The Lotzes founded K9 Top Coat, and today they make 13 products, including a Comfort Coat introduced in February with antimicrobial and hypoallergenic materials made for dogs with allergies. The coats have been a godsend for Lorni Jarmie, who battled her Weimaraner Jax's skin problems for four years before happening on the Top Coat Web site (k9topcoat. A study at Oregon State University indicated that behaviors associated with itching, such as scratching, biting, rubbing and licking, decreased in duration, frequency and intensity in dogs wearing the coats. However, the Lotzes say the study was too small to prove definitively that the coat works better than other treatments. As happy as Lorni Jarmie is with the coat, Jax is decidedly less so, Jarmie admits.

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