# UNCONTROLLABLE shedding.



## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

My 1.5 year old GSD sheds sooo much that it is overwhelming. I paid 65 to get a furminator treatment but he is still shedding bad. Does anyone have any advice that would help? Much appreciated.


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

Use an undercoat rake.
Did you pay a groomer to furminate him? If I were you, I would ask for my money back and take him elsewhere.
However, they are nicknamed German Shedders for a reason.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

what are you feeding him? diet can play a part in shedding but also temperature changes. Has it gone from cold/cool to warm/hot pretty quick in your area?


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

probably blowing his coat right now.

Brush a little every day - helps and their coats look great.


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

They do blow their coat twice a year usually fall and spring so it is the time for the heavy shedding to start unfortunately. I try to take them out and brush them daily it REALLY cuts down on shedding in the house and takes only 10 minutes which is way shorer than the time it takes me to clean her hair out of every crack and corner in the house,lol Buying a furminator is also an option!!

Other than that what do you feed your dog? I know cruddy food seems to induce extra shedding


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

zyppi said:


> probably blowing his coat right now.
> 
> Brush a little every day - helps and their coats look great.


Exactly, it's Spring for cryin out loud. However, males shed year round more than females so
keep the brush handy ...... and the vacuum. You got yourself a German Shedder after all and
you are just now 'appreciating' his adult coat.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Yes, coats are blowing here. I rake, brush, comb, wash, whatever. And still a furry ring around the crates when they wake up. It is incredible.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

KZoppa said:


> what are you feeding him? diet can play a part in shedding but also temperature changes. Has it gone from cold/cool to warm/hot pretty quick in your area?


 Yes I live in Ohio and it is different every other day.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> Exactly, it's Spring for cryin out loud. However, males shed year round more than females so
> keep the brush handy ...... and the vacuum. You got yourself a German Shedder after all and
> you are just now 'appreciating' his adult coat.


Lol. never heard of them called that before. We bought a Dyson Ball recently and when I vacuum everyday it is half full. I'm serious. it is that bad.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> Exactly, it's Spring for cryin out loud. However, males shed year round more than females so
> keep the brush handy ...... and the vacuum. You got yourself a German Shedder after all and
> you are just now 'appreciating' his adult coat.


That is what I have been doing. I take him outside and brush as much as I can off him. Seems like I could brush him for hours.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

Zoeys mom said:


> They do blow their coat twice a year usually fall and spring so it is the time for the heavy shedding to start unfortunately. I try to take them out and brush them daily it REALLY cuts down on shedding in the house and takes only 10 minutes which is way shorer than the time it takes me to clean her hair out of every crack and corner in the house,lol Buying a furminator is also an option!!
> 
> Other than that what do you feed your dog? I know cruddy food seems to induce extra shedding


IAM's for Large Breed.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

Zoeys mom said:


> They do blow their coat twice a year usually fall and spring so it is the time for the heavy shedding to start unfortunately. I try to take them out and brush them daily it REALLY cuts down on shedding in the house and takes only 10 minutes which is way shorer than the time it takes me to clean her hair out of every crack and corner in the house,lol Buying a furminator is also an option!!
> 
> Other than that what do you feed your dog? I know cruddy food seems to induce extra shedding


 IAM's


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

There is your main problem. IAMs is a poor quality diet which leads to an unhealthy coat which will cause more shedding. 

getting your dog on a good food, a fish oil supplement, brushing regularly to help not only get the hair out but also to stimulate the skin to make a better coat will help out tremendously.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

welcome to the wonderful world of fur EVERYWHERE for the life of the dog and beyond. Iam's isnt exactly the best food. General rule, if you can buy it in a grocery store, its not a yippy yay! kinda food. Junk food will increase shedding. Its spring. He's blowing his coat. I was told once that Geramy Shepherds shed twice a year.... the first half and the second half. That is 100% true but fall and spring the shedding increases from them blowing their coat. Invest in a decent undercoat rake. All else fails, a flea comb would help get some of that loose undercoat fur. I just brushed my monsters the other night and i need to do it again already. They shed less though after i switched them from purina brand foods to a higher quality corn free diet.


