shedding

I have a german shephard/akita mix 120lbs. her name is Felice. i love her to death but she sheds like crazy it never stops i could brush her for hours and hair woulds still come out. Anyway has anyone here used Shed Stop or any other products like it? if so does it work?

Hi,
It is natural for your dog to shed but this can be reduced by grooming. The trick is to comb and then brush on a daily basis. I love this time with my dog and so does he. Teach him the command round to do each side and ask him to sit so you can reach his chest area. Start at the head, work down the back and then do each side, head to tail. I always do an all over comb and then an all over brush in that order finishing with the chest and tail. It takes around ten minutes a day once the initial week or two of snow storms!

thanks for your advice but I do brush her everyday I even use the shedding tool. I was wandering if the shed reducer produces acually work

I have to admit that I don't know as I've never used one. Combing daily every dog I've had is always enough to reduce noticeable shedding. Using the comb to the best effect is important though, lay it flat against the dogs coat and work it through at no more than a 45% angle. Done regularly and properly you will have no need to resort to anti shed preparations. If it is still a problem you may find the dog is lacking in all round nutrition, excersise or mental stimulation. If I sounded harsh I didn't mean to, honest! Quick fixes for dogs are just that - you are treating the symptom rather than the cause. Even if anti shedding stuff works you are non the wiser why. If nothing else the satisfaction of a "sorted myself" method is worth more than the money spent on "Sorted by someone else for reasons I don't understand. What is in this stuff anyway?"
I have tried to look at these products, sprays, water additives and food supplements with a view to help owners and really quite serious problems with shedding (their dogs had the shedding problem, not the owners,usually!). I have never used one as there is always an answer.
For these products to work they have to do one of three things; give the dog the supplements that his diet is lacking
stop or inhibit natural and healthy hair loss
make shed hair less noticeable to the owner by colour or disintergration

Just reread my last post, still sound like a complete cow, don't I?
One more thought though, your anti shedding tool may be part of the problem. Is it a rake type, scraper or stripper?

it is the shedding blade

I brush Cody every day. I use a flea comb first to loosen hair, then a brush. We have red rugs in the living/dining room, have installed a 62' gate, but he's clever enough to go around the house to go in and scratch or lay. Beige rugs in den, steps, big deal! I no longer have a vacuum attached to my hip. I've gotten to accept beautiful golden hair complimenting my black slacks no matter what I do to prevent it. I gave up making excuses to visitors, it'll never go away, the house is ok clean and if that's the worse thing Cody can do to our house, shed away! Carrie...YOU a cow??? NEVER! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

Ps.. I could've made about 10 dog hair sweaters by now!

Karen:

I agree! My motto about not being completed dressed unless I'm covered with dog hair was so true today! Wore long black skirt to work, and when I got out of the car this morning, looked like I was wearing angora!

Mooooo! - I mean there was a very sweet lady who we used to collect all our groomed out Retriever hair for so she could spin it, knit and sell sweaters on behalf of Guide Dogs! It can be done so get those fingers busy Karen and I bet your Mum can't guess what she's getting for Christmas!

I learned that a useful purpose for all that dog hair is to prevent slugs!! My problem is that my dogs want to pick the hair up and carry it around!!! My mom uses it around her hostas and other plants and the slugs die when they go through it.

Brilliant tip, Logan. My Hostas were totally nuked by snails and slugs this year! I've never heard of that one before but I'm going to try it out next spring!

My greyhound sheds also, and I have her on Linatone now. What worked for me at first was Drs foster and smith "VitaCoat Plus" It is awesome!!! I just read in a home remedy book to give Vit E, so Shaianne has started getting Vit E in her food, we shall see!!

My shepherd/husky sheds year round. But in the spring she sheds puppies!!! I've given up trying to stop it. Instead, for weeks on end we spend quality time together in the yard brushing and brushing and brushing. For her thick coat I have found a horse's curry comb is best. Every morning the hair is gone. I can only assume that every bird in the county has a fur lined nest!

Good luck!

I know what you mean about the bird nests. It's so funny to see the remains of bird nests in our bare trees all containing GSD hair! What an insulator.

Thanks foe the input and i will try the VitaCoat.

Thats funny about the birds I did the same thing thinking they would use it but No i had to go outside and rake up all the hair that was stuck in the grass. I need some of your birds!

