How often should I brush my dogs hair?

Question

I have a 7 month old german shepherd and when he was a puppy his hair was all fuzzy and didn't shed at all. Now that he's becoming an adult and growing more hair he sheds alot more. I've lately noticed alot of hair gathering up in corners of his crate, and worse, the house. There are quite a few hairballs around.

I've never gave him a bath or brushed him before in his life. But yesterday I decided to clean him up a little. I didn't bathe him but I brushed for about 2 minutes and it got alot of hair. I would like to brush him more, and maybe try a bath soon.

But how often should/can I brush his hair to prevent massive dirty hairballs and stuff around the house? Also, how long should I brush him (when I do).

Answer 1

every other day or ther hair while get tangled

Answer 2

Yeah, you can brush him every day without issue. Brush his coat against the grain, and then with the grain. You can brush until you get all of the loose hair that's going to come out. Maybe 10 minutes altogether?

As far as baths go, I bathe my dogs once every two weeks. Just make sure you use a gentle shampoo. Dog skin is more sensitive than ours. If you have the money, I recommend Furfection shampoo/conditioner. (http://www.furfection.com). At the least, the site has a lot of good information about how to care for your dog.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

You need to start bathing him now. It will be a hard job because you have to train him to a bath.It sounds like he will be a inside dog so you need to give him a bath at least once a month.If you have a local pet store near you like PetSmart or some place that carries pet supplies get a good shampoo and conditioner for dogs.Do not use human shampoo it drys their skin out.Shampoo and rinse him well twice to get him clean.Then condition his hair and rinse well.The conditioner will help with the shedding they do heavily twice a year in spring and fall. Adult dogs shed their winter coats in the spring to a lighter coat for summer and again in the fall to a heaver coat for winter.Brush them at least weekly or as often as you like.Check you local dog supply store for a food supplement with omega vitamins ( fish oils) that helps with the shedding.It will take a good hour or more to get him brushed out good. If you can afford it take him to a groomer once a month or every other month because they can do the job easier than most owners can. A regular deep grooming by a professional groomer keeps the shedding down a lot and gives the dog a healthy coat. I know because its what I do.It takes two to three hours for me to bath, blow dry and brush out a Shepherd depending on the thickness of the coat.

Answer 4

a bath should have been done at 2 months when you got him to get him adjusted to it, and then every week or every other week after, for a short period of time. Yes bathing can be drying on the skin so over doing it can be damaging. Use a puppy shampoo and for a G shep, you will want to use a shedder brush not a slicker brush, you will want to brush him a little everyday to get him used to it (about 5 min) then stretch it to every couple days and eventually once a week.
This can be done while your sitting on the floor in front of the TV, remember to reward him for possitive good behavior a good bone after a brush out is always a nice treat.

Answer 5

The reason he is shedding now, is since he is 7 months old, its his first winter. German Sheps. grow a second layer of fur around this time of year, naturally and the old coat can seem like its coming off in patches. You can even use your fingers to run through his whole body and pull off giant patches of old fur and then brush afterwards to remove any stray hairs.

Answer 6

They need brushing atleast once a day . Take thhe dog out doors and back brush and then brush back . ALll the dead hair will fall and he will have a great coat. U could also use a coat conditioner(hair conditioner) . Also Vitamin E and phosphorus ( plenty in river fishes) will help.

Answer 7

Every single day. He will be getting more hair soon since it is getting to be winter. German Shepherds tend to lose hair. I play with police department dogs alot- my mom is friends with the PD- and they tend to be German Shepherds. They normally shed alot of hair while I pet them

Answer 8

Bath - once a week
Brush - everyday.

Answer 9

Every day is best.