How do I keep my Black Lab from Shedding to much?

Question

My wife hates vaccuming every day. We feed him Alpo and I have just bought Furminator brush, shampoo and biscuits... Please help

Answer 1

Feed a good quality diet and brush daily. That's about all you can do, labs are heavy shedders.

Answer 2

Ditch the Alpo. Food is very important for a healthy coat, and Alpo is one of the worst foods on the market. Studies have found that supermarket dog foods (Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, Iams, etc.) contain almost nothing of nutritional value. The meat they use is diseased, cancerous, or not even meat- if it says chicken by products, it's usually nothing but beaks, feet, bones, feathers, and organs cooked, dried, and ground up. The grain they use is moldy or contaminated, they use vegetable matter unfit for human consumption, and the high-heat processing destroys any added nutrients.

Here is a list of high-end foods that will cut down on shedding and give your dog a beautiful coat. Some of these can be found at Petsmart/Petco, some can be found at holistic pet stores, and some can be ordered offline for very reasonable prices at http://www.petfooddirect.com :

Artemis
Avoderm
Blue Buffalo
Canine Caviar
Evolve
Innova Evo
Karma Organics
Solid Gold Wolfking Line
Timberwolf Organics
Wellness
Wysong

I'm a professional groomer, and I have used the Furminator system before. And don't listen to the person who said only bathe every 6 months, that's ridiculous, once a month is perfectly healthy for dogs and will not make the problem worse, bathing loosens the dead hair and helps REDUCE shedding, so I don't know what she's talking about. Also, I don't know if the furminator biscuits will do much good, but used properly, the rest of it works very well:

-Use the brush for 15-20 minutes. Avoid the legs, they don't shed much and are very sensitive. Brush from the back of the skull down to the tip of the tail, focusing especially on the neck/ruff area, shoulders, rear hips, and buttocks, as this is where most of the shedding hair originates.

-Make sure you shampoo for at least 5-10 minutes, using a rubber curry brush (available at any petstore, soft rubber with little teeth that come down) to really work the shampoo in and also lift up the dead hairs. Rinse thoroughly.

-Apply the conditioner/solution undiluted, run in with the curry brush, and allow to soak for up to 15 minutes. Scrub hard with the curry brush before rinsing, and make sure you rinse thoroughly.

-After the dog is fully dry, use the brush for another 10-15 minutes. Repeat this full process every 4 weeks for best results. You can use the brush or any other brushes every day if you want, but don't bathe any more often than 4 weeks, and try not to wait more than 6 or the furminator won't be as effective.

The furminator will help a lot, but you MUST change to a better food or the problem will not go away. Good luck!

Answer 3

You've answer your own question. "We feed him Alpo".

As long as your dog isn't shedding to the point of bald spots which point to a medical problem, switching to a higher quality dog food will most times remedy the situation.

Frequent bathing can also make the problem worse. Dogs should only be bathed once every six months, unless obviously dirty to avoid disrupting the dogs skin, and natural oils. This can lead to itchiness, dry skin, hot spots, and more doggy odor. If the skin isn't healthy the hair won't be either, and will fall out more frequently.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.html

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1cat=286

Answer 4

Comb them daily with a shedding rake....they work way better than regular dog brushes. I also have a black lab so I feel your pain. Also you could think about feeding him a food that is high in protein and omega fatty acids...makes the coat shiney and strong...dry coats are more likely to shed. I've been feeding my lab "Evo" by Inova for over a year now and it's really made a big difference...he's 9 and you would never no it...looks like a 3 year old pup still.

Answer 5

First, feed him a high quality dry dog food and add either 1 tablespoon of veg. oil to his food daily, or better yet, give him a salmon oil capsule every day. Especially important for his skin and coat in the dry winter months. Also, he needs to be groomed thoroughly every day while he's sheddingto get rid of the dead hair. If your dog will let you vacuum him, that works great! Also, be sure you don't bath him too often and when you have to, use a dog shampoo and conditioner.

Answer 6

Well i have dogs too. I have pesky little pomerainians I found if you keep them well groomed they wont shed as much. You should brush them every day.

Answer 7

well groom him everyday and if that don't work go to the pet store and buy a sheding medicine for dogs and if that do work take him to the vet to get a better brush,or medicine

Answer 8

Groom him more often.....but he's going to shed when the seasons change

Answer 9

try to brush your pet daily.

Answer 10

sprankle some medicated powders