Dog Hair everwhere, Help

[Frizzled]

Well, I broke down and bought a Furminator, I sure hope it works. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[sgtmom52]

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Furminators do work well, but be careful not to use it too often as it can actually cut the outer guard hairs damaging them. Occasional use of the Furminator with frequent use of an undercoat rake is better. I only use mine when they are actively "blowing their coats" not for regular shedding. It does not seem to work as well on long or plush coated GSDs. Never use it on a wet coat as it will cause damage too.

I feed my 2 GSDs Taste of the Wild which is a grain free food. It makes their coats very shiny without all the added grain fillers. With higher quality foods you usually can feed less and have to shovel fewer poops than when feeding the foods with fillers ~ this makes it more cost effective. TOTW is rated high ~ a 5 on the dog food analysis website. It is not overly expensive (about $43. for a 30 lb bag) and is sold at Tractor Supply (an added benefit when shopping for chicken supplies)! http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/

 

[thechickenchick]

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I think you will really be happy with it. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Picky Chicky]

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[Frizzled]

I used it on her a little yesterday, I think I am going to be pleased with it. I work on her some this weekend so I don't over do it. I have seen that taste of the wild dog food, I wasn't sure about it. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

How old is your GS? If she is much under a year I would stick with a good quality large breed puppy food, just in case...

Most of the foods rated in the 6* category have high levels of protein. The caution attached to these foods is an acknowledgement that some veterinary research suggests that feeding high protein dry foods to puppies may contribute to the development or exacerbation of musculoskeletal disorders (as excess calcium and overall calories are believed to). Equally there is veterinary research that suggests that high protein is not a factor (and we note that it does not appear to be a problem for puppies fed high protein natural raw diets). Until such time as the issue is resolved one way or the other, we continue to acknowledge that the issue may exist. We do, of course, welcome the provision of research on this topic. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/cautions-about-feeding-to-puppies.html​

 

[chickerdoodle]

Robin'sBrood :

Sadly, for the price of Eukanuba there is better food out there... it isn't what it used to be (which I'm afraid has happened to Nutro now that Mars bought them out.) I went to Eukanuba's website and looked at the large breed puppy formula page. Strange that it didn't list the ingredients, so I googled for them...

http://dogs.about.com/od/dietandnutrition/f/euk_large_puppy.htm

First Ten Ingredients

Chicken
Corn Meal
Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Chicken By-Product Meal
Fish Meal (source of fish oil)
Brewers Rice
Natural Chicken Flavor
Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed)
Dried Egg Product
Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid)

You're paying too much for these ingredients, an old review of it is on here http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php/product/113/sort/2/cat/all/page/1

The ingredients have changed some since then, but not much. That website is good for researching dog foods. Best wishes, it's very frustrating (the fur AND the dog food choices!)​

I love that dog food analysis site! Its the one I aways recommend as it is an independent and scientific. I feed EVO big bites to my adult Belgian Malinois and Ultra Low Carb and Low Fat EVO (weight management one) to my ancient terrier as she had lymphoma but it appears to be gone

after changing her diet to this cancer starving one (carbs feed cancer cells so reducing drastically helps starve it) alnog with extra fiber to reduce protein she actually gets. EVO is one of the best commercial diets anywhere and grain free--also made in their own plant so they have control over ingredients and quality.

The citric acid in dog foods may cause gas and therefore a gastric torsion (bloat) which is a serious and often fatal problem of deep chested dogs if fed with water! Never, never mix water in a food with it and even avoid water consumption just prior and after for an hour or so to prevent it. (EVO does not have it).

As for dog and cat hair--we got tired of it and tore out the carpets and put in tile floors and leather furniture. Just a wipe (or quick vacuum) and its gone! Brushing helps (I do have a Furminator too)) is helpful. It was perhaps an extreme and expensive way to go but we were in the process of renovating anyway.​

 

[Crittercrzy]

A friend of mine asked me a few years ago how I dealt with having 4 dogs in the house and the hair..I told her I didn't really have a problem..WELL, since then I rescued a Yellow Lab..OMG..Now, I have a problem with it!!!! But, she is worth it..I do have a furminator and love it..it does help.

 

[onthespot]

you can also take your dog to a groomer and have the coat shaved down. Ruins the look, but MAN what a difference in the shedding.

 

[sgtmom52]

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While shaving your dogs coat may help with that amount of hair you see on your floor it will not stop shedding as the hairs drop out from the roots and you jsut have short hairs everywhere.

Also it is not recommended that you shave "double coated" dogs like German Shepherds. They have a double coat to insulate them from the heat and cold and help shed water. Shaving them can cause medical issues such as over heating, chilling or sunburn. One exception to this would be for a double coated dog who's coat is severely matted ~ you then have to be careful to groom them properly when the coat grows out as the undercoat grows faster than the outer guard hairs and can easily mat again.

Or you could just collect all of the dog's shedded hair and learn to spin it into yarn and make sweaters!

There are people who actually do this and sell them for lots of $$.