Rough Coat & Dandruff

[ShadowCat]

One of my dogs has dandruff and the other one has a really coarse/ruff coat. The one with the coarse coat is overweight and seems to have pancreatitis, but we aren't entirely sure. His coat has been this way for a long time though. What might cause his coat to be like this? Also, what could cause my other dog to have dandruff?

 

[wolfsoul]

A rough coat is usually something that the dog is just born with, but alot of dogs get coarse hair when they are blowing their coat or if they are unhealthy. What breed is he? Why do you think your dog has pancreatitis? It is a life-threatening condition, if you think that is the case, and he is having an outbreak right now, you will defintaly need to see a vet. I've met too many people whose dog's have died/almost died from pancreatitis.

Dandruff can be caused by so many things -- alot of times the dog just has dry skin. This can be caused by diet, too much bathing/swimming, etc. What kind of food do you feed? There are things you can add to the food to help get rid of dandruff; fish oil, omega fatty acid supplements, kelp. etc. I give my dog "Bio-Skin&Coat" which you can buy at some pet supply stores.

 

[Pomp]

As many would say, the type of food you feed them can cause skin problems, especially if it's low quality.

However, when I rescued my dogs, one of them had a dandruff problem. I added salmon oil to his meals in the morning and it has cleared up significantly.

 

[bubbatd]

Try Lipoderm too .

 

[Buddy'sParents]

When Buddy had parvo his coat turned quite, well, ugly. I started to give him salmon oil whenhe was on the mend and he still gets it and his coat is beautiful. People always comment on it. Might want to look into it.

Also, what kind of food are you feeding? That can be a BIG part of it. Good luck.

 

[Mordy]

Unhealthy skin and coat are generally a result of nutrient deficiencies or other health issues.

What are you feeding these dogs?

 

[ShadowCat]

Well, Andrew, the one with the rough coat, is a whippet and has had rough hair for his whole life. My other dog, who happens to be his aunt, has a coat as soft as velvet. She's also had dandruff for a while. Andrew got diagnosed with pancreatitis by the vet. The reason we aren't entirely sure if he has it is because his blood test showed higher levels of whatever is made during pancreatitis, but it could be caused by something else or something. I'm sorry, my mom is more aware about the medical stuff than I am, I'm not entirely sure what is going on. He had it before, but he lost his excess weight and it went away completely. It's the kind of pancreatitis that isn't necessarily life threatening. Since he gained his weight back, he's now in the same situation as he was before. They both get the same food and they get: 24/7 access to Natural Balance dry food, morning they get half Natural Balance canned food and half Royal Canin weight loss food with a Nutro food packet on top, and in the evening they get Pro Plan, or a Nutro packet. This only started about a month or less ago. They were originally both getting Pro Plan once a day with 24/7 access to Pro Plan dog food. I'd personally like to feed them Eagle Pack, since they've had the canned food before and loved it, but my mom buys the food and decides what they are going to eat.

 

[swanville]

Some changes in a dog's coat can be a sign of thyroid trouble. I had a black lab who's coat actually starting turning a red-rust color and became very rough instead of soft. He was diagnosed with hypothyroidism ..went on meds for the rest of his life and it cleared right up...and he lost weight.

 

[ShadowCat]

OK, I just asked my mom about Andrew's pancreatitis. He doesn't have, and has never had pancreatitis. He has no symptoms of it. He makes some kind of chemical or something from his pancreas that makes his blood work not correct, as if he had pancreatitis. Our vet doesn't know what it is and why he has it, and neither does another vet at the university that saw him. He had this before, but when he lost weight, it went away.

Swanville, Andrew's coat has been like this for as long as I can remember, and his blood tests are normal except for the whole pancreas thing. His coat never changed from being soft to rough, so I don't think that it's his thyroid.