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]

Vacuum? ... 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

[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!

[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. 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. He has white hair so anything that I wear that is dark colored, it shows. I still love him anyways.

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! 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.