In relation to my rescued husky ( 6 yrs old) I went to the vet today to ask for a trainer rec and she saw the dog and said because of the state the fur is in it would need to be clipped right back.

This doesn't sound right to me. I didn't think huskys were ever to be clipped or shaven.

Basically her fur looks like that of an older dog, say 10 or so years IYKWIM.

I was going to groom her daily with a detangling comb.

What do you think?

Do NOT shave her. It'll only give more complications to her and her coat. Just brush her and make sure she has a good food/diet and she should bounce right back and her coat should be all shiny and pretty (:

Add salmon oil to her diet as well, it'll take a few weeks to see real results, but it should help out with her coat and skin. Dont listen to vets about grooming or nutrition, unless you go to a holistic one, they know diddly squat lol

Thanks, I thought I knew more LOL

I was saying "really?? trim her fur right back????" made no sense to me and I knew it wasn't good to do that to an arctic. Good to know I was right!

I bought fish oil for her diet. Would that be ok? And I occasionally give her sardines.

Thats perfect! I give kale 2 1000mg caps a day. I actually started to notice a difference within 2 weeks. Its amazing what fish oil does for them, its even good for thier joints!

I tried to put it directly in her mouth, like you would do a cat. She closed her mouth, then delicately rolled her tongue out and the capsule fell on the floor

Looks like I will have to hide it. I tried to then plant them in her chicken carcasses. Hope that works

Akira refused to eat her fish oil for me for the first few days. When I put it in her food dish she just picked around it and our other dog would try to swoop in and steal it. I had tried giving it to her in a soft treat and she ate the treat and spit out the capsule. I told Chase we needed to figure something out to get her to eat it. He said, "No, I bet she'll eat it with her food." So he put the capsule in her food dish and she ate it plain. Go figure. I had been trying to get her to try it for a week, Chase tries once and she eats it for him. She's his baby, though. LoL. Try putting it in her food dish for a few days, she may get curious and try it. Our dogs love the taste of them now. Good luck!

(and I have also noticed a difference in their coats/stool since they started on fish oil)

I used to give mine cod-liver oil capsules, those really delicate ones, first time he looked like he was chewing but then the capsule fell out unmarked lol!

So when i give it to him, i hold his head up at an angle until he swallows - seemed to work fine! Now i have it in a bottle and just put some in his food once a day

Erinc wrote:

So when i give it to him, i hold his head up at an angle until he swallows)

I tried that too she is pretty good at still not swallowing, even managed to hold her mouth together for about 20 secs.

I just by this, http://www.lukesallnatural.com/icelandic-pure-sardine-and-anchovy-oil-p-6117.html as well as the salmon oil from the same company. Iceland is one of the few countries that regulate fish oils and require that heavy metals and toxins be stripped out. Probably more pricey than capsules but a lot more convenient and I feel safe with the source. My boys love it drizzled on their kibble.

Unless she actually has mats in her fur now, you shouldn't shave her. If she does have mats, you have to cut them out right at the skin if they are bad enough. I don't get why so many vets and groomers are pro shaving a dog down!

SaraB wrote:

Unless she actually has mats in her fur now, you shouldn't shave her. If she does have mats, you have to cut them out right at the skin if they are bad enough. I don't get why so many vets and groomers are pro shaving a dog down!

Because they aren't familiar with Northern breeds. Even other long hair dogs like Goldens can get lots of skin issues when shaved due to contact dermatitis and sunburn. I think I could write a book about what they don't teach you in Vet school and I've never been.

SaraB wrote:

Unless she actually has mats in her fur now, you shouldn't shave her. If she does have mats, you have to cut them out right at the skin if they are bad enough. I don't get why so many vets and groomers are pro shaving a dog down!

Nope no actual matted fur. I just couldn't think of a short title!

It's just more like she is twice her age, with old fur if that makes sense.

Agree with the comment, most vets don't know anything about arctic breeds and their needs. When I was asking for a trainer who had some experience with acetic breeds, she scoffed and said all dogs are the same, they're just dogs. Um yeah right....because a lab, beagle, husky they're all the same DNA *facepalm* They all have their own needs.

I use coconut oil for my dogs rather than fish oil for multiple reasons. No funky smells or taste, no pills to slip into their food, no worry about mercury, it's healthy for both my dogs and myself, and in addition to helping their coat it also helps maintain a healthy weight. Just my 2 cents.

My 2 are primarily on a fish protein diet and I often get compliments on how nice and soft their coats are.

Grizzly Salmon Oil is easy...pump bottle.... no mercury issues... two squirts on kibble.. mix up. My dogs coats are soooo soft . Have also used Extra Virgin Olive Oil and had good luck with it... 1 tsp on food daily. Get Grizzly at Amazon. Good luck.

honey_bee wrote:

Erinc wrote:

So when i give it to him, i hold his head up at an angle until he swallows)

I tried that too she is pretty good at still not swallowing, even managed to hold her mouth together for about 20 secs.

Blow on her nose when you put the pill in the back of her mouth, little trick we use at the vet clinic

Easiest way yet to have them take the fish oil capsule ..................... FREEZE them buggers. My 2 come running for their's when I open the freezer and shake the bottle of caps. Adobo loves to bite it and hear the snap, Biko goes into the other room and chews on it for a bit.