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

IamsCruelty.com
this is one of the main reasons you shouldn't feed IAMS.. But also the ingredients are terrible and regardless of coat quality or not, its a very poorly formulated food and no good for any dog. 

this is my ultimate favorite dog brush for my dogs:
It is a Curved Slicker brush









It does not break the guard hairs just pulls out the undercoat. 

Here is a garbage full of todays gatherings from a 10 month old puppy









You are in for a world of shedding for the rest of this dogs life. a dyson is a great buy. keep up with the vacuuming once a day or once every other day while also brushing and putting your dog on a good diet and you will be much happier


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

Ok..what about Wellness Dog Food.?I looked on Dog Webmd and IAMS was not on there but I didn't realize it was not good. I don't mind switching I just want a good dog food for him.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

4TheDawgies said:


> IamsCruelty.com
> this is one of the main reasons you shouldn't feed IAMS.. But also the ingredients are terrible and regardless of coat quality or not, its a very poorly formulated food and no good for any dog.
> 
> this is my ultimate favorite dog brush for my dogs:
> ...


Thanks. We actually have a good brush and it gets a ton off..but it never ends.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

Ares2010 said:


> Thanks. We actually have a good brush and it gets a ton off..but it never ends.


WOW I did not know that they do that to the animals. As of tomorrow I am switching. I DO NOT support that at all. Thanks for letting me know.


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

Ares2010 said:


> WOW I did not know that they do that to the animals. As of tomorrow I am switching. I DO NOT support that at all. Thanks for letting me know.


Wellness is a much better food although I prefer the Core formula myself.

Here are some of the food brands I recommend for you to check out. the top being my favorite and bottom being least favorite but all still great foods worth checking out
-Orijen
-Acana
-Natures Variety- Instinct
-Innova
-Canidae- Grain free Pure Elements
-Taste of the Wild
-Infinia
-Blue Buffalo wilderness
-Wellness Core (must be the core line)
-Pinnacle (only the grain free lines)
-Eagle Pack Holistic (must be the Holistic line)


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

Ok..they are not all sold at Petsmart, but Innova is. How much should he eat a day? We give him 4 cups now of IAMS


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

*cough* Kinda stupid to post the IAMS Cruelty site. Considering it's from PETA who says that people shouldn't own animals and that you're a sick murderous person if you feed your animals anything but a vegan diet.....Even those who have to eat meat to live such as cats. You're still a sick and twisted person. Better to feed your kitty fruits and veggies and cause it a slow death and taurine deficiency than feed it the flesh of an animal. *rolls eyes* It kinda defeats the whole purpose of recommending really any dog food to the OP.

Wellness is a good food though.  The foods I've tried and been very satisfied with are Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, EVO and California Natural. If your dog maintains well on a lower calorie food, then I'd say Taste of the Wild. (But for a hard keeper or active dog, it's fairly low calorie so not my first pick)

However, I'm feeding Sportmix Energy Plus 24/20 right now and am more than pleased with it. Best part is it's only 50 cents per pound from Tractor Supply. I buy 50lb bags for $24.99. :thumbup: Many people don't like it because it has corn in it but I'm currently on a budget since I've been out of work for a couple months. Since the day I got Chance (3.5 years ago) I was paying upwards of $50-$70 per 26-30lb bags of food and he looked great, barely shed, great stools, ect. Went to Purina Dog Chow when I lost my job and his coat went to **** and fur was invading my house. Put him on the Sportmix and it was like he was back on the expensive food again. JME. I do not in any way put down the foods I listed though and if I had the money, would go back to them in a heartbeat. But if someone is uncomfortable paying that much money, I do highly recommend Sportmix.


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

I never said I supported Peta. 

however that doesn't mean whats going on is not true...

