# So much shedding



## Kay288 (Feb 13, 2014)

I have a 3 year old female yellow lab and she sheds like CRAZY. Constantly shedding, but she doesn't look like she's balding and she doesn't have any hot spots. We've only had her a year, and she's shed like this since we got her. We took her to a groomer to be "de-shedded", which is de-shedding shampoo, conditioner, brushing and I think they blow dry her (I could be mistaken about that last part). The first time we had her de-shedded, it definitely helped, but not immediately. We had her de-shedded for the second time a few months ago (around the time of the season change) and not a thing has changed. We have a furminator and a regular comb we use on her. We already feed her a good grain-free food with salmon oil. She sheds even worse than my old Newfoundland mix. I've had a chocolate lab, and lab mixes before and they never shed like this. It'd be impressive how much my dog sheds, if she wasn't shedding all over our stuff.  Any suggestions?


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

It can be food related but assuming it's not have you used a curry comb? I have found that short haired dogs shed differently then longhaired dogs (owned 2 shorthaired and one longhaired) and prefer, if you can prefer it, longhaired shedding.

But back to the curry comb - my current dog is short haired and using a curry comb type brush fur just flies off. The first time I used it I had a mound of fur and she isn't all that large. I have the Kong one http://www.amazon.com/KONG-ZoomGroo...id=1392684558&sr=8-2&keywords=kong+zoom+groom but you can try these as well http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...0001_CatalogEntry_en_US&searchTerm=curry+comb


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## Kay288 (Feb 13, 2014)

Thank you so much! I'll have to look into them. We get tons of fur off of her with the furminator, but worry that it could irritate her skin, and the other brush doesn't seem to work as well. Thanks again for the help!


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## kelly528 (Feb 13, 2014)

You need something rubber to pull those lab-hairs out. I like a curry comb but a grooming mitt would work every bit as well. It's just down to personal preference. You can also de-shed her yourself with the help of a tool like the Furminator, but don't use it more than twice a week or so: It's basically a carding razor in a user friendly form which means that after you have pulled all the dead coat out with it you will begin to pull out the 'live', healthy coat!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Kay288 said:


> Thank you so much! I'll have to look into them. We get tons of fur off of her with the furminator, but worry that it could irritate her skin, and the other brush doesn't seem to work as well. Thanks again for the help!


That's what's nice about a rubber comb ... unless you are really rough I can't see the dog being hurt or irritated. When I use it I use a back and forth motion in the beginning of the brushing and finish brushing in one direction ... fur flying all over the place and a mound at her feet.

One thing to think about although you say it isn't food related is that it may be food related. Zoey seems to be shedding less on the food I am feeding her then other foods she was eating but it may just be her winter coat hasn't started to shed yet.


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## Kay288 (Feb 13, 2014)

We've tried a few different foods, and gave them a month, but didn't want to keep switching her. Now we're using Lamaderm (hope naming the brand won't get me in trouble!), which we researched thoroughly before sticking with for about the past 7 or 8 months. We would love to get the best of the best, but unfortunately can't afford it right now, and have found that this brand has been really great for Lola. We'll go back to the research board and see if there is an upgrade to this brand that we can afford though. She's our fur-baby so we'd really love to make sure she isn't suffering from her food. We switched from a famous TV-chef formulated food (hopefully you can guess the brand) because it was making her chew at her paws -- which was happening to my parent's lab and the vet told them it was an allergy based behavior, most likely caused by food, and when we looked into the ingredients it wasn't nearly as natural as they led on with the advertising. Since we switched to Lamaderm she hasn't had any problems, besides the shedding, but that's been a constant since we adopted her, and she was on a much less...ideal food before we adopted her. What type of food do you use for Zoey? Any suggestions on shampoos? We just picked up a natural oatmeal based shampoo that says it's for shedding, so hopefully that helps somewhat. We have a little rubber "comb" now, so I'll give that a try after her bath tomorrow! Thanks for all of your suggestions!


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I didn't care for rubber curry combs even with Sassy's short very dense double coat. Huge mess and very slow work, probably a lot of static cling going on as well. She was a 44 pound mixed breed dog that resembled a young lab. I preferred the furminator but before I bought that I used a short tined shedding rake and inside 1/2 hour could rake out another Sassy. It is very important to just pull the rake along the fur rather than pushing it to the skin as the tines could easily hurt the dog so I had an easier time using the furminator.

Good that you are using fish oil, remember vitamin E needs to be dosed along with it. How much fat is in the food you are giving her? Skin is a fatty organ so it makes sense that if there isn't quite enough fat for a given dog then fur isn't going to be its best. You might experiment with adding a tiny amount of fat. I believe meat fat is better for dogs but if your dog doesn't tolerate it well then try coconut oil which is better tolerated if your dog cannot eat meat fat. You might scramble an egg and try 1/2 an egg every other day for example. I used to save trimmings from round steak and add all of an 1/2" square to Sassy's food per day. Whatever you decide to try start very small and work up to something like a maximum of an egg a day, 1" square of meat fat or tablespoon of coconut oil. And it may take weeks to months to see any difference.


