Does Your Dog Sheds

[Chris J]

Holly sheds 24 7. I use a rake and zoom groom on her but nothing really works. Do you all have problems with your dog sheding? if so what do you do or use on your dog?

[slleipnir]

My older dog sheds 24/7 too. In BIG clums..our carpet is a light color, and his fur is black. So yeah, lots of vaccuming. I'm not sure what to do about it, but i'd like to know also!

[LoudLou]

:D :D Vacuum?:D :D ... Just joking. Louie sheds too...it's a Corgi trait. I've found brushing often and his diet make a big difference on just HOW MUCH hair he sheds. He eats Canidae dry kabibles and brewers yeast mixed with some Omega 3's oil (we are out at the moment, name escapes me)2x's a day... Have a friend who uses Missing Link haven't tried that yet with Louie. Hear it is really good. His Breeder forewarned us though that Corgi's shed...it's a fact of life around here we've just come to accept that where there is Louie, there will be hair;) :D :D

[Barbiro]

Lady (our flat-coated retriever) sheds A LOT which is why I prefer to shave her, at least during the summer. We've tried different food as well, the vet just said that retrievers shed their hair throughout the year.

Tobi (our long-hair chihuahua) does not shed as much, but it could be that I bathe him (once a week) and brush him more often. It's too exhausting to bathe Lady once a week, plus I don't think that would stop the shedding. I'm curious to read what others post. :)

[Pam]

No, Bella is a poodle and doesn't shed. The downside is that she must be clipped regularly (every 4-6 weeks). My cats makes up for the shedding that she doesn't do! :rolleyes:

[aly]

I'm another lucky one with non-shedding breeds. But I paid my dues with my lab. She shed like there was no tomorrow. The only answer I had was regular brushing and vacuuming.

[evelyn1157]

zoey is a shih tzu and sheds a lot. her hairs are all over the place; on the floor, on my clothes even on my bag.there's nothing much to do except to brush her a few times a day. i feed her dry kibbles and brewer's yeast. her hair tangles easily too.

[dalesmom]

Oh my, does Dale ever shed. :eek: There is hair where you didn't know hair could go. Sometimes I even think that I should vacuum myself before going anywhere because there is hair everywhere. :eek: He has white hair so anything that I wear that is dark colored, it shows. I still love him anyways. :p

Amanda

[Dixieland Dancer]

My Goldens shed very little. I believe it is multi fold.

1. They are fed a very high super premium dog food. I use Innova. This contributes to less food allergies. Food allergies are a major cause of hot spots and poor skin and coat conditions.

2. They are brushed reguarly.

3. They are bathed frequently - at least every couple of weeks for Dusty (he has longer hair and more of it) and every 3 weeks for Dixie. Bathing helps to loosen dead fur from the hair folical and to promote new healthy growth. The bath is always done in luke warm (bordering on cold) water and a very mild dog shampoo so the skin isn't dried out. Immediately after the bath they are brushed and blow dryed. This is when the hair come out so be ready to vacumn after the grooming!

Of course there are the spring and fall shedding periods which are non stop but only last for about 3 weeks. It would be nice if they both decided to do the spring and fall shed at the same time! :p Other than these times the shedding is very minimal.

[C.C.'s Mom]

I could by now have enough hair to have a sweater, 2 sets of socks, a hat and a dozen gloves knitted from it!

I brush her every day, she goes swimming almost every day and she gets premium food.

The livingroom is covered with hair, the once dark grey carpet has a white layer of hair which my hoover doesn't seem to remove, even in my purse I find hair, or in food, at my parents house, just everywhere.

In shops I'm sometimes wearing my dog-walk-waxed-coat. Other customers give me funny looks as I'm covered from head to toe with white sticky hair.

