Dog Shedding Solutions?

August 13, 2012 10:40 AM

I can make a new dog every day with the amount my dog sheds. Any solutions for dog shedding?

I know that brushing is probably the most important thing - I ordered the furminator brush. But I'd love to know if there are any other tips or products that help. Thanks.

posted by malhouse to pets & animals (15 answers total)

Obsessive vacuuming. Obsessive lint tape rollering. Obsessive brushing.

Pay no mind to the anguished face of boredom that may appear on your pet - tell yourself that the brushing is a spa treatment for your beloved.

Then vacuum some more. Create a hermetically sealed entry chamber for your soon to be clean room bedroom. Buy your room mate small trinkets and favors when they show signs of growing weary of watching this routine. Then more couch lint rollering. Rinse. Repeat. Forever.
posted by skrozidile at 10:49 AM on August 13, 2012 [5 favorites]

(The furminator is really great, but can potentially be painful if you aren't careful since it is metal and a bit toothsome. Stop brushing and stick to vacuuming if the pet shows any actual signs of anguish.)
posted by skrozidile at 10:54 AM on August 13, 2012

My cat, Malcolm, HATES the Furrminator. Which sucks because the things works really well. Oh well, I'm resignged to a life of fur.

The Sticky Buddy is a decent tool for this.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:59 AM on August 13, 2012

What type of dog is this? And yes, be careful with the furminator since it's essentially a 40 blade stuck on a handle.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 11:14 AM on August 13, 2012

I have a German Shepherd, and he sheds an entire large dog every day. I vacuum, I sweep, I lint-brush, and there are still tumbleweeds of dog hair. We're having a heat wave in Southern California now, and it's been especially bad. Fortunately, he likes the furminator.

If your dog is a breed that sheds a lot, then it is what it is. The vacuum is your friend.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 11:57 AM on August 13, 2012

Ask your vet if supplements for dry skin might help. My Pomeranian no longer sheds his own body weight in excess fur daily since I started him on some vet-recommended supplements for his coat. (At work, so can't look at the bottles to check, sorry.)

Your vet might have some ideas on diet changes that might help too, but I did not change my dog's diet, so I have no personal experience with that approach.

And finally, a rubber broom like hair salons use is great for herding dog hair tumbleweeds on bare floors, and also for scraping fur off carpets and upholstery. Unless you have a super duper vacuum, some fur always gets left behind after vacuuming, in my experience, so I get the last of it off with the rubber broom.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:35 PM on August 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

The breeder we got our Akita puppy from told us that, when her dogs start to shed their undercoats (as they do in spring and fall) she doesn't do anything for a while and then gives the dog a bath in water as hot as they'll stand, takes them outside and dries them with a box fan and a hair dryer (on low or cool). Several dog's worth of fur blows out and they don't shed almost anything else for six months.
posted by VTX at 12:51 PM on August 13, 2012

A Swiffer Vac has been my best friend ever since we installed the hardwood laminate. Dog hair can run, but it can't hide.
posted by goedekers at 12:58 PM on August 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Tips to help your pet enjoy being Furminated:

1. The Furminator is hard on tangles and will hurt, so remove tangles, first. Cut off any matted parts, then brush the coat with a normal brush: First just surface strokes, then pressing a little harder to start taking out shallow tangles, then deeper for deeper tangles.

2. Similarly, Furminate in layers- gentle stokes for the surface, progressing to deeper strokes down to the skin. Ripping tangles just teaches your pet that being Furminated isn't fun.

3. Chase each stroke of the Furminator with a firm stroke by your other hand- the firm, smooth pressure of your hand will feel good to your pet and calm any little pulled hairs.

4. Don't Furminate the same area more than 2 strokes in a row- it feels too intense. Spread the strokes out over the animal's body.

5. Follow up with treats.

6. Furminate outside for less cleanup.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:42 PM on August 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

My german shepherd mix sheds way too much as well, and we've found a combination of a stripping blade for his outer coat and a brush like this for his undercoat works really well. I find in the spring, we use the second brush a lot, and as summer goes on, we use the first one more and more. And we vacuum the house. A lot. He's also not allowed on the large area rugs and carpeted bedrooms, which prevents the getting-the-darn-hair-off-the-darn-carpet insanity.
posted by Grandysaur at 1:58 PM on August 13, 2012

I have a lab and the furminator is perfect! I brush weekly at least depending on the season and give him a good "blow out" dry after baths. I also use fish oil for his coat. Good luck!!!
posted by MyMind at 2:07 PM on August 13, 2012

I've got the same issue - lab + new hardwood floors. I'm going to try the other tips listed here, but any recommendations about a Roomba (or equivalent)?
posted by jmevius at 2:26 PM on August 13, 2012

jmevius, I had a Roomba and found it to be irritating with respect to hair. I was constantly yanking tangled hair out of the inner workings of the thing. This was an early version of the Roomba, but you may want to read reviews of newer models with specific mention of hair.
posted by malhouse at 5:18 PM on August 13, 2012

Does your dog have long hair or short hair? I have way more experience with sheltie hair than I particularly want. There are few things more marvelous than multiple shelties to play with except for the massive amounts of long hair everywhere.

Our vet and groomer both warned against using a Furminator on long haired dogs like shelties. Instead you want a pin brush that can pull out the undercoat without tearing it. You don't want to wash the dog too often (leads to dry skin which leads directly to dandruff) but washing the coat can encourage shedding. Our method was to wash doggie outside on a deck or the lawn, then put him up on a bench and brush and brush and brush.

Roombas do not tend to do well with long dog hair, unfortunately, because the hair gets wrapped around the wheels so easily. The best solution is really to just vacuum as frequently as you possibly can using a regular vacuum and stash lint brushes all over.
posted by lyra4 at 5:55 PM on August 13, 2012

Furminator is great. The amount of hair they remove is amazing. Start off very gently until you can tell what your dog likes. As pointed out, it can irritate some animals, but some animals really love it. My parents' little rescue dog, who won't let anyone other than my dad touch him, will hold still for ages and let me gently brush him with a Furminator. My cat will hold still for a bit but it becomes too much after awhile, so try not to brush in the same spot over and over; keep it moving.

A good vacuum also makes a huge difference. I don't think Roombas are great for animal hair. When I got a Dyson it made a HUGE difference (and this was a low-end model of Dyson, not even the Animal which is designed for animal hair).
posted by Polychrome at 2:58 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]