what reduces shedding?

Question

i brush my jack russell a lot and we feed him pedigree natural with nature's gift dog meat mixed with it. he is provided with fresh water and taken on regular walks as well as longer ones on the weekend. what else can stop him from shedding?
we will be switching to a better brand of dog food (beneful) once i get some money from working.
he used to shed a lot because he came from an owner who didnt take care of him properly but a year on, his fur has grown out beautifully though he still sheds a little, i know thats only natural.

Answer 1

better brand of food, I would go with pro plan, VS beneful.. Look around for some other brands.. I like purina.. but honestly it is not diffrent then their standard Dog chow with some extra dehydrated pees and carrots in it so not worth the "extra" they charge for a so called natural food..

If you have seen a impovement in skin and coat, then a food change may not make much of a diffrence.. Most coat problems have very little to do with a partiular brand of food,, there are several out their that are good and do not cost big bucks..
Dog all shed.. and when inside dogs, artifical lighting, heat AC does generally make them drop hair all year round,, VS on a sesonal basis..
Ironically most shedding problems, skin problems can have something to do with grooming by the owner,, or genetics.. some dogs have allergies, some have skin issues that regular grooming would prevent..
Best bet is,, Brush every day is ideal or at least once a week.. good for the skin, your bond with the dog,,often shedding problems esp. in short haired dogs has a lot to do with lack of brushing by the owner,,,Why people with short hair dogs do not brush the poor dogs I will never understand..Brushing it will remove the dead hair, allowing the new hair to come in faster (new hair shaft cannot come in untill the old one has fallen out..) Helps distribute the skins natual oils, and help with circulation..
This process is called Rolling the coat..the new coat will come in faster so the dog has more new coat,, that does not fall out,, VS older hairs ready or in the process to fall out.. Terriers specifically do need this process to keep their coat in condition..

Hope this helps.. It may not be a diet change,, and extra buck for supplements and fancy food,, but someting a simple as good grooming methods,, and that is FREE

Amanda

Answer 2

A high quality food can help greatly reduce shedding. Pedigree and Beneful are both horrible foods. Even though Beneful is a little better quality than Pedigree, it's still garbage. Here are the first 10 ingredients for Beneful Original:

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol

The first ingredient is NOT a meat source. It's corn, which dogs do not need in their diet. The second ingredient is a by-product which is basically everything from an animal you DON'T want to eat. Third is also corn. Fourth is flour. Do they really need flour in their diet? Fifth is animal fat. One word: Gross. Dogs don't need animal fat in their food. Next is rice flour, which I don't believe is really necessary. Beef is so far down on the top 10 ingredients that it's basically like it's not even in the food. More flour. Then there's sugar. Dogs don't really need extra added sugar in their diet. I don't know what the next ingredient is, so I can't say anything about that.

Just looking at the top 10 ingredients makes me think garbage. If you learn to read the ingredient labels on dog food, you can easily separate garbage from healthy, nutritious food. I can tell you that any dog food you can find at grocery stores/Wal-Mart/etc. is all garbage and you really want to try and stay away from those. That includes Iams, Eukanuba, Purina, Ol' roy, Science Diet, etc. Some of the top quality foods are Canidae, Timberwolf Organics, Flint River Ranch, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Merrick, Innova, California Natural, Life's Abundance, Wellness, Solid Gold, etc. Those do not have the fillers and by-products the low quality foods have and are much better for your dog. A high quality food will also help with shedding. In my opinion, it's much better to pay extra for a high quality food that'll keep a dog healthy than put my money towards dog food that's horrible.

Answer 3

A better brand of dog food would be Bil Jac or Science Diet.

Many short haired dogs have a big problem with shedding. Changes in the climate will also cause shedding. You need to get a stripping comb. It looks sort of like a hack saw blade. You can use this to strip out the dead hairs. Do this daily for a couple of weeks and it will cut down on the shedding problem.

You should be able to buy one at a pet store, like Petco. Even WalMart carries them.

Answer 4

it is natural.as you already pointed out,for dogs to lose a certain amount of hair(not fur lol) everyday.
we as humans lose from 75 to 100 hairs a day in a natural process and with them having so much more to lose i'm sure their count is much higher.
you are doing the right thing in brushing and it should be done daily,the same as you do your own hair.
careful with mixing wet with dry food as this can cause tartar build up unless you give him dog bones or brush his teeth(doggy toothpaste only)
i don't think beneful is necessarily a better food than pedigree
i have been feeding my dogs pedigree and they are shiny healthy active dogs.
sounds like you are doing a great job for your canine buddy.
i don't see anything you need to change.
good luck. i hope this helps

Answer 5

Shedding is a natural part of any animal.Horses shed in the summer as well as many other animal's-When I got my girl she use to shed everywhere and I have tryed may brand's of dog food to no avail! Then one day I saw commercial about Pedigree Healthy Vitality-I went and got her a bag(SMALL) to start with and found Hugh difference in her coat and her eye's.Her coat is so much softer and has a nice gleam to it, and her eye's are so much brighter.I brush her regularly and also supplement her with Vitamin K oil and have found a Hugh difference in the lack of hair in her brush and on her couch. So yes you can like me buy and buy many different kinds of feed for your dog but I have found Pedigree Healthy Vitality work's the best for my girl along with the Vitamin K supplement which you should be able to pick up from your vet or and vet store.So before you end up with all kinds of feed that your pup will not eat, get the Healthy Vitality (Pedigree). It work's wonder's with animal's coat's and their energy levels.I like you work and have to wait for pay day.But I really like the pedigree and I donot need to add anything to it to get my girl to eat it. She will eat it dry and that as a hugh surprise also!!

Answer 6

I could build a new dog everyday just from the hair I sweep up. Come to my house with four Saints, lab, Pekes etc, eight in total and trust me you will NEVER complain about your JR again. Brushing PLUS a good combing will help reduce it. I even vacuum my dogs with a shop vac. I give my dogs natural bones and hamburger with rice once a week to insure they are getting the proper oils. Good Luck!

Answer 7

reduces shedding

Answer 8

a great way to reduce shedding greatly is to buy a brush that's specifically advertised to get hair out of the undercoat. that's where most of the loose hair comes from. here's one brand that i own:

http://www.amazon.com/Kong-Zoom-Groom-For-Dogs/dp/B0002Y1RCE

they have electric ones too. my dog has a smoother coat and is a bit happier after using these regularly.

Answer 9

Have his thyroid checked.

And do regular grooming with a shedding blade.