Samualjcat: I have a husky/shep (x) too! (Cody) From Spring until early winter it is just endless; undercoat, topcoat, all day long. Do you get those big clumps of undercoat popping up?? Looks like she has the mumps. I just pick those out; some are 1" across! I call them her Q-tips! I groom her and Star every day, vacuum constantly, but after a point you do just have to "Let Go, Let God"!! It could make you crazy if you let it. If it upsets people to see a little fur flying around my house, too bad! Real animal lovers seem to understand and don't mind at all. I have given up on wearing anything black, though. (Unless I dress in the hallway and run out the door!) By the way Carrie, I have started collecting Cody's fur and am spinning it as we speak! Will weave it later and maybe have it made into a Doggy coat for a little guy. I have started using a powder supplement called "Improve" and it has made a tremendous improvement in their coats. (Shine, softness, etc) Have to see if it helps the shedding!

Well, no one mentioned the type of food they are feeding. Are you using a premium dog food? Eukanuba or Iams would be good. Does she have any skin problems? Premium food helps with those, too. I am not pitching Iams products, but they do have the extra amino acids that should help the skin and coat. However, this is a phenomenon more particularly for the indoor/outdoor dog. Because they do not need to retain the coat for winter, they lose it all year around. I'm assuming you have a double coat here, considering the breeds in her mix. A very popular grooming tool at my house is one that I did first see in the horse world. it looks like a rubber brush with GIANT teeth. I think Booda first put them out. They get down into the coat but are unlikely to break hair off as the teeth are about the diameter of a pencil. All my animals line up for grooming (cats included) and we have less of the shed hair around when I use it regularly.
Good Luck.

I think I burned up the motor in my vacuum cleaner tonight. It was clogged with, you'll never guess, Dog Hair and Fern Fronds. Everything is shedding around here! Merry Christmas to me! I either get a repair bill to fix the vacuum or a new vacuum cleaner. That stuff was literally crammed in the pipe of the vacuum. My navy blue rug is covered with lovely blond dog hair, so I'll have to do something quick. I told my daughter to get ready....we're going to use the little hand held vaccuum we have and get on our hands and knees and clean it tomorrow. Thank goodness most of my house has hardwood floors, with a few scattered rugs, so I can sweep to my heart's content.
That's my shedding story for today.
By the way, my animals, including Mimi the cat, all LOVE to be brushed. We do it outdoors to cut down on the flying hair and we must do it seperately as they fight over the brush! And no, I do not brush them often enough!!!!

[This message has been edited by lhg0962 (edited December 01, 2000).]

Logan, fie on that nasty vacuum cleaner. It must have been time for a new one anyway. My other favorite grooming tool is ye olde flea comb. Works great and grabs lots of hair. The children will also line up for that, but bring out a slicker and they all disappear. Go figure!! By the way, all, most "shedding blades" will break the hair, so caution on their use. Have you tried a "rake"? That might be a useful tool, as well. I look for carpet and furniture that matches the pet hair, that way it's less obvious http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/eek.gif.

[This message has been edited by ktreva52 (edited December 02, 2000).]

The dog hair in my house doesn't bother me or I wouldn't have 3 large dogs but my moms boy friend(who just recently moved in) has allergies to the hair thats the only reason I posted this to try and cut down on the hair

One word of warning about rakes - make sure you blunt the points before using on the dog. I do this by rubbing it over the garden path for a few minutes. We used to use a really well blunted hacksaw blade on the Greyhounds when the came into moult - works brilliantly.

Carrie: Good point about blunting the teeth, (no pun intended!!) they could be rough on sensitive skin. Wonder if that's why Shiloh doesn't like the slicker?

Ownerof3dogs: Has the boyfriend been to see an allergist? There are shots he could take to lessen the reaction. My kids are all allergic to cats, but I still have them and have found that tiger cats seemed to cause less reaction (I can't explain why), but, when they live with them it becames a case of occasional attacks. Guess I'll have to keep a log of when it happens and see if there's some hormonal (human) cycle that causes them to react.

[This message has been edited by ktreva52 (edited December 03, 2000).]

