While we love our dogs no matter what, there’s no harm in wanting them to look as good as possible. When you walk them up the street, you want everyone to know you don’t only have a good boy or girl — you have a good-looking pet. A luscious coat that catches the sunlight is a sure way to turn heads. A shiny dog coat helps your canine really stand out!
Whether you’re trying to restore your dog’s shiny hair or prevent it from fading in the first place, there are steps you can take to ensure it glimmers for years past its puppy stage. Let’s dive into some of the basics of making your dog’s coat shine with a few easy lifestyle adjustments.
Do All Dog Breeds Have Shiny Coats?
All dog breeds shine in our eyes, but they don’t all have genuinely shiny coats. Whether or not a dog shimmers in the sunlight has to do with their type of coat hair. Curly-coated, rough-coated, and wire-coated dog breeds tend to have duller hair because of the coarse texture.
Smooth-coated, double and single-coated, and long, medium, and short-coated dog breeds tend to boast shinier coats than their coarse-coated counterparts. No matter the breed of dog, there are a number of factors that contribute to a healthy coat and skin.
What Makes a Dog’s Coat Shiny?
Several things contribute to a dog’s healthy, shiny coat. Nutrition, health, grooming, and bathing are the main components. All those things are essential to maintaining a healthy coat, whether it naturally shines or not.
A balanced diet, good health, and environmental factors directly affect the condition of your dog’s skin, the largest organ of the body. A dog’s skin is almost completely covered with hair, and the health of their skin correlates to the growth of a healthy (and, in some breeds, shiny) coat.
Additionally, dogs have sebaceous glands that produce sebum —a natural oil that keeps the skin moisturized. Healthy sebum levels coat hair with oil that helps to keep your dog’s coat shining in the sun. Over or underproduction of sebum can lead to a dull coat and various irritating skin conditions.
The reason that curly or textured coats don’t shine as much as other varieties actually has to do with the positioning of the hairs. When the hair shafts’ cuticles lay flat, it evens the surface and allows light to reflect. Curly and textured hair often has frizz, which detracts from hair’s ability to shine.
What Causes a Shiny Dog Coat to Fade?
The same factors that contribute to a healthy, shiny coat can be the cause of a fading, patchy coat. Inadequate health and care can cause your dog’s hair to start looking lackluster and begin falling out.
Nutrition
Nutrition is a primary contributor to a dog’s healthy coat. While all dogs have unique dietary requirements, most breeds need a healthy amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats. They also need to be taking in the proper amount of calories for their age, weight, and breed.
Inadequate nutrition from low-quality dog foods won’t provide the necessary nutrients for keeping their skin in good shape. Unhealthy skin can grow an unhealthy, unnaturally rough coat. Dogs lacking proper nutrition often begin shedding excessively due to the poor, dry condition of their skin.
Health Conditions
Hormone imbalances, digestive issues, and metabolic abnormalities are some of the health conditions that often externally manifest as fading, unhealthy hair. According to VCA Hospitals, “Illness or stress, especially if it is chronic or long-standing, will affect the appearance of your dog’s coat.”
Grooming
All dog breeds benefit in multiple ways from regular grooming. Long-coated, double-coated, and wire-coated breeds often need more time-consuming, specialized grooming than short-coated and single-coated dogs. Nevertheless, brushing your dog’s hair is essential to overall health.
Regular brushing helps by removing dead skin cells and excess hair that lead to tangles and matting. It also helps rid a dog’s coat of “dirt, debris, and external parasites, and to distribute natural skin oils [like sebum] along the hair shafts,” according to VCA. Matted hair traps dirt and bacteria, directly leading to skin infections, which can quickly cause hair to lose its shine.
Bathing
Different dog coats require different amounts of bathing. Still, all dogs need to be bathed “on an occasional basis, usually when their coat becomes dirty or when they develop a doggy odor,” according to VCA. Inadequate brushing and bathing habits contribute to the deterioration of a dog’s coat and skin.
Non-shedding dogs typically need a bath every six to eight weeks. Dogs who shed seasonally, like double-coated dogs, should be bathed regularly throughout their shedding periods in the late spring and fall. Additionally, over-bathing can strip a dog’s hair of its natural oil, reducing shine and health.
RELATED: DOG SKIN CARE: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT AND WHAT YOU CAN DO
How to Prevent a Shiny Dog Coat From Fading
How well you care for your dog is the first line of defense for preventing their coat from fading. What you feed them, how often you brush and bathe them, and if you take them for regular check-ups will all affect their general health as well as the shine of their coats.
Consult your veterinarian for their recommendation regarding the best diet for your dog. All dogs have different dietary needs, and your vet is the best resource for personalized information on your unique four-legged friend. If possible, choose high-quality, organic dog foods that are rich in nutrients.
Concerning your dog’s overall health, do your best to educate yourself on their breed-specific predisposition to certain conditions. Take them to regular vet appointments and be their advocate. Ask for the screenings recommended for their breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC).
If you can, set and stick to a regular brushing and bathing schedule that meets your dog’s breed-specific grooming needs. Not only does this help prevent fading before it begins, but it also helps you bond with your pet. Grooming is also an excellent opportunity to check their skin for irritations.