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## Kay288 (Feb 13, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions Kathyy! The rake is what we have! I couldn't think of what it was called. So we have the Furminator, the rake, and a rubber brush haha Maybe I am too rough with the rake, I'll have to try doing it like you explained. I've actually starting giving her a little coconut oil here and there because I use it for absolutely EVERYTHING and she always tries to lick it. Thank you so much for the suggestion of adding good fats to her food. I didn't know about the vitamin E either, so I'll have to look into how to add that. Thanks again for the help! If anyone knows of any shampoos they would suggest that help with shedding, I'd appreciate the help


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I bought Furminator shampoo and while it smelled good and worked great as a shampoo I don't know that it helped any more than any other shampoo as far as shedding but I have a sample of 2 dogs and only bathe them a couple of times a month at the most. A pro would have a better idea if a shampoo helped or not.

I did find that taking the dogs for a walk sopping wet on a warm enough day [60*F and up] then brushing/combing/rubbing the whole coat every 5 minutes or so did remove huge amounts of fur, as much as when I use my force dryer and a lot easier on the dogs and me. I would have a furry mitt on my hand to peel off once the coat was about half dry. Be sure to continue this until dog is completely dry even under the ears and chin as the most hair comes out right at that point. If I was lazy and didn't do this then Sassy would have a fuzzy halo that lasted until the next bath even if I brushed and brushed. I tried using the furminator during shampooing, no particular improvement noted. And I am fortunate enough to be able to attach a garden hose to the kitchen faucet and bathe the dogs outside with warm water so no towels, no wet dogs zooming through the house, no fur clogging the drain AND I live where most weeks of the year will have a day that isn't too cold for a bath.

I apparently am close to following this dosage, splitting a 200iu cap between a 16 and a 33 pound dog.
http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/vitamins-and-supplements-uses-and-dosages/#sthash.5Q9OgLeS.dpbs
"Vitamin E is an antioxidant and an anti-carcinogen. It helps protect vitamin C and vitamin A from oxidation. It helps circulation, arthritis, the healing of wounds, supports normal functioning of the nervous system, prevents cell damage, improves athletic performance and may prevent aging. It also works synergistically with omega 3 fatty acids (as found in fish oils), so you want to make sure vitamin E is given with omega 3 fish oils.
The minimum dosages for Vitamin E are:
0 – 25 lbs: 50 – 100 IUs daily
25 – 50 lbs: 100 – 200 IUs daily
50 – 75 lbs: 400 IUs daily
75 – 100 lbs: 400 – 800 IUs daily"


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Kay288 said:


> We've tried a few different foods, and gave them a month, but didn't want to keep switching her. Now we're using Lamaderm (hope naming the brand won't get me in trouble!), which we researched thoroughly before sticking with for about the past 7 or 8 months. We would love to get the best of the best, but unfortunately can't afford it right now, and have found that this brand has been really great for Lola. We'll go back to the research board and see if there is an upgrade to this brand that we can afford though. She's our fur-baby so we'd really love to make sure she isn't suffering from her food. We switched from a famous TV-chef formulated food (hopefully you can guess the brand) because it was making her chew at her paws -- which was happening to my parent's lab and the vet told them it was an allergy based behavior, most likely caused by food, and when we looked into the ingredients it wasn't nearly as natural as they led on with the advertising. Since we switched to Lamaderm she hasn't had any problems, besides the shedding, but that's been a constant since we adopted her, and she was on a much less...ideal food before we adopted her. What type of food do you use for Zoey? Any suggestions on shampoos? We just picked up a natural oatmeal based shampoo that says it's for shedding, so hopefully that helps somewhat. We have a little rubber "comb" now, so I'll give that a try after her bath tomorrow! Thanks for all of your suggestions!


I feed Zoey Annamaet Extra which seems to be working well for her. Kathyy knows 1,000% more than I will ever know about foods but the protein and fat levels seem a little low in Lamaderm , but I've noticed that lamb based foods tend to be a little low in protein. But ultimately if your dog is doing well then the food is OK for your dog.

I am the wrong person to ask about shampoo ... we still have about 1/2 bottle of Natures Miracle puppy shampoo from when we first adopted her ... she tends to not smell so she rarely gets a bath. I also found the other day a full bottle of Petsmart puppy shampoo that didn't take the stink out of her when she was a puppy so I probably have enough shampoo for her entire life


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## Alapaha_Lover (Feb 21, 2014)

Dog Person said:


> It can be food related but assuming it's not have you used a curry comb? I have found that short haired dogs shed differently then longhaired dogs (owned 2 shorthaired and one longhaired) and prefer, if you can prefer it, longhaired shedding.
> 
> But back to the curry comb - my current dog is short haired and using a curry comb type brush fur just flies off. The first time I used it I had a mound of fur and she isn't all that large. I have the Kong one http://www.amazon.com/KONG-ZoomGroo...id=1392684558&sr=8-2&keywords=kong+zoom+groom but you can try these as well http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...0001_CatalogEntry_en_US&searchTerm=curry+comb[/QUOTE Thanks for the link about the curry comb! I have an Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog, which is not "supposed" to shed much at all, however she has been shedding ALOT for the past 6 months or so. I have just switched her to a natural dog food and I hope it helps. I will definately try the curry comb


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## Kay288 (Feb 13, 2014)

Just as a little update, in case anyone is curious: the shampoo we bought seems to help a lot! The curry comb didn't get much off of her, but between the rake and the furminator we got half of what we were getting off her prior to her new shampoo. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!


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