Jackson's hair feels awful!

[CrazyDogMom]

I've been battling Jackson's terrible coarse hair since we got him, and I give up! We changed to Fromm's puppy in the pink bag and Penny's hair feels amazing, and Angel has always felt like a fake dog she's so soft, but not Jackson! We do NuVet Plus with breakfast, yogurt with lunch and dinner, and cottage cheese as a bedtime snack. We only give all natural treats, but usually they get turkey bacon, I usually premake and freeze a pack or two of turkey bacon, breakfast for us, treats for them! Anyway, we bathe them all with earthbath puppy shampoo every two or 3 weeks. We use baby wipes to clean them up everyday at least once a day, and MalAcetic wipes about every two or three days. He doesn't have any skin problems, no itchiness or anything. I think he may have a slight allergy to grass, but as long as I wipe him off after he comes inside from rolling around everywhere he's fine.
Should I change shampoos, or add a supplement? Both? I searched the forum for dog shampoos and saw a lot of people use a shampoo with oatmeal and tea tree oil, should I try that? I've even went so far as to try my Wen ultra super duper dry hair treatment it made his hair shiny! But, it still felt like crap.....

 

[Petra]

Maybe his fur is a bit rough naturally? My bulldogs have very different fur, Boeboe is soft like velvet while Joey and Bennie has got rougher longer hairs that sticks to everything. They are still kind of soft but the hairs are totally different from Boeboe. It sounds like yours are still puppies? The hair might change over time. If he doesn't have any medical issues such as rashes or redness I wouldn't worry to much about it. I think someone here said that rinsing them with a mix of water and Apple Cider Vinegar after bath keeps them soft... but I don't remember the ratio

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi Brandi, I agree with Petra's advice above, every bully is different, and since you're already using great food and products, this may just be his normal hair. You can try adding an Omega supplement such Salmon Oil or Coconut Oil to see if that helps. I rinse our guys with equal parts white vinegar and warm water after shampooing, this keeps their coat soft, and also helps to keep them smelling nice in between their baths. You don't need to use apple cider vinegar for bathing, as it is more expensive than white vinegar. ACV has health benefits when added to the drinking water or to the kibble.

 

[g8erjackie]

Ruckus's fur isn't as super soft on his back as some bulldogs I've met. I also feel like Ruckus has thicker fur than the velvety soft coats. I give him fish oil supplements with his food and alternate between a medicated duoxo shampoo and a moisturizing oatmeal shampoo. Both of these things have helped, but I don't think Ruckus will ever have that baby fine fur.

 

[Kathy Henry]

My Pugsley has really coarse hair too. I think its just him. Even his siblings had softer hair than him. I use some of the same products you do. I don't think there's anything else to do.

 

[madie4589]

Frank has coarse hair along the middle of his back and the softer hair on the sides. I'm expecting his full adult coat to be pretty coarse. Like others have suggested, maybe that's just how Jackson's natural coat is. Sounds like you're talking great care of his coat regardless

 

[CrazyDogMom]

Hi Brandi, I agree with Petra's advice above, every bully is different, and since you're already using great food and products, this may just be his normal hair. You can try adding an Omega supplement such Salmon Oil or Coconut Oil to see if that helps. I rinse our guys with equal parts white vinegar and warm water after shampooing, this keeps their coat soft, and also helps to keep them smelling nice in between their baths. You don't need to use apple cider vinegar for bathing, as it is more expensive than white vinegar. ACV has health benefits when added to the drinking water or to the kibble.

I'll try the vinegar when bath time comes around again. My thinking was if Penny had a sleak, shinny, coat then Jackson should, too -they're litter mates- I was going to try fish oil or coconut oil, from what I've read they're both very similar, is that right? I actually had a dream that I went to buy coconut oil and it was in a tanning lotion bottle. Haha! Oh my brain, it's missing summer apparently!

 

[Davidh]

Some bullies just have coarse hair and there is nothing you can do about it. Our BeBe has coarse hair, more so than the others.

 

[2BullyMama]

agree with the others.... he may just have course hair. Our Nitschke did, his was course, where as Banks was very soft that we called her velour head at times

 

[CrazyDogMom]

I ordered new oatmel and aloe shampoo from pet flow to try with their next bath along with rinsing with vinegar, and I'm going to try giving them all fish oil, too. It can't hurt, unless one turns out to be allergic, agh! I noticed today while giving him a very good scratch that the coarser areas seem to be shedding off. Fingers crossed it comes back softer!

 

[Bentley014]

I noticed about 2 months ago how my Bentley,s coat had gone really course & dull. I started using Salmon oil on his food twice aday.After a month his hair turned as soft as silk & really glossy.I shall continue with the Salmon oil for long term now.I also give him natural yogurt fat free on his food every morning.Try this & see if you can notice the difference.

 

[CrazyDogMom]

I noticed about 2 months ago how my Bentley,s coat had gone really course & dull. I started using Salmon oil on his food twice aday.After a month his hair turned as soft as silk & really glossy.I shall continue with the Salmon oil for long term now.I also give him natural yogurt fat free on his food every morning.Try this & see if you can notice the difference.

Hum, I've never heard of using salmon oil before. Did you try regular fish oil to compare results?

 

[Bentley014]

I read up on using salmon oil on here. The product I use is Grizzly pet products Wild Salmon Oil from Alaska for dogs which I got from Amazon. I have not tried regular fish oil as I am happy with the results using this. Reading the reviews on this product on Amazon was convincing to give it a try.