[Stenograsaurus]

I have a long haired shepherd mix (Patience) and a siberian husky(Dakota). Huskies shed a lot!!! When I fed Dakota Purina Dog Chow, his hair would come out in clumps all year long!!! It was amazimg. I couldn't wear dark colored clothes and my dark brown carpet looked beige because of the hair everywhere. I changed his food to Nutro. I have to tell you, I am amazed at the difference with his shedding!!! I can pet him without it coming out. When I brush him, I don't have to stop and empty the brush after one brushing. I don't bath him regularly. When I picked him up from the breeder, she told me that huskies clean themselves kind of like cats and actually only needed bathed twice a year. Thank God because he is not a fun dog to bath. I had only had Patience for a short time when I switched the food so I can't say about the change in her shedding.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by C.C.'s Mom

I brush her every day, she goes swimming almost every day and she gets premium food.



C.C.'s mom,
Swimming is not the same as bathing. The massage of the lather of shampoo is what does it along with the vigorous brushing associated in blow drying. Swimming would be about the same as a human just getting their hair wet and not using a shampoo. This would get pretty ucky for me since I tend to have oily hair. I shampoo every day or every other day.

What food do you feed her? Some foods claim to be premium but if you read the ingredient list they are no better than a cheaper food.

I only ask because I am very familiar with Goldens shedding 24x7 in my earlier Goldens. I have been a Golden owner for over 25 years now. Once I became educated on allergies and the correlation to food and shedding, it was amazing how quickly it stopped.

Most people think of allergies as sneezing, watery eyes, etc. However, this is not the common way of manifesting itself in a canine. Poor coat, lack of shine, excessive shedding, hot spots, constant scratching or biting are signs of a food allergy. They can be signs of other problems too but food allergies is usually the culprit.

[C.C.'s Mom]

At the moment she gets Hills Large Breed. I've never heard of Inova. Probably not being sold here. Other premium brands that they sell are: Eukanuba, Royal Canine and Nutro.

I bath her maybe once a month in the shower because she's so heavy and she seems to be happier in the shower than in the tub. I read in a GR book that it shouldn't be done often because they tend to develop allergies. Is that true?
We're still working on the blow dryer - she bites it and barks when we blow dry her.

I also think she sheds more now because of the antibiotics she's been on for 10 days.

It would be super if there would be less hair everywhere.

[ramanth]

Kia has a nice shiny coat despite all her scratching. She sheds very little. :)

[Dixieland Dancer]

I am attaching a link to Natura's comparison chart of different kinds of dog food. I think you will find it informative. When you determine what dog food to feed your pup, compare the ingredients list to the information on this link to make sure it is a good one. A little research can go a long way to help in your shedding problems.

http://www.naturapet.com/display.asp?sc=7-1&hsc=

Let us know what you discover.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Drake sheds a bit. In the spring and fall more than the winter. He gets shaved in the summer.

I am very obseessive compulsive when it comes to cleaning though, so I am always running around behind him with a duster, vacuum cleaner, and broom. He gets brushed daily and bathed every 3 weeks in the winter and once a week in the summer.

[kobieeli]

Kobie and Eli shed very little--mostly in the spring as the weather warms up. They get brushed every couple of days, though, and then there's hair all over the back lawn! I think diet does make a difference, too: the cheaper foods loaded with corn seem to make dogs scratch a lot and have dull, fall-out coats. Like Dixieland Dancer, we feed K & E Innova and are happy with it.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Graham does not shed much, but he lacks an undercoat, so there's not much to shed.

Cassie, the pigalet pugalet sheds SO much! I never thought such a tiny little doggie (17 pounds) could make SO many fawn colored hairs EVERYWHERE! Maybe I notice her shedding so much because I am always cuddling and holding her and playing with her when I see her :)

[jackiesdaisy1935]

We have two Schnauzers and they don't shed at all. We brush them every other day and they have a bath every two weeks, the only time we get hair is when we brush them and then comb them after their bath., but not very much.
But like Pam, Don trims Perry every 4 weeks and we take Daisy in to get groomed also every 4 weeks.
Jackie

[mary_jsn]

Leika doesn't shed much but when I pick her up, all my t-shirt gets full of hair!. It looks like a hairy t-shirt!. I think it depends on the food. I give her Eukanuba small breed for puppies. I had a labrador and he shed a lot I used to give him Champion, ;cause he ate a lot. Eukanuba is a lot more expensive but Leika eats less.

