I have a pit bull/cur mix and she is shedding like CRAZY!! My whole family wakes up every morning with a sore throat and allergies going hay wire! Some of us don't normally have allergies. I have vacuumed and vacuumed and done it some more, I've bathed her, but I only do that once a week because I don't want to dry her skin out and make things worse, I brush her outside 2 times a day, and I get the allergen spray and still nothing helps. WHAT ELSE CAN I DO??
2006-08-23 03:13:31 · 17 answers · asked by onfire921 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
My dog has short hair, no it's not our first dog and we've had her for about a year and this just started 2 weeks ago. I have vitamins from the vet for her skin and coat that she takes once a day. And just to clear it up my kids are WAAAY too attatched to her to get rid of her. How do you tell a 2 yr. old her dog is gone? She tells me every day how much she loves her dog so that it absolutly out of the question.
2006-08-23 03:27:38 · update #1
They have combs on the market that pull out the undercoat while brushing the topcoat. The undercoat is what sheds. I think you should try that. If it doesn't work, you could always shave her down some.
2006-08-23 03:18:30 · answer #1 · answered by drewsylla 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Short haired dogs will shed a lot all year round. Make sure you are feeding a good quality food that is "nutritionally complete." I like Nutro - it has no "by products" and are reasonably priced. My friend feeds her labs Canidae (www.canidae.com) and they look great and don't shed much at all.
Have your vet check a stool sample for intestinal worms - they can cause excessive shedding.
Don't bathe him too often - no more than once every four months unless he's rolled in something. Just wipe him off with a damp towel. When you do bathe him, use COOL water. Warm or hot water baths make them shed more.
Also, get shedding blade from the pet store - it's a mini version of the kind they use on horses. That will take out a lot of the loose hair. Other than that, get a Dyson vacuum!
2006-08-23 06:30:23 · answer #2 · answered by Danger, Will Robinson! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
some dogs are just not suitable for people who have allergies. There are many types of brushed on the market so go to a pet store and make sure u have the correct ones. With your home, cant the dog be outside? Make sure u have a good vacuum with a powerhead, otherwise u are only cleaning around 20%-30% of the surface dirt and the rest is still in there sitting at the bottom.
2006-08-23 03:20:32 · answer #3 · answered by nicole 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's probably the pet dander that is driving everyone's allergies crazy! You might want to change her food. I have a dog that lost nearly all of her hair because we discovered that she was allergic to the food that we were feeding her (it had lamb in it!). Since changing her food, she has grown all of her hair back and she is beautiful! She's a pitt-lab mix, so she has short hair, too! Just check her diet, make sure she has no allergies, don't bathe her very often...not even once a week, it will make everything worse!...also, what kind of weather are you having where you are? Dogs shed more during certain times of the year....like summer when it's pretty hot! Good luck!
2006-08-23 03:41:08 · answer #4 · answered by southerngirljw 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you try all the suggestions, and none work, you will really have to consider giving the dog away. Prolonged exposure to an allergen weakens the body's immune system, making it more easy to pick up other illnesses. With school starting, the attack of the major illnesses has begun. I, too am a dog lover, but I have in the past given up a beloved pet because others in the household were suffering too much.
suggestions: The new comb for the undercoat, a shampoo with oatmeal in it (see if the vet approves a full oatmeal bath/soak).
Good luck!
2006-08-23 03:24:31 · answer #5 · answered by jiminycricket 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
wow ! huge hassle if ur family are experiencing allergies not heard of before. Have u thought that maybe ur dog is attracted to a certain plant in the garden that she loves and ur family are allergic too? I only say this cos my sis has two dogs and only one kicks of my allergies?? Try keeping pup inside for a few days and see if the family allergies still happen.
Hope this helps (also vacumming might be spreading the allergen around)
2006-08-23 03:21:37 · answer #6 · answered by livachic2005 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take her to a groomer that has a stripper. My mom just did this with her lab and her heeler. They strip out the undercoat...which is what they mostly shed. This costs around 30-50 buck. Try also to upgrade your foods. Stay away from grocery store foods.... yes, even IAMS is in the grocery store. Try Nutro/Natural Choice, Wellness, BIL-JAC, Pro plan, Pro Pac, or Natural Balance. Most of these can be found in Petsmart...
2006-08-23 03:21:35 · answer #7 · answered by munchkin_4684 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you could try bathing her less often because you probably already dried her skin out, you could try bathing her with a stop shed shampoo ( forgot what it is called ) that i saw at petsmart, and could take her to the vet and see what is going on
hope this helps!
2006-08-23 03:55:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
you might want to try getting allergy meds...like claritin or something...you can also have a cetain place for your dogs...like only allow them in certain places of the house to keep the fur from spreading so much.
2006-08-23 03:21:47 · answer #9 · answered by yup 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
had that problem with my lab. There is a pill you can get from your vet to help control shedding. I can't remember the name of it right now...but call your vet office.
Good luck!
2006-08-23 03:19:49 · answer #10 · answered by AQHA34 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