Grooming 101: How Your Pet's Diet Can Impact Their Coat and Skin

Maintaining your pet’s grooming is important to the health and well-being of your pet.

A healthy skin and coat play a vital role in your dog or cat’s overall comfort. Your pet’s coat should be soft, shiny, and odorless. An unhealthy skin and coat will be dull, dry, or brittle, excessively greasy, and may have an odor. Pets with an unhealthy coats may lose clumps of hair or shed excessively; they may also need to be groomed more frequently.  

Although there are many different factors that can lead to skin and coat problems, your pet’s diet has a direct effect on its skin and coat. A diet high in carbohydrates and processed ingredients can lead to a smelly, flakey coat. Your pet may also develop food allergies due to the yeasts and starches in commercial kibble or the various protein and vegetable sources. Food allergies can cause itching, discomfort, discoloration of your pet’s fur, inflammation, and infection.

A raw diet, such as Vital Essentials, promotes a healthy immune system which helps produce a smooth, shiny, odorless coat. This grain-free, gluten-free food offers a single protein source, such as beef, turkey, duck, rabbit, or chicken, which reduces the risk of allergies developing. The amino acids found in these protein sources benefit your dog or cat’s coat, and the nutrients found in a raw diet can help reduce shedding, which means less trips to the groomer for your pet.  

Supplementing your pet’s diet with foods high in Omega-3 fish oils, such as those found in Wild Alaskan Salmon Freeze-Dried Treats and Salmon Skins for cats or Freeze-Dried Treats and Salmon Skins for dogs, can also reduce inflammation and help ease your pet’s shedding which means less fur around the home.

Just remember to switch to a purely raw diet slowly. If you take 10 to 14 days to gradually transition your pet’s diet, it will give their digestive system time to adjust to the new food.

The essential fatty acids found in a raw diet have been shown to aid in the growth of thick, healthy fur, which means less time spent grooming and more time for snuggles! But don’t just take our word for it, you can read Testimonials from pet parents on our website.

For more information on Vital Essentials and our full product line, follow us on TikTok and Instagram. And if you have any questions, be sure to check out our FAQ page for answers. Together, we can ensure your pet gets the proper nutrition they deserve.