Coarse Coat question

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

I have two doodles with very different coats.  My Australian Labradoodle is 10 months old.  He is a multigen with a soft, wavy coat...feels great to pet him over and over again.  I have a F1B Goldendoodle.  She turned 1 in June.  Her coat is super curly.  She was spayed in February and groomed back in the spring and she had mats and was cut very short.  She has been groomed twice since then...kind of maintaining the short coat.  Before her Spring shaving, her coat was curly, but soft.  Now it is very coarse.  She is a chocolate doodle, whose mom was blonde.  Her coat is now strewn with white/grey looking hairs, too.  Is there some way to get her coat back to being nice and soft?  Both dogs are eating Blue Buffalo Large Breed Chicken and Rice formula for puppies.  I know she should transition to an adult food but she refused to eat it...even when it was the same brand/taste.  Any ideas on how we can help her regain her soft curly coat?

 

Thanks!  You can see pictures on my page.

 

Amy

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I have 2 comments that might help. I have had a couple of dogs that developed coarse coats and I took them off chicken and their coats improved dramatically. You could switch your dog to a different protein to see if that has any effect. I feed raw, so it may be different for kibble fed dogs, but maybe not.

 

The other comment is about grooming style. I find that if my doodles with more kemp are given a haircut with a clipper, the coarse hair is amplified. If they are scissored, it's less noticable. I think this is because the coarser hair cuts a millisecond after the softer hair is cut, leaving it a bit longer. Also this coarser hair is straighter, so can sit above the curlier or limper softer coat. When a coat is sissored, the coarse hair actually gets cut a fraction shorter than the soft part of the coat because it's standing taller. Then when you fluff the softer coat, it actually rises above the coarse hair. Dunno if this all makes sense to you. I have been thinking about doing some drawings to show what I mean.

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

Thanks for the reply.  That does make sense about the choice of trimmer/scissor.  Her ears and belly are still dark chocolate and super silky/soft.  Her ears have the curl, but more shine to them.  However, her tail has a lot of white in it and is kind of dry feeling.

 

Now that I think about it, we switched her food from Purina to the Blue Buffalo around the same time as her shaving because we got our labradoodle in December and his sensitive tummy required raw to kibble chicken/rice diet.  I really don't want to have to buy two different kibbles...especially when an 8 and 10 year old are responsible for feedings.  Is there anything I can add to her diet that could help?

 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Try giving her a 500 mg. evening primrose oil softgel capsule(human supplement) once a day.

Also, you may want to join the Food Group for more info on recommended kibbles, sensitive stomachs, etc.

You definitely want to stay away from Purina.

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

Thanks.

It was pedigree.  I made a mistake. Not that it is much better I believe.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No, not better at all.

You want a food with a good Omega 6:3 ratio and a good Omega fatty acid content. Blue Buffalo is on the recommended list, but there are others that might be better for your dogs. Perhaps a grain-free.

But no food can change the basic structure or texture of the hair, for humans or for dogs. Evening primrose oil does seem to help improve softness and shine, though.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I have to say that I have had pretty extreme changes in texture and quality of coat by changing food and more than once. Since I have raised 200 puppies, I have seen lots of things you would think couldn't be true.

 

[Helen & Kirby]

I have been adding salmon oil to Kirby's food, and her coat is noticeably softer, and less "mattie" than when I used just fish oil or omega.  Barb's lemon conditioner is also really great for a soft coat!