shedding mange blowing coat | GREATDANELADY.COM

Oh, Those Awful Teenage Coats

Those of you with short coated breeds, and particularly some lines of great danes, you will notice in their teenage months 9 month - 18 month they will go through a normal puppy shedding that in some cases is pretty awful. This is often the first shed major shed they have going into their spring after their first winter. They ofteh look like a lamb dropping clumps of hair. They will start to look like they are shot full of beebe’s or an old ratty mouton coat, similar to a shedding buffalo or deer hide! The dead coat will get fluffy and lighter in color - pale yellow on a fawn, and red-brown on blacks and light grey on blues. This coat shed is not as evident on those from the brindle or harlequin patterning, but can be evident on the Mantle color.

This is the teenage “blowout” and it takes 6 months to repair it. I reiterate, those of you showing your black danes… soaking the dog in a good dog shampoo and a good dog conditioner (with a pH for dogs),then using a Zoom Groom on the coat after it is towel dried, will drop out lots of the fluffy dead coat.

Do not use a rake or a shedding blade, you want to use a rubber tool so you do not destroy the new coat -- please seek the help of a professional groomer on this one, and not attempt some homemade method using your own shampoo, and some left over grooming tool you used on your horse.

Just because you are anxious to get this dog looking jet black and in the ring, is no reason to destroy the new coat, which will be with you a long time. Now after that knuckle rapping…we can move on to the suggestion I have that will help you get this coat blown out, and the new one grown in again. Of course, you are wise enough to get this dog on a comprehensive feed program (that does not mean just a good dog food), but the things that go with keeping this dog in a state of wellness. If your dog is ONLY blowing out coat due to teenage development or after a litter and the dog is on a sound nutritional program, then this information will apply to your situation.

If you need to add a little quality oil to the diet to help blow the coat out faster use the Ultra Oil 3-6-9 from www.firstchoicenaturals.com

Quick Coat Repair, from the inside out!
A few years ago, I got back a one year old puppy that had been raised on a substandard diet. When this puppy came back to my home, her coat and skin was in need of major repair. She looked like a buffalo or deer that was molting sheets of deadcoat. In addition to changing to a quality diet, I used a fatty acid product that encourages dead coat to drop out and stimulates new coat growth almost overnight! Actually, within 30 days, all of the old coat had dropped out, her coat was repaired enough that she could have gone into the show ring!

The product is called SUPER 14 by Farnham, the well known manufacturer of horse products. It is primarily Essential Fatty Acids and it makes all the difference in the world! Super 14 comes in a 3# containers and can be purchased at farm supply stores or at 1-800-Jeffers. I would recommend you discontinue the use after the coat is repaired because you do not want to disrupt the Omega balance of your dog food if used over a long period of time.

Note: additional fat could cause diarrhea, so be aware of that and back off if there is a problem and never use on an animal that has pancreas problems or can not tolerate a high fat diet. Remember no supplement of any kind can replace a sound comprehensive feed program.

Demodex Mange

This is primarily a problem when a young animal’s immune system is in need of support.
Rather than go into this in detail, I will direct you to my article at this website. This type of mange is very common in young Danes and other large dogs, due to the stress of growing, vaccines and inadequate nutritional support. This can be remedied, it is not genetic as the mite is on all dogs (and on you too), and it can be repaired naturally with a good diet and some additional immune boosting supplements. (See Article).