Dog shedding?

Question

i have a black lab that sheds alot. any ideas on making this less of a problem? her hair gets everywhere.

Answer 1

All dogs shed to some degree, some more than others. With a short haired dog like a lab you'll get hair that is really hard to pick up - those short hairs work themselves into the weave of rugs and upholstery and can be hard to get up. Long haired dogs tend to lose their hair in longer pieces and clumps which makes it somewhat easier. At any rate, there are two things to try:

1) Make sure she gets a good diet. Feed her only high quality dog food like Canidae, Royal Canin, or Nutro Natural Choice. Often this helps.

2) Brush her daily. Just take at least ten minutes a day to run a brush over her. This way most of the loose hairs will end up in the brush instead of on you and your clothes!

Answer 2

Well, shedding has to do with a lot of things.

The #1 thing is the food you feed. If it is a cheap food, the dog will probably have skin problems and shed a lot. You want a food like Wellness that is all natural. Anything with a lot of by products and corn will cause this.

Another thing that could cause this is if the dog is constantly stressed out. Do you have children that irritate the dog? This could be the cause of the shedding.

A lot of labs shed no matter what, but these suggestions may cut down on the amount the dog sheds.

Answer 3

I have two Siberian Huskies. I used to get hairballs that rolled across my house like tumbleweeds in the desert!

I went to the petstore for food one day (I feed Royal Canin, so it's good food) and a lady was demontrating a new type of brush called a "Furminator." I was very skeptical. It was expensive, and I already had tried slicker brushes and rakes.

We tried it. I pulled out enough hair off one dog in a half hour to make a sweater! They still shed of course, but the amount is greatly reduced. I highly recommend it.

Answer 4

My dog sheds more than any 3 dogs!! During shed season I can brush for hours and it still keeps coming. I do a few things that work. 1) I wash my dog, and scrub him good!! If I scrub him kind of hard (not to where it hurts!) and rinse and dry him good with a towel and brush him again after, it REALLY helps cut down.
2) Groomers have a blow dryer that they can use on dogs to blow them dry, if you make a grooming appt, you can ask that they blow dry your dog. These are powerful and can blow all that extra hair off.
3) Lo shed products don't work well. Just keep on brushing everyday and realize that you'll always have some hairballs. Good Luck!!

Answer 5

1. Brushing.
2. Premium food like Natural Choice. Be patient, as it can take two months for the new healthy hair to come in and the shedding to slow.

Answer 6

Brushing, brushing and more brushing. Your lab's probably shedding right now making it worse. The only thing you can do is keep brushing. If she doesn't mind the vacuum, that works well to get out loose, dead hair. If you can get a metal comb like a curry comb, they work really well, too.

Add 1 tablespoon of veg. oil to her food or give her a salmon oil capsule daily - that will also improve condition of coat and skin.

Answer 7

I used to have something I got from the pet supply store for my cat, which is like a mitten you put on, but has rubber in the palm of it and spikes in it. The idea is that the hair sticks to the mitten brush and the spikes help pull up the loose hair. And it's just like "petting" your animal. Ours worked very well.

Answer 8

Labs shed ALOT. Just brush him/her daily.

Answer 9

If there's a solution I'd be interested also. I have a Lab mix and I have to sweep and/or vacuum at least 2x a day...

Answer 10

That is what dogs do. If you are feeding a quality food and brush your dog on a regular basis then that is all you can do