New member been a lurker for a bit. I'm hoping some husky parents have some tips for growing a coat back healthy. My sweet wolly husky Coda caught himself a skunk. It got into his dog run Saturday night and from what we can tell he cornered it and probably caught it. He took what we think is more than one spray from the skunk. He clearly got a face full his whole muzzle and chest, under carriage and top of his head brought tears to your eyes. We think he then took another shot to the back because the middle of him wasn't to horrid but the back was horrid. He was so upset. So this resulted in a 1am google search and a bath with baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dawn dish soap. That took the edge off. Sunday he got 3 more baths before we could stand to let him into the house. He was hating his time in the garage. While this mix did take the smell out it wasn't till it was to late that we realized it fried his coat. Parts of his black fur turned red and his under coat that he was in the process of blowing out became a badly matted mess. I called his groomer first thing Monday when they opened and they got him in. Problem is that wash matted him so badly he cried and cried when they tried to brush him out. They told me there was nothing they could do but buzz him. I know this is a last resort. Coda is 8 and never been buzzed. Had a healthy soft long fluffy coat. His coat came off in one piece it was so matted. The groomer said it was like sheering a sheep. I am thinking I'll get him a doggie T shirt to protect him from the sun when he goes out and make outside time minimal till some fur grows back. I'm looking for any tips on special care I can give him to grow his coat back as healthy as we can. I'm so sad, he looks so pathetic and skinny Any help is appreciated.

As you can see he is now the saddest most pathetic looking pup you have ever seen https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151559170796592&set=a.487432891591.259973.578741591&type=1&theater&notif_t=photo_comment

There is some kind of supplements you can give him. I can't remember at the moment. I think fish oil was one of them. But I'd wait until someone else with more knowledge chimes in. I can imagine the horrid smell. My mom's dog Winnie got sprayed several times by a skunk. I can't even remember how many times we gave her a bath, and all the different stuff we used on her. Every time she got wet, all you could smell was wet dog and skunk.

You can give him coconut oil it's really good for skin and coat. You could probably even rub it all over his body to help.

I think fish oil will help, but you'll also need to supplement with Vit E as well.

Question on the skunk thing, my mom's cocker spaniel got sprayed once and we washed him in tomato juice that worked well. At least I remember it did. Is that true?

Coconut oil can help with skin and coat. You might want to start out in very small amounts, though. My female sibe, 49 lbs, went soft stool with only 1/8 tsp of coconut oil, but she also has a somewhat sensitive tummy. My male, 70 lbs, went a little soft on 1/4 tsp. But I can smear it on their nose so they lick it off without issue! Go figure.

I started Ginger on a fish protein diet because it was what she tolerated when we first adopted her and we had ton of compliments on how soft her coat was. Then Storm came along and he was overweight and his coat was coarse. We transitioned him to the same fish protein food as Ginger as it had less calories than the majority of food and this kept it simple for us as far as feeding. After his first coat blow with us, his coat became really soft, and after a year, his coat blow was less.

I recently rotated their food out to venison protein base and this summer shed season was worse than last and I noticed their coat is not as soft.

So, if you can find a decent (and decent priced) fish protein base food, you could try that.

Claudia, what fish based food did you use??

The Honest Kitchen Zeal, and Orijen 6 Fish.

Not to be a creeper, Mara..but you should educate your friend that posted that she 'shave's hers every summer'. Very sad to me.

I'm sorry all that happened to your poor baby!!

I don't normally suggest this, but Show Stopper should do the trick. I'm not a huge fan of show stopper, but it does work.

http://www.k9power.com/k9-show-stopper.html

@mbarnard0429 wrote:

I don't normally suggest this, ..... I'm not a huge fan of show stopper, but it does work.

http://www.k9power.com/k9-show-stopper.html

Could you please give us your reasons?... maybe is something like many drugs today ... "good for this... but bad for this, this,this, this and this" ? ... I'm interested in your opinion

Thanks for all the tips. I'll look into the supplements and stuff suggested here. Poor Coda doesn't wanna lay down. I think everything feels funny to him. Being a smart dog though he did use this as a type of excuse to try and hop up on the couch and see if we would let him get away with it. He is currently getting a lot of salmon because his daddy and I went to Alaska and fished the salmon run last month and have over 60 pounds in the freezer. I hope his coat comes back quickly. At least back enough by winter since he loves the snow.

You should get some dog sun screen to use on him when taking him out side for the summer months. I know I saw some sun screen somewhere for dogs.

I was thinking I'd get him a doggie T shirt since he still has his head and tail fur. Seemed like it would be better than putting any chemicals on him he might lick off. I just need to go find one his size. I admit he is A LOT skinnier than I thought he was. The vet said a while back he was over weight. He was so fluffy with his fur I just took the vet at his word but seeing him furless he looks healthy to me.