# Aussie with greasy/ oily hair



## DVFlyer (Mar 6, 2013)

Hi all,

First post (besides the intro) so be gentle. 

We have a Australian Shepherd who always seems to have oily hair. Even after bathing her (or having her bathed). Within a day, you pet her and your hands have that greasy feel.

We feed her a raw chicken diet with no supplements (been fed that way basically since we got her at 8 weeks. She's about 5 or 6 now). I take the skin off the chicken when I cut it up. We noticed she gets REALLY greasy/ oily if we leave the skin on.

We usually trim her a couple times a year and either bathe her ourselves (using dog shampoo- whatever Kahoot's pet store's brand is) or take her to Petco to be trimmed and bathed. We could bathe her more but I hear bathing too much can cause problems with dry skin etc.

We are the world's worst pet owners when it comes to brushing, only brushing her when we bathe her or a few times a year... and we also use a Furminator (!) which I've read here is not a good choice.

Any suggestions are welcome.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Just chicken isn't a nutritionally complete diet. It is low in a number of minerals and vitamins and unless you are feeding pastured chicken low in omega 3 fatty acids as well. Could be why the coat isn't good. 

Please visit the dog food forum here and read about feeding raw. Many of us do prey model raw which is 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organs such as kidney and spleen which approximates the ratio of a whole animal. Some of the meat should be on the bone and fish and eggs can be included as meat. 

Chicken is a great food, it just isn't enough by itself.


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## DVFlyer (Mar 6, 2013)

Thanks for that info.

The chicken she eats are leg quarters (just adding this info since I didn't include it). Depending on the size, it can be cut into thirds or halves which give her about 1lb of food per day which has worked well for her weight (she's about 40-45lbs). We also give her gizzards a few days a week.

We also tried adding salmon oil (Grizzly something or other brand) for a while and she seemed to get really itchy, so we quit.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Agreed. Only chicken is not a good diet. The thing with raw is variety, variety, variety. She is getting no,organ meat and only one protein source. You are better off feeding a quality kibble rather than just chicken. Get rid of the furminator, though if you are only using it a few times a year, coat damage will be minimal. Just not a useful tool for a longer haired breed. A slicker brush and rake are all you need. Brush her more and bathe her more. This will distribute the oils better. And get her diet fixed.


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## DVFlyer (Mar 6, 2013)

Good info... thanks. 



Graco22 said:


> Agreed. Only chicken is not a good diet. The thing with raw is variety, variety, variety. She is getting no,organ meat and only one protein source. You are better off feeding a quality kibble rather than just chicken. Get rid of the furminator, though if you are only using it a few times a year, coat damage will be minimal. Just not a useful tool for a longer haired breed. A slicker brush and rake are all you need. Brush her more and bathe her more. This will distribute the oils better. And get her diet fixed.


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