You know why I need dark rugs? My girls roll in the dirt (they won't let the grass grow) and even if I can't see the red clay on their hair (its the same color as Lilly), I sure can see it on the light colored rugs in the house. I probably should give up on rugs altogether. I spent a lot of money to have these hardwood floors anyway!
By the way, the vacuum is going to the doctor tomorrow and in the meantime, one of my friends lent me his. At least the dog hair is up now. Still have to work on the spots of "crud" left when they recently enjoyed their pressed rawhide treats on the living room floor! It never ends, does it? Still love them lots! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

no he hasn't gotten a shot for the allergies hr takes some sort of pill. he says that he'll deal with the stuffy nose but I feel bad and wish I could cut down on the hair

Your being too kind!! If he's fine with it... I am also allergic to dogs and have a reaction like hay fever when I meet a new dog. It usually goes after half an hour or so. It has definitely improved as I have gotten older and isn't a problem really.

Update:
Wanted everyone to know that since I have been giving Shaianne the greyhound Vit E twice a day(800 IUs twice a day) her coat has become softer, sleeker, and shinier.
Vit E is good for all of us and it is certainly cheaper than buying expensive doggie vitamins (which she still gets b/c I have them)!
There is another site called www.designinghealth.com that has a product called The Missing Link that is supposed to be great for humans and animals too. It has testimonials that humans have lost weight and animals have greatly improved on allergies.
A lady at work used to have a Basenji that had horrible allergies and a very dry brittle coat, her vet told them to give him a Tablespoon or 2 of regular cooking oil in his food to give him the extra moisture he needed. She said his itching greatly reduced.
Hope everyone and every pet is having a safe holiday season!!!

Which leads to the question of best vacuum for dog hair..I bought an Oreck and it's pretty good. Was going to buy an huge industrial for over $1300 so that nobody can complain anymore, then I realized we would all have to live with it. Little tuffs of golden hair in corners, on our red rugs on my black outfits (on everything I'm sure)and if that's the worse thing Cody does, then who cares. My mother has severe allergies and although she usually blames the dog, will still lean down and hug him and rub him, bless her heart. It's the big brown eyes. Cody also takes Vit E 400 IU 2x a day and B complex (both for Collie Nose) plus a fatty oily vitamin complex on his food.He's never had a skin problem and has a beautiful coat, for which I am grateful, but as I said before, I'm tempted to have a dog-hair coat made!

Karen,
Take it a step further. Remind me of what you are feeding Cody and how did you determine what levels of the vitamins to give him?
Also, as for the vacuum, I'm concerned about the hair clogging the vacuum, thus burning the motor. I will have to buy a new vacuum, but don't even know where to start. Between the Honey, Lilly and Mimi hair as well as the numerous "fronds" from my numerous ferns, I want something than can process all of this stuff! This is the second vacuum I have lost due to "greenery" and dog hair. Any suggestions are appreciated. I have to do something this week!
Logan

Dyson! I can't believe he hasn't reached your shores but if not he's worth checking out on the net.
I thought I was doing an OK job on the pet hair and general muck....then I got a Dyson. It makes me wonder how we are still alive!

Ihg: I have a Miele vacuum; one of the most expensive non-industrial types, but the cost was worth it. It's about 10 years old and has vacuumed up as many years worth of fur from a minimum of 2 dogs and 2-3 cats at any time. Also, living by the shore, lots of sand and grit. Can't say I've vacuumed up fronds though! Although lots of litter scatter and other sometimes identifiable "things." I've never had a problem yet. I know they have an excellent warranty. Maybe you could ask the dealer, whichever one you choose, about your needs in detail? Tell him and then ask if that wouldn't be covered in the warranty as "normal" use. My heart's with you! I've been dreading going downstairs; awaiting me is the dreaded VACUUM!!!! Good Luck. Karen: What's Collie nose?

Sorry; me again. Forget this. Samualjcat: I have a shep/husky too! Her name is Cody. What's your guys' name? I think these guys take the award for biggest shedders! Those hugh "qtip" things that pop out from the undercoat!!!? Ah! I'll try your suggestion re: curry comb. And Karen, send me the fur; I can spin and weave the dog hair for you!

Wait, don't buy a vacuum until you check out the Electrolux. I have an upright AND a canister. The canister is the most versatile. They are expensive too but last forever. The salesperson will come out and demonstrate so you don't even have to go to the store.

You guys can have a second life as a vacuum cleaner salesman!!! You are too funny. I'm going to check out those I don't know about. I know about Electrolux, just didn't know they made an upright vacuum. Since I have so little carpet, I think an upright that can clean my hardwood floors and suck up all that hair and plant matter is the right thing.
I'll let you know what happens. Keep the suggestions coming. In the meantime, my friend has lent me a Hoover!

