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We just adopted a five year old maltipoo who has had several litters of puppies. Her last litter was very recent and has taken a toll on her. Her fur is very thin and brittle and she has a hotspot. Has anyone had this issue? She’s on pedigree right now, but I want to switch her to grain free. I have some supplements as well, msm, flax oil and coconut oil.
Hi merrymenagerie –
If she’s currently eating Pedigree I’m sure you’ll see a big improvement in coat condition by switching to any of the 4 or 5 star grain-free foods. The only suggestion I would make is to drop the flax oil and use fish oil or krill oil instead (or at least in addition to the flax oil). Flax contains omega 3 fatty acids, however they’re in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) – ALA needs to be converted into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) before it can be utilized by the body. Dogs are very inefficient at converting ALA to DHA and EPA (some sources I’ve read say less than 15% is converted), so you’d be much better of feeding a fish-based oil which contains omega 3’s in the form of DHA and EPA.
My other dog is eating Blue Buffalo Freedom. Would you switch her to that? I was thinking maybe she’s allergic to something in the food which is why I wanted to start her on a LID and then maybe switch her over to a regular grain free. Thanks for the info on fish oil.
Blue Freedom is an okay food – a lot better than Pedigree. You could certainly give it a go and if things don’t clear up in a few weeks, move to a limited ingredient food.
Congrats on your new addition!
Pedigree is on the extremely low end of pet food & is grain based. Blue Freedom comes in grain free as does Blue Basics. Wilderness is a grain free and 34% protein. All of these are great for skin & coat.My picky eater likes Fromm Gold. They make a puppy formula as well.
http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#puppy-gold – grain inclusive
http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#prairie-gold-puppy – grain free
I wouldn’t feed Pedigree or anything Blue Buffalo. Fromm GF Surf and Turf or Orijen Six Fish would be great choices as would any of the quality raw diets available but you need to transition slowly. You can also add a small amount of quality canned or freeze dried raw. Adding fish or crill oil are great ideas. Honestly, anything you feed that is not grocery store food is going to make a big difference.
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