Hair coat is the first sign of a dog's nutritional health. I'll never forget how I first learned this fact. An incident that happened many years ago changed my attitude toward canine nutrition.

The story begins some 20 years ago when I was in rural practice in south eastern Alberta. This March afternoon was so bright that you had to squint, even behind sunglasses. Everything was white from horizon to horizon below a clear blue sky. As I drove up the evergreen lane of this well kept Purebred Black Angus and horse farm I noticed that they have a new dog. This shiny black and white Border Collie came trotting up the lane to greet me.

I thought the dog was new because the last time I was at this particular farm they had an old shaggy, dry haired collie who never ventured too far from his place by the back step.

Today was different.

Getting out of the truck I was greeted with " What a great day Doc, .. etc."
"I see you got a new dog." "What happened to the old one?" I asked.
"That's the same dog we've always had," came the reply.
"No way!" I responded. "What did you do to him?"
"He got into those horse vitamins you left the other day."
"We decided then to give him a little every day." "Hard to believe it's the same dog, Doc."
Yes I couldn't believe it.

This dog was shiny. He was the picture of health as he ran around and followed us to the barn.

I don't know why I was so surprised to see a different dog for I was always professing the virtues of vitamins and minerals for my large animal patients. Horses and cattle had shown me many times what good nutrition can do. Why not the same in dogs?

Here was a farm dog fed a reasonably good commercial dog food supplemented with table scraps and able to roam around the farm yet short of his requirements. The large dose of horse vitamins and minerals, obviously more than we would have recommended completely turned this dog around.

The first sign was a healthy, thick, shiny hair coat.

I have told this story many times to my clients over the years and have witnessed dramatic results with improved nutrition.

Hair and skin health go hand in hand. Each individual hair has a root embedded in the skin. A healthy hair coat indicates a healthy skin and we can go on to say a healthy dog.

The skin is the largest and most exposed organ. It is also replaced at a rapid rate. Protein, fat, vitamins and minerals are the building materials for this organ.

Normal skin and hair growth uses up 25 % of the daily protein requirement of the dog. Fat supplies fatty acids and vitamins A and E for skin and hair. Minerals such as zinc and selenium also play a part as well as the water soluble vitamins of the B complex and C.

It has been said many times that a large percentage of skin problems originate from the inside. Inside would include poor nutrition, food allergies, hormonal problems, inheritance and disease in other body organs.

The mistake I was making many years ago was that I was putting too much confidence into the commercial dog foods. If it said " complete and balanced " I believed it.

" Vitamins and minerals are not important if you are feeding a balanced diet." Have you heard this before?

Not so. I have learned the hard way. Observe, watch the dog! The dog will tell you and the first sign will be the skin and hair.

If our dogs are getting the right nutrients they will show us.

The first sign is a thick, shiny, healthy hair coat.

About Edmund R. Dorosz, BSA, DVM

NetPets® Main Page

contact information Main Library Healthspa Nutrition

The Dog Center