Feel of Coat?

[gamefanz]

Toby is 11 weeks old will be 12 weeks in 2 days. We have only given him 1 bath since bringing him home at 8 weeks. We used Johnson and Johnson shampoo at the time because it was gentle and the vet recommended it for his first bath.
I am unsure at this age what his coat should feel like. His ears are very soft where as the rest of him is half soft half rougher. Should his coat at this age be all soft like his ears? He also seems to not have as much hair as I thought he would but I could be wrong at the amount of hair he should have at this point.
I did buy oatmeal shampoo and conditioner and plan to give him a bath tonight. He has now switched completely to Royal Canin 33 from Eukanuba puppy. The Royal canin does have fish in it so maybe that will help his coat?
Thank you for any advice
Becky

[Desrae]

Hi Becky, our cavaliers ears seem a bit softer than the rest of their hair as well. I think they just secrete more 'oil' in that area...

Our girl Belle has an extremely thick fluffy coat while our boy Bobby has a sleeker thinner one... I've seen many cavaliers with varying coats, many are thick and luxurious whilst some are shiny and sleek.

I give my dogs cod liver oil, I try to do it a few times a week. The fish oils do help with their skin and coat. If your Toby enjoys fish, give him some tinned tuna, salmon or sardines once a week as a treat, that might help with his coat as well. Our dogs go mad for the stuff, it's a funny to see how excited they get about it!

[Jasper and Holly]

I agree with Desrae feeding fish is great for their coat. I love seeing them go crazy for it too. My two get tinned fish in oil mixed with grated carrot twice a week they love it. Plus omega 3 oil daily and their coats are beautiful. I use Aloveen shampoo and conditioner.

[gamefanz]

I thank you both for replying. Are you talking like starkist tuna(for sandwiches) or an actually slab of tuna in a can? I was told by the breeder that Toby is too young for fish oil pills. She says she gives it for adults only, has anyone done this for puppies? He is 11 weeks.
Thank you for sharing about the coats and how long and lush or lack there of your dogs are. It helps me. If this was the Pekingese breed I would know so much but I know little about this breed as in real life. Books can only tell you so much then you have to go on real life experiences.
Becky

[Desrae]

oh yeah, he's probably still too young for the capsules, but a little tin of starkist would be fine... that's the type I give mine.

[gamefanz]

Thank you. I have starkist in the pantry. I will give it a shot.
Becky

[BrooklynMom]

I have notices that Cav's coats can very a lot...and change a lot through the first year too! Brooklyn has shiny, thin stick straight right hair (just like me!), but her best little cav buddy who is the same age has a wavier and maybe a little bit wirey sort of coat. But they are 9 months now and our friends cav's coat that used to be really wirey, is now smoothing out and getting softer.

I give Brooklyn wild salmon fish oil pills, she LOVES them. When she hears the jar shakes, she does back flips (okay, not really, ha! but her tail does wag like crazy). Once Toby is old enough, wild salmon oil capsules are really good because they lack the trace metals or anything else that other fish oils might have. Cod liver oil is good too...but Brooklyn just hated the taste of it, she would have nothing to do with it, but liked the salmon oil, so it is a bit of an experiment I think as to what Toby will like best.

Sardines are great. I gave Brooklyn tinned sardines in oil (I drained the oil off) in her kibble when she was younger, that helped a lot! I also wrap her worming pills and any meds in a little sardine, and she is happy happy! And I use a Zoom Groom to brush her, which really helps with her coat! You can google it

Also, someone else might be able to answer this, but...is a puppy coat different in looks to the adult coat? I have no idea, just curious.

[Zumie05]

Your puppy sounds normal! Coco also has had very soft ears. Her other fur is also soft but nothing like her ears. Coco's coat really didn't start coming in until she was around 8 or 9 months old too, so for now I would enjoy the minimal amount of brushing needed!

Also I have heard it is not good to bathe your dog more often than every 4 weeks. This can draw off the necessary oils from their skin and cause them to become dry and flaky, and eventually over produce oils and they become greasy and smellier when older.

Fish oils are great for skin and coat care too! And I like your idea about the oatmeal shampoo, those are always so soothing for the skin and coat and makes them shiny and soft

[gamefanz]

Great info! Thank you. I will have to look up this zoom groom. Not sure if I can stomach the sardines LOL I hate fish to begin with so sardines would make me squirm
Becky

[BrooklynMom]

Ha, ha. Fair enough, they are pretty gross!

If you ever cook salmon, or even tinned salmon (you can get it next to the tinned tuna) that is great too! It has even richer omegas than tuna does and lacks the mercury content of Tuna (though, if you are not feeding tuna every day, that shouldn't be an issue).