Brittle coat in older Scottie on flea treatment

A brittle coat developing alongside long-term flea treatment is worth taking seriously — it's one of those situations where two things are likely happening at once. Skin and coat issues in dogs generally come down to either a dietary deficiency or an underlying skin condition, and supplements will only make a real difference if there's a nutritional gap involved. To figure out what's going on here, it would help to know: how long has your Scottie been on the flea treatment and which product is it, what exactly are you seeing with the coat (brittle, snapping hairs, dryness, any flaking or itching), and what does his or her diet look like day to day?

That's a helpful picture. Bravecto itself isn't typically known for directly damaging coat quality, but long-term use of any isoxazoline treatment in older dogs can coincide with subtle shifts in skin barrier function — and at nine, her body is also less efficient at processing and utilising dietary fats. James Wellbeloved Senior is a decent food, but the omega-3 content in kibble degrades during storage, so by the time she's eating it, the fatty acid profile is often lower than the label suggests. The brittle, texture-changed coat without itching or flaking points fairly clearly to a fatty acid deficiency rather than a skin disease. Before I suggest something specific — is she otherwise healthy? Any joint issues, thyroid history, or other medications?

Good — thyroid is always worth ruling out with coat changes in a Scottie of her age, so that's reassuring. Given what you're describing, I'd go with YuMEGA Plus from Lintbells. It's a liquid omega oil blend — EPA, DHA, and omega-6 in a ratio specifically calibrated for skin and coat, and it has added vitamin E which matters for an older dog whose antioxidant capacity has slowed down. You add it directly to her kibble, which makes compliance easy. The reason I'm suggesting this over a simple fish oil capsule is that YuMEGA Plus is formulated to address coat texture specifically — the omega-6 component supports the structural integrity of the hair shaft, which is exactly what's going wrong with the brittleness you're seeing. Most owners notice a difference in coat feel within six to eight weeks. It's widely available on Amazon UK, usually around £18–22 for a bottle that lasts a couple of months at her size.

Honestly, the dietary angle is the more likely culprit here — the timing of two years on Bravecto overlapping with a gradual coat change probably reflects cumulative fatty acid depletion in her diet rather than a direct drug effect. That said, it's worth mentioning the coat change to your vet at her next check, just so it's on record. If the YuMEGA Plus makes a clear difference over six to eight weeks, that's good confirmation it was nutritional. If there's no improvement at all, that would be the point to ask your vet to look a little deeper at skin barrier function or recheck thyroid more thoroughly. But based on what you've described, I'd expect a positive response to the supplement.

Good plan. Give it the full eight weeks before judging it — coat cycles are slow and you won't see the full effect sooner than that. If the brittleness has improved but not resolved, it's fine to continue beyond that point. Hope she does well.