shedding

[ownerof3dogs]

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!

[tatsxxx11]

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!

[ktreva52]

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.

[lhg0962]

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).]

[ktreva52]

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 .

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

[ownerof3dogs]

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

[carrie]

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.

[ktreva52]

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).]

[lhg0962]

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!

[ownerof3dogs]

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

[carrie]

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.

[shais_mom]

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!!!

[karen israel]

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!

[lhg0962]

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

[carrie]

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!