I too do NOT like peta, but discussing that is not going to help the OP.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

they shed all of the time. during the warmer weather
they shed the most. i brush my dog 3 to 4 times a week.
i use an under coat comb and a pin brush. i brush him in all
directions with the under coat comb. then i smooth
him down with the under coat comb. finally i use the pin brush
to smooth him out also. you have to brush, vaccum and sweep
often. look under the bed, behind the refrigerator, the corners
of the closet, under the sofa and chairs, ROTFL.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

when feeding a higher quality food, you can generally feed less. However, 4 cups a day on IAMS is actually a great deal less that i imagine the bag would be saying to feed. On a higher quality food you could drop it down to 3 cups per day and go from there on whether you want to feed less or feed more depending on your dogs weight and activity level. Another food you could look into if you have a Tractor Supply Company near you is 4Health. Its not nearly as pricey as the brands that have been listed already but its still a good food. We made the switch last year and they're healthier, coats are shiney, and the shedding reduced some compared to when they were eating Purina. All you can do to keep up with the shedding is vacuum regularly, brush and feed a quality diet. Supposed if you were to feed RAW the shedding would reduce considerably but RAW is not something i personally feed so i couldnt tell you the truth of that statement. RAW also takes learning and meal planning and its own freezer lol.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Feed a better quality food... maybe supplement some salmon oil to help. Keep brushing and vacuuming away.

Soon you'll get to the point where you won't be able to eat a meal without finding a couple dog hairs mixed in and not even care... it's all part of the joy of owning a GSD.


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## missmychance (Jan 20, 2011)

Not meaning to hijack the ops thread but I've got a similar question? My 3yr old who eats Blue Wilderness(for about 3 months now) is I presume blowing his coat. The weird part- the shedding thats going on now has never happened. He gets brushed every day, but this is ridiculous. Is it possible that he could be blowing coat for the 1st time?


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

KZoppa said:


> when feeding a higher quality food, you can generally feed less. However, 4 cups a day on IAMS is actually a great deal less that i imagine the bag would be saying to feed. On a higher quality food you could drop it down to 3 cups per day and go from there on whether you want to feed less or feed more depending on your dogs weight and activity level. Another food you could look into if you have a Tractor Supply Company near you is 4Health. Its not nearly as pricey as the brands that have been listed already but its still a good food. We made the switch last year and they're healthier, coats are shiney, and the shedding reduced some compared to when they were eating Purina. All you can do to keep up with the shedding is vacuum regularly, brush and feed a quality diet. Supposed if you were to feed RAW the shedding would reduce considerably but RAW is not something i personally feed so i couldnt tell you the truth of that statement. RAW also takes learning and meal planning and its own freezer lol.


There is Tractor Supply and I forgot all about it. Does it have a lot of fillers in it?


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## missmychance (Jan 20, 2011)

Ingredients for 4 health

Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, millet, brewers rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried beet pulp, natural chicken flavor, flaxseed, fish meal, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, yucca schidigera extract, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, chondroitin sulfate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Ares2010 said:


> There is Tractor Supply and I forgot all about it. Does it have a lot of fillers in it?


 
you can look up the ingredients on their site. I'm not sure about fillers but i can tell you the ingredients list is a great deal shorter than grocery store sold dog foods. 4Health was one of the more cost efficient brands recommended to me on the site. Theres no corn or soy in it so for fillers i would say there arent really any. On rating sites it rates at a 4-5 star out of 6. Not sure if that helps answer your question but there it is.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

missmychance said:


> Not meaning to hijack the ops thread but I've got a similar question? My 3yr old who eats Blue Wilderness(for about 3 months now) is I presume blowing his coat. The weird part- the shedding thats going on now has never happened. He gets brushed every day, but this is ridiculous. Is it possible that he could be blowing coat for the 1st time?


 
where did you guys come from before you were at Bragg? I know when we got out here to Lejeune, the dogs shed like crazy no matter how much we brushed and vacuumed because we'd come from a cooler less humid Colorado to 90% humidity and 90 degree days. They blew their coats BAD the first year and a half.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

4Health looks like a pretty good food ingredient wise. I've never fed it, but I would give it a shot if it ever came to that and I'm very picky about what I feed.


