know.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

some salmon oil and vitamin E might help







I usually get grizzley salmon oil that comes in a pump bottle, but you could do caps as well. Then one 400 I.U pill of vitamin E per day as well.

Also there is these "between bath" sprays I like from Earthbath
http://www.earthbath.com/between.html
Smell great.. but if I remember right they are kindof expensive


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## BJDimock (Sep 14, 2008)

It can take 6 weeks before you see a change! Don't switch just yet.
This is a very bad time of year for coats! Everyone is trying to get the winter parkas on! Here in the NE, My kids are actually blowing for the second time!
A bit young for thyroid problems, and allergies too.(Generally we see these problems over 1 1/2 years of age.
My girls at their one year mark get very slow at eating! Their growth has slowed down, and they don't feel the need to consume food as much as I would like them too!!! My dogs run on the light side(bred that way) so I catch myself trying to feed them too much.
On that note, Ilan, the foster that stayed home, is coming 3, and now eats so well I have to stop myself from giving her more when she asks. (She was the worst of all my pups for the picky eating contest!)
Hang in there and see if the food makes a difference!


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

ok thanks guys i really appriciate it alot! if it wasnt for this site i dont know what i would do! alot of great advice givers here!!


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## Goofy (Sep 27, 2008)

Goofy has a silky soft coat. I switched to blue buffalo about 2 weeks ago. He loves the lamb and rice.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

there is a product made by solid gold called seameal which is quite wonderful for soft, shiney coats.


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

You might even be over brushing. An hour every day seems a bit much. You might be breaking hairs and/or irritating the skin. Eggs are also supposed to be great for their coats, I just recently started giving eggs and vitamin E every day (already giving fish oil). I'm hoping this will help because Brenna's coat is a bit coarse as well.


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

Is he outside much?
My guys all have nice coats except Karma... she always needs a bath because when she goes out she plays flip-the-stick (or bowl, ball or rock). She ends up being dusty and gross
Just wondering if that might be a possibility.


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: gagsd_pup1Is he outside much?
> My guys all have nice coats except Karma... she always needs a bath because when she goes out she plays flip-the-stick (or bowl, ball or rock). She ends up being dusty and gross
> Just wondering if that might be a possibility.


Yes he is outside most of the day especially when the kids are home, he prefers to be out lol! maybe thats what it is because when hes in the yard he is constantly rolling around. we have a porch that has a gate on it and unless im out with him he stays on it but i also am out with him alot so we spend alot of our time on the ground.


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

thanks everyone for the replies! how often can i give him a bath? or instead of bathing alot can i put water in a bottle and spray his coat, and then wipe him down with the doggie wipes? i wonder if he would hate me if i done this to him? i have some spray for dogs that smells really good, the doggie wipes, and then brush him. but as someone else on here said his hair is really course looking, even though he is kind of soft. thanks again


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

I've tried the doggie wipes, without much success. Maybe another brand would work better??
I just use baby shampoo every week or two for Karma. Mild and it gets the dust and dirt out of her coat.
Interestingly, my old Aussie was ALWAYS out getting muddy and dirty but a quick brushing once dry made him look gorgeous. Maybe some dogs are just more oily and the dirt sticks?


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## Daisy1986 (Jul 9, 2008)

momtoduke, I bet Kentucky is really beatiful this time of year!









Any chance of getting some fall pics??









My boy is on Blue Buffalo and Longevity by Springtime, it has done wonders for his coat!


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Daisy1986momtoduke, I bet Kentucky is really beatiful this time of year!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How can I say no to a begging GDS lol! Yes some places are still very pretty but after this last frost we had its starting to look just brown and dead ...I live close to ky lake, so i still have some spots i can get some good photos. it will take me a day or so but i will get them!

I have been hearing alot about the Blue Buffalo from several people, if the pinacle doesnt start to work for him i will change it to that and see if there is a difference. he doesnt care much for the pinacle at the time. he just doesnt want to eat it hardly. but i want to give him some time on it since hes not been on it long. hes a phiniky eater anyway. thanks alot for the reply! i really appriciate it alot!


