A shedding question from a future dog owner? (hopefully :))?

Question

Is a heavy shedding dog like a samoyed or a keeshon really that terrible to have in an apartment? How bad is it? Is there a way I can remove the hair so it doesn't end up on my carpet?

I'd love to get answers from experienced owners-
Thank you all very much!! :)

about how long does it take each of the breeds to shed their half year coat?

Answer 1

Fact of life: If you have a dog you will have dog hair on your carpet, furniture, clothes.....
You can reduce the amount of shedding by giving your dog a good daily brushing. Long haired dogs need this done anyway. Also, what you feed the dog will affect shedding. Our pets need quality pet food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. "Vet approved" means they have a vet on staff to approve their product. In other words, someone paid to approve it. Same with foods most vets recommend. Salesmen "gift" vets then the vet recommends the food. Most vets are not nutritionists! Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient. California Natural, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359& more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoods.nsf/$$PetFoodsByRating?OpenForm

You can also toss them a fish oil gel cap three or four days a week...

Answer 2

There are products that get a ton of the dead fur off. Like furminator is my favorite. I had a husky and the shedding was awful. Samoyed dogs shed all at once. In a couple day period and keeshon dogs shed totally 1 a year but you need to brush there fur for an hour a week.
Try a toy poodle mix, toy poodle or any kind of poodle don't shed at all.

Answer 3

you can brush the heck out of it with the correct brush for it's coat. A long rake to get the undercoat, a furminator or deshedding tool (there is a copycat furminator that costs 10 dollars) and regular baths. I vacuum daily, sometimes twice when my dogs blow their coats out which happens twice a year for a few weeks at a time.
Samoyed and Keeshons are pretty active dogs! Maybe, a smaller one like an American Eskimo would be better for an apt? Same "type" of big dog but in a smaller body...

Either way, good luck on your new dog.
Eaglepack makes great dog food, so does Innova, EvO is what I feed..
www.eaglepack.com
Cheap or low quality foods make your dogs lose more hair, you can also add a fish oil cap to their food daily (efa's) that helps the coat or a tablespoon of olive oil, but introduce it to the diet slowly or the get bad belly....

Answer 4

I have a heavy shedding dog and they do drop a ton of hair. However, even my short hair animals shed hair.

I just recently purchased a Dyson Vacuum cleaner - specifically for animal hair - and it works wonders. My carpets look brand new and it gets all the hair that is embedded into the carpet. Mind you, I have 4 dogs and 2 cats and you cant tell. They run about $550 to $600 but it was the best investment that I have ever made.

Answer 5

It's bad but it depends on your ability to work on it and your tolerance of a little dog hair. Brushing daily helps a lot. I have a Mars Coat King to strip extra undercoat that helps a lot (these can easily be Googled and purchased online - I really like them). I have a groomer come once a month and really work my dogs over in addition to my own grooming. I have a good vacuum and a Roomba. And I pick up puffs of dog hair where I see them. It also helps that I got rid of carpet and have throw rugs on wood floors and don't allow the dogs on furniture or my bed they have their own beds). Some times of year when they blow their coats can be challenging but I wouldn't trade my dogs just because I have to deal with some hair. And yes, I work full time.

Answer 6

Shedding and dog hair can be a pain but it is controllable. It work. Regular brushing/grooming helps a great deal, plus vacuuming. I got my Lab use to the vacuum at a very young age and he loves to be vacuumed. I have the Dyson Pet Vacuum. It is quiet and made just for pet hair. That helps out immensely. I never did anything so useful as training that dog to get vacuumed. It He loves it and it prevents his hair from being all over the place.

Answer 7

heavy shedder means that they loose a lot of hair, so it'll get all over your furniture. think of it this way- when you give them a bath there might be a lot on the tub.
golden retrievers & german shepherds i'd say are medium shedders, they dont shed as much but you can still tell they do. you'll just get less on everything.
if you want one that doesn't shed/barely does- lhasa apso ... they barely shed. when we give them baths maybe 3 hairs come out. thats it!
i'm not saying you shouldn't get thoseones. i was just giving you others and where i think they rank in shedding. all dogs are lovable. you can just get some lint rollers and use them to get off the hair. and comb them like once a week or moreto help.=] hope i helped.

Answer 8

well i have a GSD and they shed aswell, it is a PITA when they shed , i just brush my girl outside and pull clumps out of her literally...then i give all the hair to the birds and they fly down and take it to nest with, ( cute or what?..lol)
BUT for her next shedding i am seriously going to invest in a furminator, i didnt even know these things existed ( and i am on my 2nd GSD) until someone linked to it on here.

http://www.furminator.com/testbed/faqs.html

It will be a pain i cannot lie ,but it doesnt last long its a new coat coming usually, daily brushing is essential and helpful with dog hair control any other time aswell ( ie when not sheding)

Answer 9

Feeding a high quality diet and daily brushing will take care of that.

My samoyed mix's shedding was greatly reduced when I switched her to raw.