With your dog’s everyday involvement with the outside elements, it is natural for the quality of its fur to change from the time when it was a puppy. A puppy when born has silky smooth fur, so much so that it is difficult to handle them without them slipping through your fingers. but as they start going out in the sun and playing in the mud, their fur is going to get matted with all the mud and water, and sometimes, just washing it with shampoo is just not enough.

There are some very basic and important habits that if inculcated in the pet’s lifestyle, can lead to a healthy and shiny coat. Sometimes we humans tend to ignore the regular grooming needs of the dog and the situation gets so bad that a total coat removal is the only solution left and often times the coat does not grow back with the same health and luster as before. So we can do certain things to avoid reaching the stage of shaving like:

  1. Bathe your dog regularly. Depending upon the climate of the place where you live, your pet’s activity level outdoors, and its likability towards bathing, you can bathe your dog once every week or twice every month. But whatever its temperament may be, try to get your dog bathed at least once a month. This helps to get all the mud and other alien stuff out of its fur and tackles the problem of matting to an extent.
  2. Brush your dog’s fur on a regular basis. This step is especially required if your dog’s fur is long and thick and will be required to be done frequently as well. This will ensure that there are no tangles in the fur, and thus, will reduce the chances of mud and things getting trapped in the fur and will take care of anything that is already stuck there. Brushing also makes sure that the body has good blood circulation which will in turn help with the health of the coat.
  3. Use good quality herbal products that have conditioners, to bathe your dog. Using products that don’t have the fragrant, harmful chemicals will immensely help preserve the quality of the dog’s fur and keep it soft because oftentimes to make the fur smell good we compromise and don’t check the other ingredients in the product and hence the fur becomes brittle and dull and shedding happens easily.
  4. Give your pet organic supplements rich in omega 3, omega 6, and healthy fatty acids. If you can, include the fish and whole meat in your dog’s diet as it is the best source of healthy fatty acids. Also, giving him healthy, organic treats that have these listed in their ingredient list is a good idea as well.
  5. Include coconut oil in his hair care and diet. A spoon full of edible organic coconut oil can be added to your dog’s meal and if not that then coconut oil can be used externally, i.e massaged directly on the dog’s fur to keep the skin underneath moisturized and dandruff at bay as most of the times dandruff is the main cause for the coat’s poor health and breakage.
  6. Give your dog a balanced, nutritional diet that includes proteins, carbs, fats, and everything else necessary for good health and good fur. This will ensure that breakage does not happen because of poor health and diet. Grams like oats and grains like rice can be included in the diet with meat and seasonal fruits can also be given.
  7. Always make sure that their nails are clipped to the correct length. If you have never clipped a dog’s nails before, you should get them clipped while you are visiting the vet or when you are taking your dog to a professional groomer. short and groomed nails will make sure that no damage occurs to the skin and coat when the dog scratches itself. Plus, groomed nails will make it easier for the dog to walkabout.
  8. Make sure to take the dog to the vet if excessive hair loss and breakage occurs suddenly. This can happen when a dog has had an allergic reaction to something it ate in a new diet or consumed accidentally from outside as well.

By doing these basic things and making a healthy lifestyle habit out of these, we can make sure that our furry friend’s fur remains shiny as new and keeps the bling going. My black labrador has a dandruff problem since she was 4 months old and the fact that her fur is long and thick does not help either. Breakage happens often if she misses her biweekly bath and I have been following all these steps to make sure her coat remains as good as it was on the day she was born…shiny and silky.

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