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: gagsd_pup1I've tried the doggie wipes, without much success. Maybe another brand would work better??
> I just use baby shampoo every week or two for Karma. Mild and it gets the dust and dirt out of her coat.
> Interestingly, my old Aussie was ALWAYS out getting muddy and dirty but a quick brushing once dry made him look gorgeous. Maybe some dogs are just more oily and the dirt sticks?


yes i agree with you on the doggie wipes, they dont really help at all. so i can give him a bath every week or two? i just dont like him going around looking all mangy looking at all. i take very good care of him and i want him to look like that i do also! maybe your right about the oily part that makes the dirt stick! who knows lol...i just wished we knew how to fix it for good.

i see alot of these other gsd on here and how nice and soft they look and shiney and healthy looking. then i look over at duke and its like huh i try to keep you clean, why dont you stay that way!! anyway thanks alot for your reply i really appriciate it!!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Does anyone else feel like the coat quality of a dog outdoors most of the time is generally comparable to the coat quality of a dog indoors most of the time?

I know when we'd get outdoor dogs in rescue, their coats were generally "tougher" than soft.

The sun really seems to damage it, to me-that was one of my theories. I am sure rolling dirt doesn't help.







Plus being out in different weather conditions. 

And up here in the north it gets thicker and coarser with the season changes. I am sure it does in the south as well, just not as noticeably maybe.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAANDoes anyone else feel like the coat quality of a dog outdoors most of the time is generally comparable to the coat quality of a dog indoors most of the time?


Absolutely. ANY one (human or animal) that is outside a lot or "most of the time" is likely to get a "rougher" looking "coat". Hence the reason most show horses aren't allowed outside during the day when the sun is out. Not only does it bleach their coat, but it can get a a "burnt"/"rough" feeling to it too. 

I think genetics plays a part too Just like with humans, not all dogs have the same coat texture. Some have individual hairs that are thicker or more "coarse", where as some have hairs that are more "fine", which gives a different texture to the coat.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

How often do you bathe Duke? Bathing too often will strip their natural oils and cause their coats to dry out. If the natural oils are gone, no amount of brushing will restore the shine. Most dogs don't need more than two or three baths per year, or when they get really, really, really mucky. 

A healthy, shinny coat will repel dirt and dust and stay clean longer. Wet dirt and mud will fall off once dry. As counter-intuitive as it may seem at first, try to not bathe him when he is dirty. Let his natural oils build up over a number of weeks.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

I live in an *extremely* dry weather (driest of the planet, actually) and the coat on the back was as much dry and broken that it seemed curly. Giving more baths is going to worse the problem, as Lucia said, but I've found than in my weather, where dryness and dust is a real problem the fact that Diabla is swimming once or twice a week in the river (which is quite salty, BTW) and now we are approaching summer she is being hosed another couple of times has helped a lot. But NO SHAMPOO.


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

we have had duke for about 9 months and hes had 3 baths since we had him. the last one which was a month ago was because of the mange that he had, and i just felt he needed a bath! but most of the time i just wipe him down with a warm wash cloth. not soaking wet but i wring it out and just wash like the top part of his hair, not down to the skin. thanks alot for the replies!

stacey


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## momtoduke (Sep 29, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: LicanAntai and now we are approaching summer she is being hosed another couple of times has helped a lot. But NO SHAMPOO.


that sounds so different, we are going into the winter and your going into the summer! thats cool...thanks alot for the reply!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: BlackGSD
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAANDoes anyone else feel like the coat quality of a dog outdoors most of the time is generally comparable to the coat quality of a dog indoors most of the time?
> ...


See! I didn't know that-I just always assumed they were getting some version of sunburn. Interesting! Thanks, BlackGSD. I also didn't know show horses were not let out in the sun. 

Off topic, but slightly related question-I know I have read that outdoor dogs are more at risk of the not so common skin cancers in dogs, like people who tan. What about horses that are outside a lot? Are cancers common at all in horses, and if so, what about skin cancers? 

Thanks!


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