Noticeable coat change after food switch?

[JustAnotherDogLover Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JustAnotherDogLover]

I decided to switch my Mals food from the Purina Healthy Morsels Puppy Chow (main ing. corn) to a Maximmum (main ing's chicken and beef). I know the puppy chow isn't a high quality kibble but it was the only food we could get her to eat. The pet store had sample bags (1lb) of Maximmum last weekend so I took a coupld bags and low and behold, she ate it. So she's been eating this stuff for a couple days now and we're about ready to totally switch to 100% Max (I've been slowly weening from the puppy).

Most of my wanting to switch was because of her skin/coat condition which has gotten poor recently. Though I know she has a slight case of fleas (I've tried everything), they aren't bad enough to make her as itchy as she is. And of course she's got some allergy caused hot spots. Vet check up last week said she was healthy, no medical problems and he agreed it was probably for the most part a food allergy and he was all for the switch (though he tried hard to get me to consider Science Diet).

Okay.....so long question short. We're ready to switch 100%, she's still eating this stuff really really well, so I'm wondering if her skin/coat problem is indeed a food allergy from the puppy chow, how long will it take on the Max before we notice a change in her coat?

[celtechfarms Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close celtechfarms]

Dite changes from a lesser food to a better can take six months to imporve the coat on a dog, in fact the coat can get worse as the bad coat sheds out and the new one comes in. I don't understand you not being able to do anything about the fleas, there are topical as well as oral meds you can give and natural flea killers. Your dogs coat is unlikely to improve if shes still got fleas. But you can quote me on the siux months, I have seen it first hand.

[JustAnotherDogLover Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JustAnotherDogLover]

WOW I certainly wasn't expecting it to take 6 months. That seems like such a long time. But we'll see I guess!

As for fleas.........I have tried Advantix (but Bayer, Inc. tells me they think the box I bought was counterfeite). I have also tried some cheaper topical like Hartz, Adams and Bio Spot. I've also bought Hartz, Frontline and Bio Spot sprays. I give her a flea bath every week and have tried Hartz, Zodiak and a no-name shampoo. I had pest control out here to flea spray the carpets and the yard. I put table salt in the carpets and furniture. And she takes a garlic capsule daily.

I'm doing something every week but the fleas are just horrid. They aren't as bad as the were, and it seems to get better after I do something. But it's not going away. If you look at her you only see 2 or 3 fleas, but of course there really are more than that.

Someone told me to try a human bug spray that claims to kill and prevent fleas but it's 25% deet and I'm not comfortable using that on a dog. Agree?

[SalemWitchChild Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SalemWitchChild]

Never use human products on dogs.

As far as the food I noticed a difference in Kota's coat immediatly but the change was gradual for quite a while. So I'd say the 6months is accurate.

As far as zodiac, heartz, ect.. don't waste your money on them. They are not worth a cent in my opinion and have hurt dogs in the past.

Advantix and Frontline are the best but they do take months to see the full effect. You have to keep in mind the way they work. They do NOT kill the fleas on them. They make them infertal so they break the cycle of birth, life, and death. They have a short lifespan but it will still take months to see them all gone. Why not start frontline or advantix and bath with a flea shampoo (detergent and soap free..ph balanced for dogs) Remember not to bath a few days after you apply the frontline or advantix. If you do that you will wash the treatment off.

That way you will be treating for long term as well as short term infestation. :)