Skin and Coat Tips for Winter

• Posted on 8 December 2015
• By Dr. Jill Tack
• Posted in coat, paws, skin, skinandcoat, snow, supplement
• 0

Skin and coat health is a perfect representation of your animal's digestive and immune system. Pets who tend to “dry out” or “grow dull” over the winter months could have larger issues going on internally. Addressing the issues quickly can stop them from becoming larger ones. Thankfully, the cure is easy--supplements! A simple supplementation is all that is needed to maintain a healthy skin and coat no matter what the weather may bring. Here are the ones we recommend:

By Vikki Zimmer

Skin and coat health is a perfect representation of your animal's digestive and immune system. Pets who tend to “dry out” or “grow dull” over the winter months could have larger issues going on internally. Addressing the issues quickly can stop them from becoming larger ones. Thankfully, the cure is easy--supplements! A simple supplementation is all that is needed to maintain a healthy skin and coat no matter what the weather may bring. Here are the ones we recommend:

Animal Essentials Phytomucil

Animal Essentials Phytomucil is packed with time-honored herbs proven to support a healthy gastrointestinal tract within your pet. If your pet is having diarrhea, constipation, or inflammation within their digestive tract, phytomucil may be the cure. The loss of liquids and nutrients during a digestive upset can cause damage that will in turn make your pet susceptible to illness. This product is alcohol-free and is made with herbs such as marshmallow root, slippery elm, plantain, and licorice that sooth the gastrointestinal tract. Because this blend is herbal, it is not only tastier than metamucil, but also more effective. Just administer orally (on the gum line is best) and you should notice your pet's digestive discomfort decrease significantly. This product can also come in handy if you notice your pet has come down with a slight cough.  

Holistic Blend Natural Vitamins and Minerals

Holistic Blend Natural Vitamins and Minerals unique formula contains 21 amino acids, 60 trace minerals, and 12 vitamins and antioxidants. It is a liquid supplement, so it is perfect for a picky dog or cat. This product can prevent hairballs, minimize shedding, boost thyroid gland activity, promote hair growth, and promote color pigmentation. This multivitamin provide supports for not only the digestive tract but also other organs. This formulation includes Barley Grass, Dried Seaweed (19 Different Types), Chlorophyll, Citrus Bioflavonoids, Apple Pectin, Trace Minerals, and Vitamin B Complex. Sounds good enough to try yourself!

Musher's Secret

Taking care of your pet's paws during the cold season is also important. Musher's Secret is a wax barrier between your pet's paws and the frozen ground. This product was formulated for sled dogs and uses safe, non-toxic food grade wax. Musher’s Secret semi-absorbs into the paws to allow perspiration. This product is perfect for dogs of all sizes and for all extreme weather conditions. Musher’s Secret can also be used in the extreme summer heat to protect against hot pavement and sand.

Pet Kelp Digestive Supplement

Pet Kelp Digestive Supplement has all of the naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, and amino acids contained within every other Pet Kelp product with some added pumpkin seed to aid in digestion. This supplements contains 29 minerals, 15 vitamins, 19 amino acids, Omega-6 and Omega-3. Pet Kelp uses a blend of red, green, and brown seaweeds as well as organic flax seed oil to create this nutrient packed supplement. One eight-ounce pouch contains 80 teaspoons of nutritious kelp, which means this supplement is quite cost effective. Nova Scotia is where the idea for this product was formulated. For over 400 years, fishermen and farmers along the rigid Nova Scotia coast have been feeding kelp to keep their animals hardy and healthy. What better supplementation to use this winter than one that was used successfully by indigenous peoples along the freezing cold northern Canadian coast?! This supplementation is also perfect for winter because it helps alleviate the winter blues. Amino acids and proper mineralization of the body are key to keeping a sunny demeanor in the winter tundra. This product has all that and more!

Vitamin D3

Helping your pet combat the winter blues is important as well. Vitamin D3 deficiency is an epidemic in the United States for humans, so just imagine how deficient our pets are. Adding some vitamin D3 into their diet will not only boost their mood, but will also help prevent cancer. Vitamin D3 increases the destruction of mutation cancer cells in the body and also slows down their growth rate. Out of the 30,000 genes in our bodies vitamin D3 has a direct effect on 3,000 of them.

As you can see, it is pretty simple to keep your pet's skin and coat healthy all year round. Along with a whole-food diet, some simple supplementation is all you need. Skin and coat health lies directly within the gut of your animal. Maintaining their gut health is the easiest grooming advice you could take and the results will speak for themselves.