21 Tips for Giving Your Pet a Healthy Coat - excerpt article from Anna's Tips

A healthy pet has a healthy coat

by:Laura Thomas

Your pet's coat is a reflection of your pet's overall health. If you are not giving your pet a healthy diet or if your pet is sick, your pet's coat will become dull and limp, its hair without any shine.

You can help your pet have a healthy coat by feeding it a healthy diet. The following foods can help improve your pet's coat:

* Protein -- fish, poultry, meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese
* Vitamin A -- milk, oily fish, eggs, carrots
* Vitamin B -- whole grains, eggs, meat, fish, wheat germ
* Vitamin D -- oily fish, fish liver oils
* Vitamin E -- wheat germ
* Iron -- kidneys, lentils, liver
* Calcium -- eggs, cheese, milk, sardines, yogurt
* Iodine -- dried kelp, seafood, iodized salt

When added to your pet's diet once every week, organic coconut oil can improve your pet's skin and promote a healthy coat. To prevent your pet from shedding too much, add zinc in the diet and also up the protein levels. For thickening your pet's coat, feed your pet a balanced diet. An unbalanced diet can dull pet hair and coat. This happens if you add too much of the wrong supplements in the wrong amounts in your pet's diet.

Aside from feeding your pet a healthy diet, you also need to regularly groom your pet so that it has a healthy coat. A healthy diet and regular, proper grooming will prevent your pet from shedding, let your pet's coat to grow longer, thicker and healthier. Be aware that dry weather and blow drying can strip the moisture off your pet's coat. In the same manner, frequent shampooing and using shampoos with harsh ingredients can dry pet hair and cause split ends.

If your pet's coat is dry:

* Use mayonnaise. Before giving your pet the final rinse, apply one tablespoon of mayonnaise on your pet's coat and let it sit for about five minutes and then rinse off the mayonnaise. Mayonnaise treatment is actually recommended to be done for an hour. If you go with this method, though, don't rinse the mayonnaise off. Dry your pet's coat with the mayonnaise still in the coat. Your pet's coat will absorb the oils in the next few days.

* Spray beer on your pet's coat. If the mayonnaise treatment doesn't do anything on your pet's coat, spray beer on the coat like a setting lotion. The beer will give your pet's coat a look that is shiny, crisp and healthy. Spray beer on your pet's coat after shampooing your pet. Towel dry and then blow dry your pet's coat.

If your pet's coat is extremely oily:

Make this recipe and use it on your pet for three consecutive days. You will need:

1 oz. shampoo
1 oz. liquid dish detergent
4 to 6 oz. water

Mix shampoo, detergent and water. Shake well. Use this mixture on your pet as shampoo for three consecutive days. Do not use any other shampoo. Wash your pet's coat with this shampoo once per day.