Can You Improve the Shine of a Dog’s Coat?
Most dog breeds’ coats naturally fade a bit as they get older, starting with losing their “puppy coat” when they’re around six months old. It’s similar to how many people are born with lighter-colored, softer hair that begins to darken as they go through puberty.
While you can’t stop genetics and the process of maturing, you can take the above preventative measures to keep your dog’s coat from over-fading. If their internal and external health is neglected for long enough, it may be difficult or impossible to fully restore color and shine to their coat.
As long as you work at keeping them in good overall health, you should be able to keep your dog’s coat shiny. Bathing your dog, a sometimes arduous activity, is one of the best ways to directly benefit their skin and coat. Switching to quality food is also an effective way to improve the shine of your dog’s fur.
How to Make a Dog’s Coat Shiny
Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of dog skin and hair, let’s dive into some more specific things you can try to make your dog’s coat glimmer with health.
Dog Food Ingredients
Not all dog foods are created equal. Those made with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives or unsafe ingredients for dogs can be harmful to your pet’s health. While it is uncommon, around 3% of dogs will have an allergic reaction to artificial colors in their food, according to The Nest.
Although that number isn’t very high, experts recommend avoiding artificial colors in dog food as much as possible. They offer no nutritional value and are frequently studied for their potentially harmful effects. When it comes to your best (furry) friend, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
To benefit your dog’s coat directly, look for foods rich in omega fatty acids, specifically omega 3. Omega 3 fatty acids strengthen the skin barrier, which protects against infection, irritation, and overdrying. Lean proteins like chicken and turkey are also quite beneficial to a dog’s complete health.
Adding CBD Oil to Dog Food
Our CBD dog tincture is a non-intoxicating natural compound made from only two organic ingredients: pure CBD extract and hemp seed oil. Hemp seed oil is a complete plant-based protein and rich in omega fatty acids 3, 6, and 9.
CBD is safe for dogs and has many potential wellness benefits, such as reducing skin irritation and swelling. It’s incredibly soothing and therapeutic; as it nourishes your dog’s skin, it can also help them feel more relaxed. Healthy skin is one of the main benefactors of a healthy, shiny coat.
Pro-Shine Shampoo
Bathing your dog with specially formulated shampoo is a great stepping stone on the way to healthy skin and a shiny coat. Pro-shine shampoos are typically made with ingredients that primarily benefit the skin, so it’s better equipped to grow a healthy coat.
There are several high-quality dog shampoos on the market, but the best ones use nourishing, therapeutic ingredients like rice quat and colloidal oatmeal. The most beneficial ones are often made with CBD, which can benefit the skin when applied topically even more than when it’s ingested.
Our CBD-infused dog shampoo is incredibly moisturizing and cleansing. Made with rice quat and 200mg of full-spectrum CBD oil, this mandarin-berry scented dog wash leaves your dog spotless as it helps to moisturize and strengthen the skin barrier. Plus, it works for all dog breeds!
Bathing your dog with CBD-infused shampoo to relieve itchy, dry skin can also help improve your dog’s mood. Irritation leads to restless scratching, which is yet another thing that can damage your dog’s coat. Soothing their skin with calming natural oils like CBD allows them to finally relax.
RELATED: DOG SHAMPOO FOR DRY SKIN: HELP YOUR PET FIND PEACE WITH THESE TIPS
Brushing, Clipping, and Trimming
In addition to brushing your dog regularly, you’ll want to make sure you keep up with their professional grooming needs, like haircuts and nail trimmings. A healthy dog is a happy dog, and its aesthetics affect their overall health more than most people realize.
Short-haired breeds generally won’t need haircuts, but they do require a decent amount of brushing to soothe their skin and keep their hair tidy so it can shine. Long-haired, double-coated, and curly-coated breeds require frequent brushing and specialty grooming, especially double-coated dogs.
Nail trimmings are also essential to keeping your dog’s skin and coat healthy, believe it or not. If your dog has dry, irritated skin, they’re going to scratch at it. Long, sharp nails can damage and scrape their already sensitive skin, opening them up to the possibility of infection and hair loss.
Remember, all dogs are different and require different kinds and amounts of care. Paying attention to your dog’s grooming needs is a great step toward promoting overall wellness that allows for healthy skin and luscious coat growth.
Final Thoughts – Shiny Dog Coat
There is no magic spell to keep your dog’s coat shiny, but slight adjustments in their diet and grooming routines make a big difference. You don’t need to pay for expensive, shine-boosting shampoos and conditioners or fancy dog foods. You just need to look for quality ingredients.
CBD oil is one of the best ingredients for keeping your dog’s skin nourished and their hair thriving. Using either a CBD-infused shampoo or a CBD oil in their food (or both) may help your dog relax, both mentally and physically. It’s natural, soothing, and beneficial to their overall health.
We hope this gave you some ideas on how to keep your dog’s coat shining bright! If you have questions about our CBD oil for dogs, CBD-infused dog shampoo, or any of our other pet products, please feel free to contact us. Our customer service team is kind, knowledgeable, and can answer any additional questions you may have. To get more helpful information, check these articles on how to take care of puppies and dogs.
