Soft Puppy getting coarse

Hi all,

My little 4 month old blue's hair is starting to get really coarse. On his head and neck he is still super soft however his back and bottom are getting quite hard.

Is there anything I can do to bring this back to soft, or prevent it?
Wash him more? - Currently wash about every 3 weeks and use oatmeal conditioner
Brush him more / better? - Use a brushing glove with rubber bristles
Use any creams or conditioners outside of washing?
Better diet? currently he has an egg every second morning on dry food, and every second night has mince / chicken on dry food. The rest of the time is just dry food.
Supplements - Are fish oil tablets any good?

Or are some staffys just coarse?

Is this not normal to have a coarser coat along the back line - I think that's what the hackles are ?

From my short experience, I have found that coat condition can be heavily influenced by feed. You mention dry food but what exactly are you giving ?
I also read that staffies should not (and don't need to be) washed regularly so you are probably stripping the coat of natural oils which also bring shine and softness.

Nifty has said what I would say, you really shouldn't be washing that often, we just wash hank when necessary.

Food has a big impact on coat too.. We raw feed hank and I add fish oil and coconut oil to his food, his coat is fabulous. I don't get the tablets as I was worried he would pick it up and play with it and burst it somewhere in the house so we get one out of a bottle to stir in his food.

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My experience with adult staffies (in rescue, I see loads), is that their coat texture can vary although full staffies don't tend to be very coarse. Puppy coats do often loose their super softness when they first start to shed.

Absolutely you should not over wash any dog's coat, regardless of what groomers (who want business) and product manufacturers (who want business) say. A dog's skin naturally produces the oils it needs to keep a coat healthy, washing takes those oils away and can leave you with skin problems. Provided a dog is healthy and has a good diet, you should have a good coat, according to the dog's genetics.

One thing that is worth bearing in mind is that your pup is blue, which can cause skin and coat problems:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t17716-colour-dilution-alopecia

I would monitor his coat and skin. It it appears that he just has a slightly coarser coat than when he was a pup, it's probably a case of just living with it and loving him as he is. However, if you have further concerns it's worth popping him to the vet to check.

it's also worth bearing in mind that your pup is starting to lose his puppy coat & so any new, adult coat will seem 'courser'.

As everyone else has said, don't wash your pup too much - once or twice a year is probably enough, and even then only if he's smelly or really grubby!

a goid quality food will also make a difference to a dog's skin condition & coat.

Thanks guys, all the information really helps!

For dog food I have been giving him Black Hawk puppy food I cant post the link
blackhawkpetcare.com/en/our-products/original/puppy-chicken-rice/

and mixing that with a small bit of chicken or mince every second day.

As everyone is mentioning diet I have tried giving him a bit of this now also mixed within his dry food, but he just keeps leaving the dry food.

4legs.com.au/product/kangaroo-w-vegetables/
and
4legs.com.au/product/3-meats-w-rice-parsley/

about 100gm per serving twice a day (morning and night)

Do you think this is enough or should I vary it more? Someone at work was telling me that sardines are also good?

Ive got some coconut oil too now too and will start giving that to him.

Ive also looked at the short haired furminator online as a better brush as I think the rubber glove is not doing it  

Thanks for the advice any thing else is greatly appreciated.

If he's leaving his dry food have you considered changing him to an all raw diet? Or do you give him the meat cooked? I feed mine raw but add some cooked chicken (the bits we won't eat) and he loves it, with him still being a pup I buy pre mixed chicken and beef mince packs made for dogs so it has bones and offal mixed in there too.

I've had a look at the links to your feed. They do claim being holistic and the such but what would concern me is the amount to be fed in the feeding guide. The recommended feeding guide for your kibble is almost twice of what I'm feeding ! This would make me think that there are too many fillers bulking the feed.

If your pup is leaving food, maybe you are just giving too much so he's eating what he prefers first and leaving the excess ? Mine is almost 5 months now and she's still on 3 meals of 50-55g of kibble per feed.
I've also bought sardines for mine this week so will try that to vary her from her kibble - she very much liked cooked chicken breast this lunchtime

As to the furminator, is your pup having problems moulting ?
My staffy has such a fine coat that I wouldn't ever need a furminator.
Excuse me for saying so but you appear to be rather obsessed with your staffy's coat.
Work from the principal that if it's good from the inside, it will show from the outside. Continue feeding the best quality food you can, stop stripping the coat of it's natural oils with excessive washing, rubber glove is probably your best grooming friend, and you will probably get the nice shine back before you know it.

Don't forget that the coat can also lose in shine at certain periods in life. Your pup is going through growth spurts plus teething (if not now, just around the corner !) plus seasonal moulting too, give the coat a break

the rubber glove is fine, especially if it has a velvet side to smooth the coat after loosening the hairs with the rubber side. Maybe a baby's hairbrush would help if your glove doesn't have a smoother.

If your pup's fussy, then adding bits & pieces to her meals will make her worse! she'll eat the tasty bits first & go off the dry food.

Hey guys, thanks for all the help.

Took him to the vet today and he's all good!!
I was just worried as I know they have so many skin conditions the coarse hair felt rough and almost matted, where my 3 friends adult staffies are super soft I was worried it could be the start of a skin condition?

Apparently some are just coarse haired (even from breeders) and thats that?
I love him regardless, just wanted to make sure it wasnt something that was the start of something that could cause him pain!

Diet wise Ive let him try sardines and he LOVES them, so much he loves to kiss me right after ... which really doesnt smell great.

Nifty I agree the suggest portion sizes are huge, he never finishes them, which is ok. I was worried he wasn't eating the portion sizes but the vet said hes super healthy at a whopping 9.2kg for 16 weeks. Shes more than happy with him.

Paris hes going through all the dry food with the sardine oil on it but if hes gets fussy we might take a look at the raw diet.

Good to hear that all went well at the vets.
He does sound healthy at that weight, mine was weighing in at 8,66kg at 16 weeks.
I did think of you yesterday as I gave sardines to mine - she gobbled everything down and appears to love it too !