Lab's coat so greasy

SMELLY COAT MIGHT NEED SPECIALIST SHAMPOO

- DR DAVID GRANT

My eight-year-old black labrador has developed a greasy and musty smelling coat. I have used our shampoos for greasy hair but soon after it's just as bad as before. Any suggestions?

Healthy black labradors should have a shiny silky coat. This is helped by regular brushing to remove dead hairs and sebum (produced by the sebaceous glands).

Shampooing is rarely needed, as a balance is achieved by production of the lustre-giving sebum and its removal by brushing and the dog's own grooming.

Problems arise if, for any reason, the sebaceous glands overproduce sebum and the coat becomes oily. This is called seborrhoea oleosa - and the opposite, when the glands don't produce enough sebum, is seborrhoea sicca - a dry, scaly coat.

The fact that your dog's problem is recent suggests there is a new underlying problem that requires investigation.