For those in house dog owners! Please help me!?

Question

My family adopted a Golden Retriever in January of this year. She is house broken and is a wonderful pet. Lately we have had a problem keeping her hair shedding under control. We have had her crate in the family room. This is where she plays and rests. She has her food bowl in the dining room with us, When I work normally 4-5 times a month, she stays in our laundry room. We put crate, toys, food water in with her. And this is for a 7 hour period. My question is where can/should we change her spot? If we keep her in the laundry room, hair will get all over the clean clothes, our garage is not insulated so it is hot in the summer, cold in the winter so that is not an option. But the living room is no longer an option either. We love her very much and want her to be "with" our family as well as a part of it. Our home is also not very big so there are not many others rooms that are appropriate. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...She is about 53 pounds and is "fixed"

Some seem to have misunderstood, I ONLY crate my dog when she sleeps or we are cleaning. This is for her protection. As for her chewing, she is still considered a puppy and chews very much so allowing her to roam the house, alone when we are gone is not an option. Our laundry room is quite large and opens to the door we come into each day. As stated earlier this is only 4-5 times a month. She has also graduated from obediance school and is well trained, ie, housebroken and does well with children.

I do not crate her unless the 2 situations above. She is allowed outside to play in a 1 acre field at least 2 times a day to roam, play and excercise.

Answer 1

I can completely understand your situation, my lab sheds like there is no tomorrow. But my biggest problem are my two 5 month old Belgian shepard puppies. With the hair being your biggest problem, where chewing is mine....right off the bat I'm not sure what to tell you. For me, I have a walk in closet, 6x4 in size. I have found that this is an ideal "puppy" room. All my clothes are up out of their reach and since they haven't blown their puppy coat I don't have to worry about shedding. Do you have a decently size closet that would allow her room to move about? something you could toss a her blanket in, food, water, a few toys and put a baby gate in front of? That way the door isn't closed and she gets plenty of air plus is able to hear/see everything.
Or depending on how many doors you have into/out of your kitchen, buying a baby gate [usually about $15] and putting her in the kitchen. I did that with my lab for a while during her puppy months because it was the only room I had that was no carpet.
Or what about an X-pen [exercise pen]. My sister breeds Russian Wolfhounds and when it is too hot [since they are long haired dogs that don't handle heat too well] she brings them in and sets up x-pens in the living room. You can get them in everything from 4' high to 5'. There are tops that come with some so it's like an oversized crate. Completly safe and very easy to put up and down.
And last but not least, as a last resort, you could always consider crating her in the living room while you are at work.
Hope this helps

Answer 2

A properly trained dog should be able to go throughout the house when you are away. Dogs a naturally territorial and will probably sit close to the window waiting for you to come home and keeping strangers away. My dogs often sleep near a window until they hear the slightest sound, bark if they see something, and then sleep again. if she is chewing at things and pulling out the garbage she needs some strong discipline while she is young. You could seal off the bathrooms and kitchen when she is home alone. cooping her up in a laundry room is not fair for a large dog.
As for the shedding, we sometimes vacuum the coats with a weak vacuum and an upholstry brush. Otherwise a good brushing and the odd bath get a lot off. You'll find she sheds a little less as the weather gets colder. Also, not sure why, but a pillow filled with cedar chips that she can lie on helps with fleas and keeping her skin moderated. It'll just make her more comfortable and less likely to rub all over the carpet and sofa.

Answer 3

We've got an american eskimo (very long white hair) who does not get tied out or crated. The shedding is insane, but it's part of owning a long haired dog.

I brush him every 2 days, bathe him once a month, invested in a great vacuum cleaner, a lint brush for the furniture, and the roller lint paper for the clothing. There are dietary supplements and shampoos that claim to help reduce shedding however I have not had any luck with those - I'd probably ask the vet before investing in something like that.

After I got used to a routine that included cleaning up his shed fur, I realized it didn't take that long to do and it was a small price to pay. He's a good mutt, he makes us happy, he's lovable and (mostly) well-behaved and he is so goofy that he makes us laugh constantly. He's well worth it :-)

Answer 4

You need to work up to letting her out of the crate--let her out for a little while, leave, and see how she does. Let her out for longer and longer periods of time until you can trust her by herself. Greyhounds are "turned out" of their crates six times a day and also race, which takes care of their exercise needs. A Golden Retriever doesn't necessarily need a ton of exercise, but it's not right to leave her cooped up in a crate for hours on end.

And make sure she doesn't have any medical issues. My Dalmatian sheds a lot, all the time, all year, but a little more in the spring and fall. But she's always done that. If your dog suddenly starts (or stops) shedding a lot more than normal, it could be a sign of something serious. Try a new dog food or supplement designed to help with shedding, but if that doesn't work, it's vet time for puppy. The shedding is a minor inconvenience compared to the health and happiness of your dog.

Answer 5

Brush her regularly and you can also purchase arm and hammer pet odor and hair remover. You can either buy it in the spray or powder you put it on your carpets wait about five minutes and vacuum. It is only 2-3 dollars a can at Wal-Mart. This stuff takes the static electricity out of dog hair so you will get it all in the vacuum it also makes your home smell fresh. This way you can keep her in the living room and have a safe and effective way to clean up her hair. It is also safe to use around pets and children.

We have four dogs that are in our house and this what has worked the best for us you will be amazed at how much hair is in your vacuum the first time you use this.

I do commend you for not getting frustrated and putting her outside in the heat and cold cause a lot of people would.

GOOD LUCK

Answer 6

dogs normally shed more in the spring and winter than any other time of the year, you just have to make sure you keep them well brushed, also, if they are stressed over any thing, they may shed more. so my advice would be, instead of changing where your dog sleeps, try brushing her for a little while each day, or even twice a day so that there is not as much fur coming off of her. i had a golden up until last christmas, when sadly he died because he had a tumor in his chest, we used to brush him a lot and vacuum at least once a day, and a bath at least once a month. he still shed, but these things all kept the amount of fur down.

Answer 7

The type of food you feed her can effect how much they shed. Our yellow lab sheds non-stop. I vacuum daily (at least I should). If you can leave her in an area of the house instead of the laundry room, that would work - or just move yoru clean clothes. There's always "puppy daycare" but that gets expensive. I guess I'd recommend, just dealing with it. Maybe buy a roomba?

Answer 8

A big dog like yours shouldn't really stay in the house all day. They need to have a big area, such as a back yard to excerise. As for the shedding problem, you should brush your dog every day at least once if not more. You can also take your dog to the groomer to cut the hair shorter. Maybe that will help

Answer 9

ok i have the same problem, i have a lab and he sheds ALOT his crate is in the basement it is isnsulated down there if u have a basement that could be an option, he basically gets to roam around the house all day we just brush him regularly and vaccum the house 1 time per week. As u sed she is 53 lbs. thats not very heavy, so u could put her in the basement,your room(if its vaccumed regularly) I hope this helps!

Answer 10

Make sure you feed her a premium food that contains plenty of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (supplementing is also an option, but why bother since there are numerous premium brands that already have fatty acids in them), and, also, purchase The Furminator(it's a great tool for shedding), you can buy it at PetSmart or on line at Petsmart.com. It's about 40 dollars, but you'll be happy you've spent that money....