Ways to Maintain Your Dog’s Shiny and Healthy Coat
A question that our team at It’s a Dog’s Life Spaw regularly gets is: How do I keep my dog’s coat shiny and healthy? This question is frequently asked during the harsher months, such as summer, because dog’s coats are exposed more. The full answer is a bit longer than our usually blogs, so we’ll break this one up into to two. Let’s cover two of the five points that are essential to helping your dog maintain a beautiful, healthy coat year-round.
Nutrition and Your Dog’s Coat
The phrase you are what is eat is applicable to dogs as well as humans. Obviously, whenever a dog is malnourished its health will suffer. Yet, were you aware that the lack of a few nutrients can affect a dog’s hair and skin? Your dog’s skin is comprised of tightly packed cells made up of fats and proteins. Your dog will need a continual supply of the right fats and proteins to maintain healthy skin and hair.
Some of the nutrients your dog will need in its diet include:
- Vitamin A – helps to repair and grow new skin cells
- Vitamin C – improves wound healing (particularly when small abrasions occur)
- Vitamin E – Provide oxidant protection for skin
- Zinc & Riboflavin – useful for protein metabolization
- Biotin – converts to amino acids which is turned into keratin (what dog’s hair is made of)
In addition to the above, include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to your dog’s diet. Seek out foods that have this included or use supplemental capsules or liquids that can be mixed into their food.
Regular Brushing & Your Dog’s Coat
Brushing offers a variety of benefits to your dog’s coat. For instance, a simple 2 to 5-minute brushing session can increase your dog’s blood circulation, exfoliate dead skin cells, remove loose hair, prevent hair matting, and distribute naturally occurring skin oils throughout the coat. All of the above aids the look and healthy of dog skin and hair.
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