[C.C.'s Mom]

I asked a befriended vet about this, and he told me to first try and mix oil with the food the dog gets now instead of changing the brand. He said it was best to use thistle oil or sunflower oil. As for Cookie, he said she's most probaby changing her puppy coat into the adult coat.

[aussieshep]

We knew that Aussie's shed a lot from researching the breed. We were ready for this. (But somehow....it just seems to be SO much)! She sheds all year because in actuality, she is an inside dog, so by her not staying outside for long periods, she doesn't really develop a "winter" coat. And this means she sheds all year.

One thing I'm a little confused on, the frequency of bathing? We were told by our groomer (and our vet) (& dog books) that Guinness shouldn't be bathed more than 2-3 times a year as it is not required for her breed. Bathing seems to only make her shed more.

However, we do live up north and it is VERY dry here. I think this may have something to do with it. If we bath her too frequently, she develops white flecks of dry sky all over her coat. We use a very good protein shampoo from the groomer so don't think that is the culprit. We brush her 2x a day, and she eats nutrience supreme dog food.

We have resigned ourselves to the fact that her shedding will not change. We bought a convenient cordless vacuum that works great and we use it 2-3 times a day here and there. We also have many lint brushes placed in strategic places like the front door...and our bedroom (yes, we let her sleep on our bed). And we tredge on, trying to remove as much hair from our fleece jackets as possible!

[Chris J]

Has anyone here used Mrs. Allen's Shed Stop or Linatone?

[Crikit]

Oh yeah my dogs shed, it mainly depends on the weather and if they're feeling and stress or anything like that. Smudge is pretty constant with the shedding just because well he's sort of a stressed dog at times (it's his issues) and Winter is mainly depending on the weather outside which this winter is really messing with her.

[Mindy]

My dog sheds tooo much. My husband sweeps 2-3 even 4 times a day. But we still love her :D

[sammi]

Buddy goes through his shedding spells also. I think it bothers men more than women!!! At least my husband is always worried about dog hair! I hold him he should be used to it by now! And yes I try to be a very clean housekeeper I just never get worked up about dog hair - but tracking with shoes on in the house is a diferent matter! LOL

[Logan]

Originally posted by Chris J
Has anyone here used Mrs. Allen's Shed Stop or Linatone?

I used Mrs. Allen's Shed Stop for a while, but I have to tell you, at $20/bottle (the Petsmart price), and two large dogs, I decided I really wasn't getting my money's worth. They were still shedding and I didn't see a significant change in their coats.

Honey is blowing her coat right now, and each day we are getting the fur off in handfulls when brushing. Poor Lilly lost so much hair when had her fungus that she doesn't have the nice, thick curls like Honey, but they are coming back.

And Candy, thanks for the links to the Natura web site. I had been meaning to go over there and check out their site, and you gave me the boost I needed. Now, if you know the answer, help me out here. What's the difference in an Innova versus California Natural? And which one is supposed to be better? They also have a third brand of dogfood, but I have forgotten that name. Just curious. I guess it is like Iams and Eukanuba, but which would they suggest people use?

Honey and Lilly just started on California Natural, Lamb and Rice Reduced Calorie, on Saturday, as we are working on those angry allergic breakouts that they both periodically get. I'm keeping them on light food because I don't want them to get fat again. They love it, by the way, and it is no more expensive than the Iams Weight Control was. But I have to tell you that I questioned the serving sizes they suggested. It was double what I am currently feeding Honey, and more than double for Lilly's weight.

[sammi]

Guess I need to fess up on this dog food issue! I know this has been talked about many times but I never had much concern about it. The dry food he has is maximum nutrition with lamb listed first and then rice. He has done well with so I didn't see a need to upgrade to food thats real expensive - but his coat is so dry and he is itchy all the time! With the lab we had b/4 Buddy had severe allergies and was dry and can food of duck and potatoes only for almost a yeaar and boy was it expensive. I don't mind buying the more expensive food but only if it would be truly better for him. What does anyone suggest?:confused: