# The shedding…. Oh my!!! Advice?



## Navah

Hello everyone. I know I haven’t been around for a few months but I wasn’t cheating on you on another forum =) I was just busy.

I always knew my baby would shed but holy moly…. I have to vacuum every second day for the last two months or we literally get massive hair balls lining all the walls… its very bad.

Of course I love my little munchkin and don’t mind a little clean up to see her stinky face every morning but if I can stop this shedding just a little bit it would make my life (and back from vacuuming so much) so much easier.

My question is about grooming. Does a professional grooming make dogs shed less? I heard something about the hair blower thingy that it blows excess hair right out, is this true?

Any advice or the mechanics behind “getting your dog groomed for shedding purposes” would help me greatly. We don’t have too much cash to spare right now as we are planning a wedding but if it would help a lot we will make it work.

Thanks!


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## Emoore

Do you have a furminator?


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## Courtney

Do you mind sharing what your feeding her?


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## DWP

*Food*

Our girls shed much less since we started feeding Taste of the Wild. Still shed a little, but not near what they were. Coats are better as well.


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## onyx'girl

I would not overfurminate if you have one or are planning to use one. Blowing out with a dryer is what a few groomers I know recommend and they hate furminators.
I just bathed my dogs(still wet!) and used an undercoat rake on them while running the water down their coat, it took out alot of loose fur, and I didn't break the outer guardhair by doing it that way. I seldom give the dogs a bath, but had the day off and thought they'd enjoy it. Onyx loves baths!
This time of year I brush them daily outside to get the winter undercoat out. I still have to vacuum every day with 3 dogs, there is hair, but not excessive.
As far as diet, I feed raw and supplement with oils/vitamins.


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## vomlittlehaus

I have found Yoko only blows her coat twice a year since I put her on a raw diet. I also give her supplements (K9 Power Products). Dogs will blow their coats as the length of daylight changes. The GSD is a breed that has a double coat or under coat. Do you groom your dog? A rubber brush (Unigroom) works wonders. They are about $5. Brush everyday, and you will have less falling out in the house. I dont like the idea behind a furminator. It cuts the coat.


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## Navah

I was mostly just wondering about grooming. I am doing everything I can with the brushing (I don’t know what the brush is called, it’s like a rake) but that’s maybe once a week and its really maybe only ten min of brushing and she’s also on great food, taste of the wild. 

As for bathing, we were bathing her more when she went to daycare (before they totally screwed us over so no more of that) and got dirty more often. My boyfriend really has a problem with grooming in house due to the fact that we end up having to clean and he’s afraid of the drains

She doesn’t always shed like this. We can up keep it as much as you can a German Shepherd you don’t brush daily. I was just wondering if grooming helps when you need that extra oomph. DO they normally shed less after a good grooming?


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## King&Skylar

a professional grooming will help! they (should) brush them AND blow the hair out, that's what my mom is doing for Skylar when she starts get rid of her winter coat, and she said it will cut down tons on the shedding, with regular brushing afterward just to keep up with it, but it gets rid of the TONS of extra fur.

hope that makes sense haha


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## webzpinner

Evil trick I found out that works great.... my crappy old vacuum! We have an old Dirt Devil vacuum that can't pick up anything with the main vacuum, but has all sorts of attachments, including an upholstry brush. We use said brush on Jake, and HE LOVES IT. In fact, he's the one who started it! I was vacuuming out his kennel, and he came up to me and laid down (ready for grooming!) I was a tad leary, since the brush was hooked up to the vacuum, but since the suction wasn't super strong, I gave it a try and it WORKED WONDERS. Filled the canister of undercoat in 5 minutes without damaging guard coat.

Wouldn't try it with a Dyson.


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## Kris10

webzpinner said:


> Evil trick I found out that works great.... my crappy old vacuum! We have an old Dirt Devil vacuum that can't pick up anything with the main vacuum, but has all sorts of attachments, including an upholstry brush. We use said brush on Jake, and HE LOVES IT. In fact, he's the one who started it! I was vacuuming out his kennel, and he came up to me and laid down (ready for grooming!) I was a tad leary, since the brush was hooked up to the vacuum, but since the suction wasn't super strong, I gave it a try and it WORKED WONDERS. Filled the canister of undercoat in 5 minutes without damaging guard coat.
> 
> Wouldn't try it with a Dyson.


Wow you are lucky! Max makes wild animal noises and tries to bite the vacuum... :crazy:


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## GSDGunner

webzpinner said:


> Evil trick I found out that works great.... my crappy old vacuum!


That's what a friend of mine does. It does work wonders.


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## gsdheeler

That was too funny........

I'm a groomer and I wish I could do that at work.


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## onyx'girl

Bismark is a tri-pod?


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## GSDGunner

onyx'girl said:


> Bismark is a tri-pod?


Yep! He was rescued by my friend and nobody knows how he lost the leg. If you see in the video he has a stump. But he was having problems with the muscles in the stump and it was recently removed. It was a heavy duty surgery but Biz came out the better for it. No more pain. YAY!

If you watch it on youtube, click on the username on the video, you'll see more videos of him running, post stump removal. That dog is FAST!!


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## GSDGunner

gsdheeler said:


> That was too funny........
> 
> I'm a groomer and I wish I could do that at work.


I tried to do it with Gunner, but he looked at me like I had three heads. The look also said, come any closer with that thing and I'll bite it.


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## Dogaroo

I was never able to convince Gunnar that 60 lbs. of dog wouldn't fit through a 1 1/4" vacuum hose; he just _knew_ that thing was going to eat him if he got too close!


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## webzpinner

Kris10 said:


> Wow you are lucky! Max makes wild animal noises and tries to bite the vacuum... :crazy:


Jake does that with the lawn mower. It got so bad, that now I gotta tether him to the patio when I mow the lawn. 

Jake does bite and chase the vacuum when I'm using the main unit, but as soon as the brush comes off the back, he flops over and demands his wuvvin'... He's a freakin' psycho, but I love him! :crazy:


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## vicky2200

Ah, I was going to ask this question also. The hair around here is uncontrollable. Its everywhere. Its getting to me. I love them, and I want more dogs, but Im thinking a chinese crested is next...
I have tried using the vacuum, and it works with Ditto, as in she lets me do it. However, she still sheds (alot) Dakota and Daisy wont let me do that to them.
I have tried bathing and blow drying. Its just everywhere and never ending. Im pretty sure I could brush Ditto and Dakota all day, and they would still be shedding. However, I have bought the furminator and I am hoping for some success with it. I ordered it and had it sent down state to my mom ( Im not always home, this way someone could get it) and I should get it in about a week. Hope it works because it wasnt cheap and Im going to go crazy with this hair. Its hard to maintain professionalism when your covered in dog hair :-/


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## doggiedad

brush the dog often. i brush my dog 2 to 3 times a week.
i vaccum and sweep often. have looked under the bed, behind
the refrigerator, under the sofa, the corners of the closets,
the vents ??? shedding comes with most dogs. i use an under coat comb
and a pin brush on my dog.


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## KayElle

Brushing every day really cuts down on the "flying fur" during shedding season. I also vacuum my dogs with the brush attachment...my husband and teenage kids just laugh! I'm thinking of creating a bumper sticker that says: "Have you vacuumed your GSD today?"


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## JOSHUA SAMPSON

I vacuum my dogs, Bismark is cool I like that dog!


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## gsdraven

webzpinner said:


> Wouldn't try it with a Dyson.


Dyson actually has a grooming attachment for their vaccums.


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## Caledon

I try and brush mine every day for about 5 - 10 minutes, outside. I use a slicker brush, undercoat rake, and a shedding tool, depending on my mood. The shedding tool does the best job. I also have a zoom groom and that does a decent job too, but it is a cat zoom groom and a little too small.

Hoepfully this weekend I take her to a self serve washing station and use their hair dryers on her to blow out even more undercoat.

The fur is not that terrible in my house, but, you can tell I have a dog if you look in some corners. Its a good thing I love her so much as I don't complain when I drag out the vacuum, again.


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## Samba

I wonder if this Dyson attachment would fit on other vacuums??

Dyson Pet Groomer Vacuum Cleaner Tool 921001-01

Just in from brushing out for the second day in a row, second dog. Front yard covered in Tribbles so that is next chore! 

I used an undercoat rake. Then the Mars Coat King rake made in Solengin Germany. It has nice blades. I use the 8 or 10 blade size on the Shepherds. It can remove too much coat if you get over zealous but I have found it much less damaging than the Furminator (which I unloaded to a Pug owner). The Coat King will remove most of the undercoat (go with the grain of the coat, not across) and you can get a pretty naked dog, be judicious. Removing the dead undercoat has gotten a lot easier with that tool. The rake leaves a lot behind. Then I went to metal comb. First the large end and then the small end. After all that it pretty much a done deal... for awhile anyway.


Mars Coat King Strippers | PetEdge.com

http://www.petedge.com/assets/product_files/pdf/Sizing/ZC515SIZ.pdf

I would have finished with the blow dryer but mine is going out..pfffftt!

I got tired of lugging a heavy grooming table. Just bought a plastic table that has the legs pretty far out on the ends for stability. Now going to go get a pipe cutter and cut the legs down so the table will be at GSD grooming height. I got a piece of rubber matting for foot hold to put on top of it.


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## Rott-n-GSDs

I just let the hair pile up in the house, LOL. I would have to vacuum every single day to keep up with it... but we've just learned to deal with the hair. Sorry... not much of a solution, I know!



GSDGunner said:


> Yep! He was rescued by my friend and nobody knows how he lost the leg. If you see in the video he has a stump. But he was having problems with the muscles in the stump and it was recently removed. It was a heavy duty surgery but Biz came out the better for it. No more pain. YAY!
> 
> If you watch it on youtube, click on the username on the video, you'll see more videos of him running, post stump removal. That dog is FAST!!


Biz is awesome and his daddy is, too. Pre-stump removal, Biz's daddy was giving him daily massages to help with the arthritis in his stump.

Linda, we should see if we can get him to join this forum.


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## GSDGunner

Rott-n-GSDs said:


> Biz is awesome and his daddy is, too. Pre-stump removal, Biz's daddy was giving him daily massages to help with the arthritis in his stump.
> 
> Linda, we should see if we can get him to join this forum.


He cherishes Biz so much. They are lucky to have each other.
We definitely should invite him. I bet people would love to see Biz. He's such an inspiration.


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## onyx'girl

Dyson Pet Groom Tool / Attachment. Helps you keep your home of dog hair. A Dyson vacuum-assisted dog groomer attachment. Slicker bristles remove loose hair directly from your dog before it's shed around the home. It then self cleans, sucking hair from the bristles straight into your Dyson vacuum cleaner. No mess. Collects loose and flyaway dog hair during grooming. Then simply release the trigger to remove hair from the slicker bristles and into the vacuum. The slicker bristles retract for protection and cleanliness when the tool is not in use. For medium and long haired dogs. One year manufacturer's warranty. Genuine Dyson vacuum part.Wow! $69 for the Dyson vac attachment....they sure do inflate prices with that brand.


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## Samba

They are proud of their products. Thus I do not have the vac, but was wondering about that little attachment thingy.

I pulled up all the carpet and bought shop vacs for the house. It is industrial style hair removal around here.


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## onyx'girl

Samba said:


> They are proud of their products. Thus I do not have the vac, but was wondering about that little attachment thingy.
> 
> I pulled up all the carpet and bought shop vacs for the house. It is industrial style hair removal around here.


When I bred parrots, I had a shop vac for the house too! Couldn't live without it.


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## Stosh

A trip to a professional groomer will definitely help. Stosh is long-coated and really doesn't shed much at all, but he was loosing a lot of undercoat so I took him in and the difference was amazing! They actually plucked him around his fuzzy ears and on his hips. I brush him nearly every day and I can really see the difference after the grooming. It was $35 and definitely worth it.


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## Portbrix

A groomer will use a force air dryer on the dogs. This is what gets tons and tons of hair out. You can buy a smaller model to use at home for under $100.

I've thought about shaving mine with a #40 blade and making him wear a Lycra full body dog suit!!! Just kidding, LOL  I have thought about the suit though, any thoughts on a Lycra suit for occasional use?


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