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## missmychance (Jan 20, 2011)

KZoppa said:


> where did you guys come from before you were at Bragg? I know when we got out here to Lejeune, the dogs shed like crazy no matter how much we brushed and vacuumed because we'd come from a cooler less humid Colorado to 90% humidity and 90 degree days. They blew their coats BAD the first year and a half.


We've been here 2 yrs in June. We were in El Paso the 1st year and a half of his life. I've never seen anything like it. This is the first time like this.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

missmychance said:


> We've been here 2 yrs in June. We were in El Paso the 1st year and a half of his life. I've never seen anything like it. This is the first time like this.


 
it could have something to do with all the crazy weather we've had out here recently. We had a crazy winter for the area which usually means a crazy summer so he's probably blowing his coat so much because you're in for a hotter summer?


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I didn't read all the comments but someone suggested not feeding Iams because of the animal testing. That same person suggested Innova as a good dog food. Iams and Innova are both owned by Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Innova is a much better food but if you are not feeding it because of the company then both should be out


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## mtmarabianz (Jan 7, 2010)

Mine usually blows coat for a solid month, Twice a year.
During the twice yearly molts, I have some hair in house, vacuun daily; 
after molt not much fur, if any, in house.

She blew coat in January, -10 degrees N. Indiana, coldest month of the year; go figure.

Raw fed, Undercoat Rake.


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

sagelfn said:


> I didn't read all the comments but someone suggested not feeding Iams because of the animal testing. That same person suggested Innova as a good dog food. Iams and Innova are both owned by Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Innova is a much better food but if you are not feeding it because of the company then both should be out


Innova was only recently bought from P&G

I am not familiar with who exactly does the testing just that IAMS is "the one doing it".

I copied and pasted the list from an old list I had posted somewhere else. I keep forgetting Innova was bought. I don't feed either foods so its not a big deal to me.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

sagelfn said:


> I didn't read all the comments but someone suggested not feeding Iams because of the animal testing. That same person suggested Innova as a good dog food. Iams and Innova are both owned by Proctor and Gamble (P&G). Innova is a much better food but if you are not feeding it because of the company then both should be out


Yeah.. P&G owns natura/innova/evo now... that's why I stopped feeding it.


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## Ares2010 (Mar 14, 2010)

The girl from my vet said Purina Pro plan but it got a 2 star rating and is not on the top ten list. What about Diamond?


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

I am going with this after all my research, I bought the Ultra Premium. Its also available at Petco and Pet Supermarket, makes it easier for me to get. The 2011 whole dog journal gave it a great review. The worst review I found was 4 out of 5 stars.

Pet Food, Dog and Cat Food | naturalbalanceinc.com


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

I didn't read this whole thread, but what we did with Sasha when she blew her coat was we used a defurminator on her once a week (you have to be careful with this as it can agitate their skin) and then we just used a regular brush on her daily. We also vacuumed every day, sometimes twice a day. There was still a lot of hair but it was manageable...ish lol


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

I gave up on shedding its non stop, especially here in Florida. I can brush and pull hair out all day long. Grooming is a waste of money if you pay for it. Just get used to the tumble weeds of hair in your house. Its in closets, your car, your fridge, its everywhere. When my girl died a few weeks ago I said no more Shepherds. I am picking up my new Shepherd pup on friday.


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

missmychance said:


> We've been here 2 yrs in June. We were in El Paso the 1st year and a half of his life. I've never seen anything like it. This is the first time like this.


El Paso normally stays fairly warm so the dogs never get their true winter coats. I moved last year from San Antonio to Washington. My boy barely had any coat because it was so hot in Texas. This year, his shedding has been insane and the temps are still in the 50's. Next month should be even worse.


