Is it okay to give my dog a little vegetable oil in his food to improve coat shine and dry skin?

I do feed a very high quality food called Neutro and is very expensive. I buy the one to help with skin and coat.|||Fish oil is probably the best but a tablespoon of any good quality oil will work well to improve coat quality. Once the coat improves reduce the frequency of the addition of oil. An occasional egg will help too.|||The one who told you NOT to do it is one of THE MOST EXPERIENCED people on this board-and knows what they%26#039;re talking about. Nutro IS a crappy food (google it) it%26#039;s probably why your dog needs a supplement. Stay away from canola or vegetable oil, and be on the lookout for diarrhea (common with oil). Report Abuse
|||I%26#039;m sorry but Nutro isn%26#039;t really a GREAT food. It%26#039;s... okay... but ONLY the Ultra formulas, and SOME of the Natural Choice formulas. NEVER Nutro Max.





And BTW... that stuff is CHEAP! It%26#039;s not expesnive!!!!!!!!!!! Report Abuse
|||That%26#039;s fine, as long as it is not every day and in moderation. Otherwise, it will act as a laxative. The best kind is fish oil as it contains a lot of Omegas which promote skin and coat health. You can also feed eggs once in a while (at most one or two egg yolks, not whites, once a week) which do wonders for skin and coat.





Something random I discovered and was okayed by my vet is the use of a product called Ferretone. I have ferrets, and discovered my dog absolutely loved the taste of this stuff. It%26#039;s designed specifically to make ferrets%26#039; coats and skin healthier, and as they are carnivores, it%26#039;s safe for dogs, too. It%26#039;s best to buy the liquid in a bottle and drizzle over food, than to buy the treats, as those have corn syrup in them. Just something I thought I%26#039;d suggest, but be sure to ask your vet about anything like that before trying it.





Make sure you%26#039;re brushing, trimming, and bathing your dog appropriately. If there are any rashes, lots of dandruff, or other irritations going on, take your dog to the vet, as it may have allergies. Food allergies to grains and chicken are very common.





It%26#039;s worth mentioning that Nutro is a good food, but there are better brands out there such as Wellness, Natural Balance, and Fromm which may make your dog%26#039;s coat look a lot better than Nutro. Nutro also has a lot of filler--not as much as say Pedigree--but there are corn products, and that%26#039;s always a no-no. On the adult lamb and rice, for example, the first ingredient is lamb meal followed by three or four rice products and/or other carbs (peas I think?). This means that food is NOT mainly meat-based, and dog food should always have meat listed in the first 2 (preferably 3 or 4) ingredients...





Sorry for the really long answer, lol. Hope this answered your question though.|||Nutro isn%26#039;t such a great food...it%26#039;s been recalled more than once in the last few years, and has quite a reputation for causing vomiting-many people claim Nutro has actually killed their dogs. For less money than the Nutro, you could feed Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover%26#039;s Soul-higher quality and cheaper. Other great choices would be Innova, California Natural, Healthwise, Canidae, Merrick, Prairie, or Solid Gold. With the California Natural that I feed my dogs, I no longer supplement at all. If you need to add to your dog%26#039;s food, your vet can sell you a product by Virbac (Efa-Z) to help with adding vitamins and oils, or you could give your dog fish oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, or any number of over the counter supplemental oils (like Lambert-Kay Shed Relief). Many oils will help the skin/coat, but I%26#039;d stay on the side of healthy...look for linoleic acid in the nutritional information, and stay away from hydrogenated oils and ones containing trans-fats...they are no more healthy for dogs than they are for us. If I had to recommend a single thing to add to the dog%26#039;s diet, it would be fish oil, followed by olive oil.|||Fish oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil are the only things I would recommend. Vegetable and canola oil aren%26#039;t really that great. Olive oil is proven to lengthen human life, so I%26#039;m sure it would be good for your doggy too. Sunflower oil will really shine up that coat, and fish oil is rich in omega 3s. Good luck.|||Sunflower oil is great for dogs coat and skin, be careful, too much and your dog will be pooping all over. Most super premium dog foods have sunflower oil in them.





I use a supplement called %26quot;Dinovite%26quot; and has done wonders for my dogs%26#039; coats and skin, I have three Australian Shepherds.|||Probably fish oil is best. I always just gave my lab a little regular margerine every day--maybe a teaspoon. And an egg every 3 or 4 days. She got a really shiney, soft coat when I went on weight wathchers and gave her the extra veggies, too.|||I would recommend feeding a high quality food rich in protein and healthy fats. If a dog is fed a proper diet it will naturally have a healthy coat and skin.|||I give my dog a couple of beaten eggs and a bit of garlic every now and then and her coat is really glossy. I don%26#039;t know about the oil as it may have a laxative effect?|||As well as giving your dog oil, you should consider changing his food. The dog food which you are using contains rice which is grain and grain creates acidity within the blood, hence the dry skin.|||My dog had really dry skin and the vet suggested putting fish oil on his food to help his skin and coat. Its very healthy for them, it not only helps their coats but their skin as well. Good luck|||yup, it think it should be fine. I even read from this article that doing this twice a day is just fine.





http://dogtime.com/coat.html|||Completely useless waste of money!


Your auntie doesn%26#039;t know wtf she%26#039;s talking about.


%26amp; don%26#039;t put it ON the dog either!|||sunflower or fish oil would be good for your dog.|||Just dribble a little animal fat over her food....bacon drippings...hamburger drippings...that is the best oil.