Getting the (dog) hair out?

December 8, 2005 8:51 PM

Anyone have tips on effective and efficient dog hair control?

My house and clothes are covered in dog hair basically all of the time. Getting rid of the dog is not an option - I suspect others have had similar issues, wanted to hear your thoughts.

posted by gnash to Pets & Animals (19 answers total)

Buy clothes and furniture the same colour as your dog. I'm not kidding.
posted by duck at 8:57 PM on December 8, 2005

Or dye your dog to the same colour as your furniture...or shave your dog...or get a hairless dog (but then you have to put sunscreen on it).
posted by johnsmith415 at 9:13 PM on December 8, 2005

But seriously, I have no idea...my house is covered in dog hair.
posted by johnsmith415 at 9:14 PM on December 8, 2005

I bought a powerful handvac (a Shark...I tried looking for the same model to link to, but they don't seem to make mine anymore) and use it. A lot. That and a lint roller keep me relatively hair-free.
posted by youcancallmeal at 9:18 PM on December 8, 2005

We have two dogs and yes, there is potential for out of control dog hair. What seems to work the best for us is when we take them outside and brush them with one of these: dog shedding blade.
We're too lazy to keep at it, but we can really tell when we do it everyday. There's a *lot* less dog hair floating around and sticking itself on everything. Instead, it's outside in our back yard.
We do that whole praising thing when brushing them and they love it. They get excited when one of us picks the shedding blade up.
posted by NoMich at 9:25 PM on December 8, 2005

second the shedding blade. you can also just use a dovetail saw.
posted by scarabic at 9:30 PM on December 8, 2005

The dog that has an undercoat loves the shedding blade, the other one is unimpressed. Mostly, I love my Dyson vacuum cleaner (I didn't even bother with the Animal, I have the All Floors) in a way that probably isn't healthy, but oh how it gets the fur up.

Plus we have several lint rollers, have given away all our lintiest clothes, and can occasionally be found getting dressed right by the front door.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:06 PM on December 8, 2005

Second the Dyson, also didn't bother with the Animal tool. We've got cats with long, thick hair, and we live in a very mild climate, so there's a lot of hair around.

Leather furniture, hard floors with a minimum of rugs, frequent brushing (with the kitty version of the shedding blade as well as a regular brush, for the sake of variety).

And I have given up most of my black clothing. I've learned a valuable lesson about why Goths really like black cats, instead of orange and white ones.

Once I got the Dyson, I became unable to grasp how people with pets live without one. It's truly a wonder to behold (and very gross the first time you use it, and watch the canister fill--you can almost make a whole 'nother pet out of what the thing sucks up).
posted by padraigin at 10:31 PM on December 8, 2005

My dog shed enough hair year round to knit an entirely new dog, but I miss even that now that she's gone--sniff. The very best thing I found was a rubber-toothed brush like a Zoom Groom. The rubber teeth pull gently against the hair and you'll get handfuls off at a time, plus my dog loved getting combed with it. Next, I've got one of those Dysons, with the pet hair tool (small head with rotating brush), which I think works great on furniture. Third, anything you can wash & dry, use plenty of fabric softener and tumble dry. Your lint trap will be filled with dog hair that doesn't come off in the washer.
posted by tula at 10:50 PM on December 8, 2005

Is it possible to vacuum the dog? I'm being totally serious and only partialy hypothetical. I swear my mom used to vacuum her horse.
posted by radioamy at 10:57 PM on December 8, 2005

Beverly Cleary
describes a cat being vacuumed in Ramona's World.
posted by brujita at 12:00 AM on December 9, 2005

My two dogs second the vacuuming.

That and a commercial dry mop.
posted by nenequesadilla at 12:08 AM on December 9, 2005

Enormous fluffy German shepherd (who sheds in black and white -- you think you have problems?) loves being brushed with a plain old pet brush. If you do it every day, you'll see a difference.

When you're done brushing the dog (remember to empty the brush frequently), brush your carpets with the same brush exactly the same way. Only with not quite so much attention under the chin.
posted by booksandlibretti at 12:17 AM on December 9, 2005

Has anyone tried the FURminator products? Does it really work as advertised? I'm getting ready to adopt a red-haired Shepherd and Collie mix so I'm curious if this stuff is really worth the money/effort.
posted by plokent at 1:29 AM on December 9, 2005

Two cats and two dogs in my house with fully carpeted floors. We vaccum weekly at a bare minimum. During the heavier shed periods, we may vaccum daily. Yes, I vaccum the couch even though the dogs are not allowed up. Regular brushing with the same type of brush linked by booksandlibretti makes a HUGE difference with our Berner. Regular grooming also helps.

I have a bigger problem with cat hair on my clothes because the cats, especially the white one, like to lay on my clothes as soon as they touch the bed. The whole bed is available for their comfort but my clothes are the preferred spot. I learned a long time ago to only pull out the clothes as I'm about to put them on. Even then, I still have to discourage the cat from relocating to my stuff.

Lint rollers also help. Next on the list for us is a Dyson and replacing the carpet with hardwood.
posted by onhazier at 7:52 AM on December 9, 2005

I second (third? fourth?) the combination of Dyson vacuum (really - it's amazing) and taking each dog outside each day for a brushing with the shedding blade.

My step-mother's dog loves being vacuumed. Mine won't stand for it.
posted by peppermint22 at 7:54 AM on December 9, 2005

i tried to vacuum my dog once and it didn't go over very well. i will second (third? fourth?) these recommendations:

-dyson (i think i want to marry mine)
-zoom groom (we have a short hair dog)
-washing stuff constantly. because of my allergies, i wash all the sheets and blankets weekly anyway, and vacuum the couch weekly.
-lint rollers
-weekly sweeping/mopping/swiffering
-getting used to sleeping on sheets covered in dog hair
posted by booknerd at 9:30 AM on December 9, 2005

For our Siberian Husky/Border Collie mix we just started using the Furminator + it does work as advertised. It's a bit pricey, but check eBay for a deal.

I also try to vacuum every other day but we still find her hair in the most unusual places at times!
posted by sugarwater at 10:46 AM on December 9, 2005

Our dog sheds black, white, and gray. Lucky us. We tried vacuuming the dog, but he didn't really go for that. Theoretically the dog isn't allowed up on the furniture, but he just waits until we leave for work. We've taken to draping a blanket over the sofa during the week when we are gone all day, and then throwing that in the wash once a week. We also keep the door to the master bedroom securely closed when we leave the house, or he would be up on the bed where he's not allowed.

That's in addition to the frequent outdoor brushing and vacuuming the rugs. It's worst when he's shedding his undercoat (twice yearly), during which time he basically just walks around trailing a cloud of loose dog fur behind him. Then the brushings get upped to twice a day, and I don't bother to put the vacuum away for about a week.
posted by ambrosia at 11:10 AM on December 9, 2005