Everyone needs to talk about a spay/neuter... while in Europe it is not the "norm" to do so... however in the US it is.... that said waiting till the pup is mature is the best... but in the US we have issues with puppymills and Backyard breeders that breed/sell pups for profit... My contracts say that the pup needs to be spayed/neutered... and we talk about the age. Again, I will say that my puppy people are "Vetted" before getting a puppy, but many Puppymiller puppies and/or Backyard Breeders could not care if those pups were bred or not... nor are they health tested... so as they say "buyer beware". Responsible breeders stay in touch with the pups they place... the others... NOT... could not care less... OK I said my 2cents... And many in the US are not ready to keep a female that is in season... a short story about a friend that had 2 German Shepards... Male/Female in tact.... female came in season, so they locked to male in the backyard, female in their garage... the male "ate down the door to the garage to get to the female..".... puppies happened... no health testing either... IT HAPPENS... DO NOT THINK THAT IT WILL NOT! And I can tell you stories about males coming through windows in the home to get to a bitch in season....years ago we had a 12yr in-tact male lab 3 blocks over, he knew exactly when my Basenji bitches were in season... thankfully we had 12ft fences... but he was there every single day... not so for many homes that have fences this big... and if this boy was younger... I can bet he would have found a way over the fence
To B(ath) or Not to B(ath)
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About a month ago, Butu lost a fair bit of weight, and his fur got a bit patchy. He is now back up to weight and, by drinking a tablespoon or two of olive oil every day (really!) his coat is now soft and gleaming. But, rub that lovely soft fur the wrong way and flakes appear. Were he a human, I would call it dandruff. If he had sweat glands, I would surmise it was salt. I am presuming that he has had dry skin…but surely his skin can't be dry with all that olive oil sloshing about inside? My current thought is that it is old dry skin (Even though he has been soft brushed many times...) My question is - would a bath help? I know too many baths dry the skin out, but I'm wondering if one bath (with conditioning shampoo with wheat protein and almond) might help? What do the group think?
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Oh, and 'Scurf Boy' (as I am rudely calling him…) won a second place at a show for 'Best Condition' yesterday, so he's looking pretty good...
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I'm sure a bath will not hurt. Just be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse and then rinse again. i used to bathe my brindlewonderkid often as his fur made me itch and break out.
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There is a shampoo your vet should carry, made with aloe and oatmeal, so "soap." - keeps the skin safe and makes the fur gleam - we love it and the girls look great. As with any shampoo, the rinse is very important.
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Sometimes L an B are so dirty/smelly that we shower them with a high quality shampoo with neutral pH: rinse, soap, rinse with lukewarm water.
It works well and their fur is fine. -
If he had sweat glands, I would surmise it was salt.
They do, in fact, have sweat glands
Dogs also have both kinds of sweat glands, though, and they use them for other things. Most of a dog’s body is covered with epitrichial glands which are of importance for maintaining healthy skin. Atrichial glands, the ones that are so important to us, are only really found on the few bare parts of a dog’s body, like the pads of the feet. The moisture they produce helps improve grip.<<
But I think a good bath, DAILY brushing to stimulate the skin and help keep the dead stuff removed, should help. The fact the coat is looking better indicates you are on the right path. One good bath to remove the dead stuff might help.
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The coat looks gorgeous - it's just the skin…I have noticed since it is persisting it down here (and cold - well it is Summer...) that the flaking is much better - I wonder if the flat is too dry for him? It has got central heating...which is till occasionally switched on - and it's nearly June