What might cause a dog to constantly shed?
Hi,
I was a groomer for 14 years and have just retired due to repetetive motion injuries. To be perfectly honest with you, I wouldn’t waste your money on high priced specialty dog foods for shedding. Dogs "blow their coats" ( in groomerspeak) twice a year, and this is a normal, natural process. There are ,however, things that you can do at home to help with this problem. First, put back some of the money that you were spending on the pricey dog food, and get a small High Velocity Dryer from an online groomers supply magazine such as Pet Edge. I say "small" because the dryers that we use in the shops run about $400, but are necessary to do about 20 dogs a day. For home use, a small dryer will run you about $50-$100, but will be well worth the money invested. Once you have the dryer, give your dog a bath at home..(there is no need to spend extra money for De-Shed, I was around before that shampoo, and I don’t think the results justify the price), and then get some regular old VO5 conditioner in whatever scent you like, and slather it all over your dog full strength. Yes, it is safe to use human shampoo and conditoner on dogs…the pet industry would rather you think otherwise, but groomers everwhere use it with no problems, and there is even a luxury line of pet shamoos that advertise "human grade" on the label". Then take the high velocity dryer and start drying your dog with conditioner on. You will not believe the amount of hair that will come off of your dog, and the amount of money this will save you in the long run. Remember to rinse off the conditioner after you have gotten most of the hair out. Then towel dry your dog well, and if you are not too tired after this, dry him again. You will get more hair out the second time around, and can use a slicker brush to help you. Be aware that some dogs do not like this, especially around the face, and to never point the stream of air direct at your dogs eyes, ears or nos to prevent injuries. One more thing…do this outside..you’ll be picking dog hair off of your ceiling for weeks if you don’t!
There is also a brand of grooming tools by the name of Mars. They have an excellent line of grooming tools, and the best one for removing undercoat is a rake. They come in three different sizes, and will get all the hair out while still maintaining a natural appearance. With this tool, you simply go with the grain of the hair, but with a very light touch until you get used to it because it really does take a lot of hair out, and if you are not careful you could end up giving Fido a bald spot! Look up Mars Coat King on the web…but I think Pet edge carries them as well. They should run you around $35.00.
For labs, boxers, and other dogs with coats such as these, they have rubber brushes with nubbies on one side…I’m having a moment and can’t remember what they are called for the life of me.. anyway, they look almost like cleats on the bottom of an athletic shoe and are found in the bathing section. they run around 7 bucks, and you just rub them back and forth over your dogs coat wet or dry to get the hair out…they usually come in pink and blue.
I wouldn’t waste your money on the de-shedding tool…..it’s not that it doesn’t work…it does, but it takes a much longer time to do the job than The mars coat king rake.
One more thing…not really on the subject of de-shedding, but if you ever see the Andis blue hair dryers for dogs in the pet stores, they really do work. They are more powerful than our hair dryers.
I’m not really sure if the Omega 3 supplements would help a whole lot with shedding, but I do know that they benefit your dog in a lot more ways than just with skin and coat issues, especially if you have a breed that is prone to ailments like Hip Dysplaisia and general problems with their back legs. This would apply mostly to larger breeds like German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Collies…etc. Really, it benefits dog’s in the same ways as it does humans.
Hope This Helped
Heather Warren
>>>Zoey is a labrador-Chow mix<<< There's the problem right there. A dog like this WILL constantly shed. Twice a year they'll shed even more. Frequent brushing and a high-quality diet will minimize the shedding, but you'll never eliminate it. A really good groomer can probably do a better job than you of getting the dead hair out.
