Your pet may be suffering from an improper balance of essential fatty acids. Pet foods are notoriously low in fatty acids because these fats are fragile and prone to break-down by overcooking or improper storage of dry food. Pets on fat-restricted (weight loss) diets may be at increased risk for deficiency.

Many skin conditions will improve from the addition of fatty acids as they help eliminate inflammation within irritated skin and improve skin moisture and suppleness, regardless of the underlying problem.

There are many beneficial anti-inflammatory fatty acids and a fatty acid supplement like Dream Coat combines six cold-pressed virgin oils (including fish oil) to achieve an ideal ratio of anti-inflammatory fatty acids. Dream Coat is a perfect complement to a natural diet and can help your pet get on their way to looking and feeling their best!

Note: Always consult your veterinarian about skin problems as there may be other recommended therapies.

The long, cold winters in Vermont can be rough on pets, particularly if they are strays with no place warm to find refuge. Without hesitation, we answered a call for help recently from Vermont-based rescue Save Our Strays for Halo Cloud Nine Healing Salve to heal frostbitten ears and paws cracked from road salt and ice.

“We have used it on our animals here and it worked really good,” says Lisa Haynes, founder of Save Our Strays, which received 120 jars of Cloud Nine Healing Salve. Always caring about a dog or cat’s nutritional needs, we also sent them 24 jars of Daily Greens and 24 jars of X-tra C, our vitamin C supplement.

Recently, a homeless cat that ended up at Save Our Strays sorely needed Cloud Nine. He had frost bitten ears with raw edges. “We used the salve on him and it worked incredibly,” says Lisa.

For the dogs, Lisa and her husband, Roy — who run the rescue from their Huntington home — coat their paw pads before a walk to prevent penetration of road salt and ice. “It bothers them alot,” Lisa says. “To put this (salve) on, it makes it so it doesn’t penetrate their little paws.”

And big paws, too. Lisa, owner of two St. Bernards, puts Cloud Nine on their paws after a romp in the snow to prevent irritation caused by the snow clumps stuck between their toes. “This works better than anything I’ve used,” Lisa says. “And the dogs seem to tolerate this alot better. The other stuff they don’t like the smell and run away from me, but they tolerate the application of really well and it’s not like they mind it.”

Last year, Save Our Strays received over 300 cases of Spot’s Stew for its cats, and 570 for the dogs, a donation worth over $32,000. Click here to read more about the donation and Save Our Strays.

Lisa says that feeding her rescued animals such high quality food creates shiny coats that people marvel at. “We get alot of comments on our strays and ask, ‘How do their coats look so good?’” says Lisa, who is down to the last cases of Spot’s Stew. “I try to make sure the dogs have human grade ingredients in their food, it makes a huge difference.”

Dandruff may simply be caused by dry, poorly hydrated skin. Make sure your pet gets enough water by adding canned food to his/her diet and encourage water drinking throughout the day.

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.

Question: I read the e-mail (blog) about spots stew… and can’t help but keep thinking about fleas and chemicals, and their side effects on everyone around them..

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.

Imagine having no money but a very hungry dog or cat to feed. Unfortunately, this sad scenario is happening all over the country, with many heartbreaks for both our four-legged friends and their owners. “Since the economy took a turn for the worse, we’ve seen a lot more animal surrenders,” says Tricia Sebes, volunteer and rescue coordinator for the McKamey Animal Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “The reason is definitely increasing that people can’t afford to feed their pets.”

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.”