★★★★★
What has made my dogs skin and coat beautiful is a daily combination of 1/2 tsp of ACV mixed in some plain organic yogurt. I use "nancy"s". My big dog- black lab mix has yeast issues in his ears and paws and it has cured this problem but also improved his coat as well as the coat of my other dog. I see huge skin improvemnets. It took about a month to see the difference as I think it changed the PH of his gut thus working it's way out to the skin. I got a little lax on the routine and right away notice the old problems back. Needless to say I am going to do this everyday from now on. One more thing- my dog with the yeast problem has been allergy tested and has a dairy allergy- I figured I would take a chance with the organic yogurt and I have seen NO ill effects- it is full of all the good bacteria- not sure if that made the difference or what.
★★★★★
I recently started to add 1/2 teaspoon of flax seed oil and 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to my dogs' food (Blackwood + ground turkey or ground beef). After 4 days, their coats are looking AMAZING! Shiny and glossy as can be. Also, they have no doggie smell whatsoever (more time between baths, thankfully) . Their eyes are bright and buzzing with energy. One side effect though is that it sometimes stimulates the anal glands if you know what I mean (e.g., stinky discharge). Too much flax and acv and their stools get loose. They seem to do okay on the 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon range (my 3 dogs all weigh between 45 - 65 pounds). I think I will try adding canned pumpkin to their food as well to firm up the stools. One suggestion -- don't give the flax/acv to your dog for his/her morning meal if they don't have access to the backyard since they may need to go to the bathroom more than once.
I do many good and healthy things for my dogs. I find putting organic coconut oil on their food makes their coats shine and feel softer that very day. They love it too. I melt it before I put it on their food.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Yogurt
A lady w/ a very shiny dog at the dog park said she gives her dogs yogurt & peanut butter in the kong toy daily... I'm going to try peanut butter for my Shih Tzus. Not sure if their coats will be as shiny as the short haired dogs though.
