Brittle nails

PoetikDragon

Anyone have any suggestions for brittle nails? Took Mosura to have her nails cut for the first time today (they were very long!) and the groomer remarked on how brittle they were, given that she's only 10.5 months old. A number of them splintered after they were cut.

I realize that fingernails and hair are representative of the dog's past more than present, and that her nails could have grown that way during all the trauma of importing and switching diets. But I'd like some nice healthy nails going forward. Any supplements that can help?

Losech

Lack of zinc is a culprit for brittle nails. There's another but I can't remember it off the top of my head. I don't know of any supplements for that sort of thing, but canned oysters have a lot of zinc (and a good bit of copper) in them.

lindsayt

Usually zinc deficiency, but that is unusual in a young dog. My dogs all hate oysters btw. Autoimmune disease would be high on my list for this breed.

Calia

An article on Zinc deficiency: http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Medicine/Canine-zinc-responsive-dermatosis/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/162405

I have found that Siberian Huskies are prone to a type of zinc deficiency that can cause them to get dermatitis. I'm not sure if there a similar symptoms in other breeds, but if you do suspect a zinc deficiency in your Akita you might want to be aware of such symptoms just in case: http://siberianhuskyhealthfoundation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7:zinc-deficency-in-the-siberian-husky&catid=3:health-articles&Itemid=3

I know it's a little much, but hey it's always good to learn and be prepared just in case.

shibamistress

oskar has always had brittle nails, since he was a puppy, and of course he's only just two. the rest of his skin/hair looks good though.

My vet did suggest we do a thyroid test, though, because he's so slow to get up and is not a lively dog. We think that is more reflective of his spine issues, but she said it couldn't hurt to test the thyroid too, and that is true. I don't know if that would effect his nails or not, but it is an autoimmune thing.

Anyway, I may have to try the zinc with him too. His are so brittle they split sometimes pretty high up and we've had to take him to the vet for nails that split way, way up.

ayk

Do you know what kind of diet Mosura was on in Japan? I see in one of the articles that over-supplementing with vitamins, especially calcium, will bind the zinc and prevent absorption.

Saya

I read that somewhere too forgot what article.

If you give any oysters be sure it isn't smoked the ones I see has cottonseed oil in it which isn't good for dogs according to my searches..

I don't know any supplement that has zinc..

Meat like chicken or beef has zinc in it depends on the cut what I saw on nutrient data it said from 7mg to 10mg depending on the cut of poultry or beef..

Hope nails get better soon.

PoetikDragon

All of the breeders I met seemed to feed the same food. It came in a white and blue bag, and one side of it said in English "SELECT BALANCE BREEDERS PACK". It was given away as prizes at all the AKIHO shows I went there. I managed to get some photos of the side of the bag (on accident) but not the front/top.

lindsayt

Many if not most of the skin and coat supplements have zinc in them.