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## rjholla (Feb 15, 2008)

Petsmart has a 15 minute $6.00 Brush and Blow. They brush out the dog and use the high powered dryers to blow out the loose under coat. My shepherd needs 3 trips about a week apart and all is Good.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Ares2010 said:


> The girl from my vet said Purina Pro plan but it got a 2 star rating and is not on the top ten list. What about Diamond?


I feed Diamond and my GSD is doing very well on it. As a puppy we suspected he had grain allergies. Switched to Diamond and all of his symptoms disappeared. I also feed raw. He is a Long Hair and is blowing his coat now. I brush him outside every day and the hair in the house is minimal. His stools are small and solid. He does very well on it. 

Remember, if you are going to switch feeds (to what every you decide), do it slowly so as to not upset his tummy!


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

Sonar started blowing his coat 2 months ago after our one warm snap. It took a good month or so of brushing him with the furminator and a rake comb to get the majority of it out. Now my Siberian Husky Onyx is going to town....so at first my dustballs were light brown and now they are just white. ugh! Can't wait till it's over! 

I suppliment extra omega-3 fish oil in during this time and brush brush brush! :wild:


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

kr16 said:


> I gave up on shedding its non stop, especially here in Florida. I can brush and pull hair out all day long. Grooming is a waste of money if you pay for it. Just get used to the tumble weeds of hair in your house. Its in closets, your car, your fridge, its everywhere. When my girl died a few weeks ago I said no more Shepherds. I am picking up my new Shepherd pup on friday.


Enjoy your new fur ball. LOL.

I've been known to say that too - no more GSD, altough she is my first. We will see.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

Caledon said:


> Enjoy your new fur ball. LOL.
> 
> I've been known to say that too - no more GSD, altough she is my first. We will see.


 
Lol thanks just got off the phone with the breeder anytime Friday after noon. Cant wait to say what was I thinking here we go again.


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## GSD Momma (Dec 28, 2010)

Ares2010 said:


> The girl from my vet said Purina Pro plan but it got a 2 star rating and is not on the top ten list. What about Diamond?


We feed ours Holistic Select giant breed puppy at the recommendation of our breeder. It's a great food and you can find it at Petsmart. I have no idea if it reduces shedding though. We fed our last dog science diet and she was shedding like mad, specifically during spring and fall. There's not much you can do about it. I have 2 Dysons so 2 people can vaccuum at once


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

I vacuum 3 times a week. I usually do it when my husband takes Joey for his last walk of the night (Joey doesn't like the vacuum).

We've brushed and furminated him, but resign ourselves that we have a big furbaby (that we love to pieces).

Can someone explain to me what blowing the coat is? I'm a newby to the GSD world (and the dog world in general).

Sometimes Joey doesn't like to be brushed, so I have to make it a game. I chase him, he chases me; when he runs by me, I hold the brush out so it brushes one side; I then reverse.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

Cheerful1 said:


> We've brushed and furminated him, but resign ourselves that we have a big furbaby (that we love to pieces).


The Furminator is bad, bad, bad. It doesn't discriminate between healthy hair and dead hair.. it simply rips it out/cuts it off. I did serious damage to my female's coat with a Furminator. It can actually cause MORE shedding because it damages the coat, stimulating the coat to grow/shed even MORE.

I would recommend an undercoat rake and a wooden pin brush. That's what I use with mine and it works GREAT and the dogs love to be brushed.



> Can someone explain to me what blowing the coat is? I'm a newby to the GSD world (and the dog world in general).


Basically, a GSD (among other breeds) has a "double coat." There's the longer coat that's the "top coat" and the shorter, denser "undercoat." Twice a year, that undercoat goes through a big time shedding period. That's called "blowing coat" or "holy crap there is hair EVERYWHERE." LOL.



> Sometimes Joey doesn't like to be brushed, so I have to make it a game. I chase him, he chases me; when he runs by me, I hold the brush out so it brushes one side; I then reverse.


Again, stop using the Furminator... it hurts! My male GSD HATED being brushed until I stopped using a Furminator and a cheap slicker. Those wires can hurt, too.


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