I sold Sweepers at Sears(can I say that? I don't work there now!!) for almost 2 years. Your BEST bet is to a 12 AMP sweeper, always, always, always!!! DO NOT be fooled by Hoover when they say for example22 CEA that only means cleaning effectivness per amp but they are only using like 6-7 amps. Read the fine print. And I swear you can blow harder than that. I have the Sears equivalant to the Fantom Fury, and it is awesome!!! My mom also has a 20 year old Electrolux that is falling apart but has very surprising suction power.
Don't be fooled by Eureka, Hoover, or Dirt Devil. Of course Hoover and Eureka have good ones, I would reccomend the Hoover Windtunnel (bagless or with bags), my mom has one of those too, but like I said Read the Fine Print!!! Eureka the only one I liked was the bagless. And my mom also has a Kenmore canister, that is very good. I won't even go there with the Dirt Devil. PLEASE note that I do not work there any longer so I am not trying to SELL anything, I was just passing along my experience. I also know that everyone on this discussion board is very responsible but here a few Horror stories I had.
My friend that worked in Service actually had people bring in a sweeper FULL of dog poop. The dog had pooped they LET IT DRY!(on carpet) and then swept it up!!
Another lady told her teenage son to sweep the leaves off the deck so he did!! Except she meant use a broom and he thought it would be easier!! He is lucky it wasn't wet or ?!?!?!?
I have linoleum and I think that the Pledge Grab-its or Swiffers work wonders. Don't know about the Swiffer Wet I am getting carpet in kitchen for Christmas so there that goes!!
Again I am now unbiased just giving my opinion!!! Happy Holidays!

Don't get me started on vacuums. My husband thinks I am obsessed with vacuums. If you have a lot of hardwood floors the nice thing about a canister is that you can get under more furniture than you can with an upright. There also is an attachment that is called a "sidekick" for doing the furniture. The down side is that they are a little unweildly at times. I've got a few nicked corners on the drywall. Also I've tried the wet ones for the Swiffer and they work okay as long as you don't have too much of an area to contend with.

Did anyone see Fraiser last night? Cute joke about Eddie (the Jack Russell) and hardwood floors. He was referred to as Eddie Scissorpaws.

[This message has been edited by RachelJ (edited December 06, 2000).]

RACHEL!!! THAT'S IT!!! Electrolux! The only reason I didn't take it home for a trial run is because I knew I'd get it and I have 3 vacuums already. There's a 30 yr guaranteed on it..I should live so long! My Oreck has been cleaned/reparied only 1 time in about 8 years, due to.... Ta Da! Dog hair wrapped around the bristles!!! (After I get my home computer I'm splurging on an Electrolux!)

Cody eats Hills Canine RD (reduced diet) 1 cup dry, approx 1/4 cup canned and 1 c of Kibbles and Bits Lean. He take 1 Vit E 400IU 2 x a day, a B complex and 3 quick squirts of "Pet-A-Liquid" (fatty acid supplement). No allergies, great coat (E is good for humans too ya know, nails/hair/blood).

Collie Nose, is a very painful (I'm sure) condition Cody developed 2 yrs ago. His beautiful black nose became scaly, red, crusty. It actually peeled off and came back the next day. It was awful and ugly and I felt miserable with him. After 1 yr of trying everything with no results, including an inconclusive biopsy (also caused a sinus infection- he couldn't breathe) my vet scanned a photo of his nose to every animal dermatologist in the US. Once the majority said "Collie Nose", which is prevailant on dogs with long noses (Cody has a lab nose-and oddly enough, Collies don't get the ailment)he was given another dose of antibiotics and the vitamins only and within 2 weeks was better! It still is not totally black, gets dry (I put on sunscreen during the time he's out during the day) but no thick yellow scale (too graphic?) I also put on "Panalog cream" at night as it gets irratated very easily. Poor poor thing. Do not know how he got it, or what causes it. Anyone know?

Karen:
My aussie Annie has dry white scaly stuff right at the base of the nose where it meets the hair. It seems to come and go. Don't know if it's the same thing, but has never seemed to bother her.

LOL! This is almost as funny as Frito feet. I have an Electrolux canister, if anyone cares! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

I have a Kenmore progressive canister. it works pretty well, but it doesn't matter becaue 5 minutes later there is hair every where again. it never ends!