Hi again all. My GR pup Daisy is 17 weeks old and, since we got her has had very bad dandruff. She is fed JWB kibble but isn't a huge fan and I've recently been adding some JWB wet food to the kibble and she's eating much better. I'm thinking wet food may be the way to go for her and have been looking at WW puppy trays but as we use up the last of the kibble I was wondering about adding things to it which may help her coat improve.

My brother keeps dogs (I should add that Daisy is our first so we are very new at this but very willing to learn) and has suggested I crack a raw egg on to her kibble or add some tinned fish. If I added sardines or similar how much would I add to her kibble (I'm thinking just once a day for a couple of days?) and do I need to remove the little bones or are they OK for dogs?

I'd appreciate any advice - I've been reading lots on here and it's all very informative and interesting.

Hi, you can feed tinned sardines, pilchards or mackeral to your dogs with no issues (unless of course your dog does not like them).

These are better than tuna as they are higher in Omega 3s than tuna and also less likely to have high mercury levels.

You can give these every day (small tin if you wish). You can get them in srping water, sunflower oil or tomato. I prefer to give the ones in tomato myself and stay away from the sunflower oil ones as these are higher in omega 6s.

My dogs get a raw egg every day.

You can add if you prefer a FBO (fish body oil) supplement (do not give CLO, cod liver oil as this is lower in Omega 3s and has Vitamins A and D) with a high DHA/EPA content.

If you are going to give tinned fish regularly and/or a FBO supplement than you MUST give extra Vitamin E as the former depletes the body of the latter.

The best is natural rather than synthetic, and the ones designed for humans are fine.

If you are going to move to wet foods then you may find Natures Harvest is better than WW as it has a higher fat/oil content.

HTH

Personally, I wouldn't get rid of the dry completely. They need something to chew for their teeth.
Tinned fish is fine and no need to pick the bones out.

Sorry to say, the idea that dry food cleans teeth is a myth. You only need to look at dogs who are fed almost exclusively dry food for evidence.


Example 6yr old fed dry food and treats.

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But surely better than only wet food which was my point
For "real" tooth cleaning I'd suggest a raw meaty bone

No dry food is not BETTER than wet, it is the carbs in dog food which leave a film of plaque on teeth, so unless you are feeding a carb free dog food, dry and wet will leave this.

Dogs in any case do not chew food, it is physically impossible for a dog to chew.

To chew you need a) a jaw that moves side to side; a dog's jaws move only up and down and b) flat molars.

It is one of the ways that animals scientifically classified as carnivores are differentiated from those classified as herbivors or omnivores!¬

There's no difference between wet and dry as far as teeth cleaning goes. Both leave residue which bacteria feed off to cause dental problems which in turn can lead to heart and kidney problems. Raw meaty bones, tooth brushing and/or commercial products such as Plaqueoff are the different methods I have heard of working, although the first is also my preference and haven't tried the others as it certainly works for us.

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I stand corrected by folk with superior knowledge
Thank god for Terence's teeth, we feed raw

Hi there
You have already recieved excellent advice

With regards to portion sizes the sardine tin sized that are avaialble in the shops would be a perfect meal topper for her, or maybe a third of a 400g tin of pilchards

A raw egg cracked over and mixed in (inc shell) every few days as well like your brother said


Does your brother feed raw by any chance?


Welcome to the forum by the way, I have a almost two year old golden retriever called Willow she is in my sig pic

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The New Look Willow's Place Website
http://willowsplace.weebly.com/

Just a note if the shell is not powdered it cannot be metabolised by the dog.