Dandruff can also be an adverse reaction to a poor quality diet or even indicate a dietary deficiency of essential fatty acids.

Choosing a high quality natural diet and an excellent fatty acid supplement can help moisturize your pet’s skin and minimize flakiness.

Check out this article on dry scaly skin and ask your veterinarian about other natural remedies to help your pet.

I’ve been wondering for some time how food could be a way to help prevent fleas on my cats.. what food, how much.. and why it works.. I’ve tried several things so far. with little success.. a few of the cats enjoy the spicy foods strangely.. what should I be looking for? how do I prepare it? I would love to not have to use chemicals.. it’s hard enough to get them a bath in just water and mild soaps.. but as soon as they smell the flea treatments.. its one heck of a fight…they don’t like it, and i don’t want to feel forced to put it on them..the fatigue and loss of appetite afterwards also concerns me…

Answer: You may find several references about the addition of Brewer’s Yeast or garlic into pet’s food to naturally repel fleas and insects….but these things do not consistently work for every pet.

The safest adult flea control for your cats is daily flea combing. Look into environmental treatment options that include borate powder as a more “natural” alternative to pesticides.

Also boosting your cat’s natural immunity with the use of a high-quality natural diet and daily vitamin-mineral supplement is recommended. Consider a product like Halo’s Herbal Dip as a natural alternative to chemical dips –you can apply it on their collars or use it as a spray on bedding or even in their shampoo.

Hope this helps.
Dr. Donna Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.

We needed to help. Earlier this month, with the help of Freekibble.com, Halo donated almost 6,000 cans of Spot’s Stew to McKamey and two other shelters and rescues in Tennessee, which have been distributing the food to pet owners in need.

“We are absolutely thrilled to do it,” says Lisa Reeves of the Nashville Humane Association, which gives out their Halo Spot’s Stew every Sunday and Wednesday. “If we have (the food) and we can help someone, we will. We try not to turn anyone away.”

In addition to the food, all three organizations (the third is A New Leash on Life in Lebanon) received a variety of other Halo products, including Herbal Healing Salve and X-tra C, an instant vitamin C powder.

“It makes me feel great to know that this food is getting to people who really need help feeding their animals,” says Mimi Ausland, the 13-year-old founder of Freekibble.com. “I know that because of this, people will be able to keep their pets and feed them a really good food.”

The Nashville Humane Association first started distributing food in November, 2008, and since then have helped some 500 families keep their pets. “I think it’s hard for some of these people to come in,”
says Reeves. “You have families who never had to ask for help, and now they do.

“People have been in tears, they’ve said, ‘I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here,’” Reeves continues. “It’s sad, i think pride gets in the way of some people but they have to come in and do it.”

On November 5th, Freekibble.com had a Hi-5 promotion: for every trivia question someone answered about a dog or cat, 50 pieces of of kibble would be donated by Halo. That day, some 60,000 people played Freekibble.com, raising 5 million pieces of kibble, or the equivalent of 20,000 Meals of Halo. And the need to help these financially-strapped pet owners continues to grow.

At McKamey Animal Center, there has not been the usual post-holiday slowdown in animal surrenders, says Sebes, noting that the 26,000-square-foot shelter now has 288 dogs and puppies, 455 animals in all. McKamey has shared the donation with two local food banks to reach more pet parents in need. “They’re very grateful we have this a service to them,” says Sebes. “People come to us for help with their animals and it’s great we can provide for them.”

Please remember, while these products are wonderful, they are not the same as what you can buy at the store. You’ll find earlier formulas, old labels, or short-dating. Short-dating means that the product will reach its “Best if Used By” date within 1-2 months of purchase.

While Halo foods are well balanced for achieving optimal health in older pets, daily supplements are still recommended. Some older dogs have picky or poor appetites or younger dogs in a household may challenge an older dog and end up eating the “lions share” of the food. Both of these situations may result in an older dog not receiving adequate nutrients. Supplements act as a daily nutrient insurance policy in these dogs. Even if an older dog is eating a high quality diet in adequate amounts, the additional nutrients coming from supplements may benefit many age-related conditions. For example, supplemental fatty acids can improve skin suppleness and minimize itchiness and shedding in older dogs. Supplemental vitamin B may help counter fatigue and improve appetite. Vitamin C enhances immune function and glucosamine often benefits arthritis patients.

Halo has also created a new line of functional treats that offers the benefit of a supplement while still being “just a treat”. These treats are low in calorie and high in nutritional value as well as provide antioxidants, vitamins and/or fatty acids that may be beneficial in a number of conditions that affect senior dogs (skin and hair coat problems, arthritis, kidney disease, etc).

