some advice from you grooming experts please...

jack - never been clipped - his coat seems particularly dull lately, like its dead hair, but the coat king isnt really taking much out . its his back really, and his liver fur.

I suspect i need to change his food to be honest, which may have an effect, currently on wagg worker, which i moved over to when he went off skinners duck and rice, plus it was cheap! there isnt much left of it so will be finding something else to feed him - any suggestions on good food for coats that dont cost 40 quid a bag? or anything i can do to help his coat - he regularly has mackerel/sardines and also some lamb bones / ox liver/heart once a week..

i mean, he is fluffy enough with the post castration without it being dull as well~!!!

got exactly the same problem with Ruby as well - her coat looks all dull and the coat king doesnt touch it - know its dead stuff as it pulls out but there is too much of it to do by hand - she wouldnt stay still anyway

will be looking at this thread with interest

we clip ours short now, that plus a raw egg now and again seems to keep them shining.

Doctor John gives a good coat, Silver for non-working dogs and gold for workers. About £7 a 15 kilo bag.
Try a teaspoon of cod liver oil or sunflower oil on the dinner every day.
The sun tends to fade the liver coats.

As for hand stripping that works better if done a little every day until they get used to it. The show Springers were stripped like this in the dim and distant past.
I still do it if I have time.

I would back up the Dr John's story, as that's what Daisy's on. But......she hasn't been spayed yet so that might change her coat.

right, DJ silver will be next food choice then. did think about (and gave) cod liver oil a couple of days, but worry it might make him a bit runny on top of the sardines etc. Will try tho. Jack is not the most ameanable dog for grooming, so maybe i need to send him to u for the day Jackie........ xx

Would you like some to try him with before investing in a huge sackful? I'm sure Daisy can spare some after Jack so generously shared his liver and steak with her this week (which as you can imagine, she didn't like at all!!! )

Haven't used my day out at your spa yet Sarah. Perhaps I should visit on the way back.

Just start him off with half a spoon if you are worried about runny tummy. Bruce has tuna in oil on his Royal Canin Junior and that is oily in itself. He has a coat like a mirror now but he is only 7 months old.

u really should use that jackie!! especially b4 the end of march when i leave.... do callme when u want to use it - will sort out the details for u. and then u can come and groom jack and give him cuddles!! x

Archie was a bit of a ginger-liver colour when he arrived with us; lots of dead hair making him look quuite dull. We used a comb with an elastic band wrapped round the teeth, and it worked a treat (thanks Selina!!). It's much quicker than hand stripping, and he's lovely and shiny now! (He eats Dr Johns Silver too).

Arden Grange is very good and not that expensive, If Jack's coat doesn;t improve in a couple of weeks after the chage over, that I;m afraid is sounds as if his coat is blown, this can happen in neutered dogs, and I;m afraid clipping is the only answer, to give back the shine, as you know I donlt handstrip nuetered dogs because of the change of texture to the coat after nuetering. take a photo now and then again in a couple of weeks and see if you can see a difference

And to throw something else into the mix, we switched for Dr J's to Chudleys and theie coats are a treat now, Liz noticed the difference the other week

Chudleys working crunch for my lot and some cod liver oil/evening primrose oil capsules when I remember them, mine eat them like sweeties except Bilbo who has to have his in his dinner, the rest come running when I rattle the tub and chew them with gusto

Sarah, can you post a photo of him, it might be easier to tell what the remedy is if we can see what he looks like?

will take a couple of photos tonight, its strange really, on thursday night i had to bath him as he came in covered in poo after a roll, and its much better not so dull, but still in a few patches.

This happened last time i bathed him probably over a month ago. clearly i dont want to have to keep bathing him (i used malaseb)..

i suppose there is the possibility he is getting ready to shed. Hope his coat isnt blown as mary says...