Click here to read more about supplements available for older pets.

Vitamin Retailer, the bible for retail sales, thinks so too, and named Dream Coat the top animal health supplement of 2009!

Click here to read more.

In January of this year, he started back biting the hair off his stomach again. From January until late March he got a little worse every week. I took him into the vet and he gave him an allergy shot (cortisone). Four days later he was constipated and dehydrated. We almost lost him twice: in March and again at the first of May. I have since changed his food (from Royal Canin Duck and Green pea to Purina Naturals). When I would give him the Duck and Green Pea, he would throw it up every time. After his episode in May, I started him out slow with just canned food. I did not give him any hard food. I started his hard food last week. I wanted to get his stomach stable before graduating to hard food. He has done really well. Last week I also started putting the Halo Herbal Salve on his skin. Before I started putting the salve, he had his skin raw from licking and biting and scratching. He has bloodied his skin on his head and neck and his stomach. He looks absolutely terrible.

Last night I started putting Dream Coat in his food. I’ve started out slow with just 1/4 tsp. I will eventually work up to 1/2 tsp like it says on the bottle.

Do you think between the Dream Coat and the Herbal Salve that this will help his skin condition? He’s also still taking the Prednisolone. The cortisone shots are out of the question. It seems to me the cortisone was the reason for him becoming constipated and dehydrated twice after taking the shot. Each time there was four days in between.

The vet doesn’t know what to do except run up another bill. By the way, since March we have spent $1300 with this vet. Please help!

A: Hi Christy, thanks for your inquiry about our Dream Coat and Herbal Salve. There can be many things that cause skin irritations like what your cat is dealing with. These include flea allergies, food allergies, inhaled allergies–called atopy, and even some neurologic and behavioral problems. Given the severity of your cat’s problem and the non-responsiveness to therapies tried, I would recommend that you see a board-certified dermatologist. They can often pinpoint the problem and get you on the right regimen. You can visit www.acvd.org to locate a specialist in your area.

However, I certainly feel that your cat may benefit from both the Dream Coat and the Herbal Salve. While your cat has a rash or visibly crusty skin, the Herbal Salve will provide gentle relief and naturally help to ease the itchiness he is feeling. The Dream Coat is a blend of 6 virgin oils that provide critical fatty acids to keep skin supple, soft and non-inflamed. These fatty acids have proven beneficial in many cases of allergies in cats. Although they don’t target the underlying problem they help ease many of the symptoms. Barring any major food allergy, I also recommend the use of a natural diet (like Halo cat foods) that does not contain synthetic chemicals (such as dyes and preservatives), as many time these things can stimulate an allergic-type reaction.

Hope this helps.
Keep us posted.
Dr. Donna Spector

He is a 6 yr old rotty lab who is a big mush!

Thanks much..
Cheryl

A: Hi Cheryl:

Allergies are a very common cause of foot biting in dogs (especially this time of year). However, just to make sure we aren’t overlooking anything in Quinny, I would also recommend you ask your veterinarian about “Hepatocutaneous Syndrome”. Although uncommon, it is a condition that affects the feet and skin in dogs with hepatitis and other significant liver or endocrine diseases. Sometimes the earliest signs we see are foot biting and itching. There are specific treatments that we recommend for Hepatocutaneous Syndrome that wouldn’t be the same as allergy treatment…so just ask your vet to be complete.

The Halo Dream Coat is a blend of 6 cold-pressed virgin oils that provides an excellent spectrum of essential fatty acids. Fatty acids have proven beneficial in many cases of allergies as well as other inflammatory conditions (such as hepatitis, kidney inflammation, intestinal inflammation, arthritis, etc). It is likely that Quinny may benefit from fatty acid supplementation for several reasons. Please review my article Supplements for Skin and Coat: How to Achieve a Dream Coat in Your Pet for more information on fatty acids and Dream Coat.

Halo dog foods are natural foods that lack synthetic chemicals, artificial dyes or preservatives. Almost all chemicals that dogs eat must be metabolized or broken down by the liver, so I definitely recommend a natural or balanced home-cooked diet for dogs with liver problems.

Hope this helps. Good luck with Quinny.
Dr. Donna Spector

We Love Halo!
I bought this product in hopes it would help my dog’s hip problems. I mixed some of it in with his food and it practically disppeared! After only a few weeks I noticed a difference in my dog. He looks and feels like a whole new dog! Sometimes I mistake him for my puppy! hahaha I’ve noticed his urine no longer smells so strong and is lighter in color. He is doing much better, gets around great, and seems like he is in love with life again.

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