# Shedding....does it ever stop?



## miro2010

Miro sheds a ton!!! I could have weaved loads of carpets and sweaters if I had saved all the hair the past 11 weeks (since we adopted him). ;-)

I actually want to make sure this is okay and not a secondary effect him being sick some way. A friend came over the other day and after seeing my floor asked if Miro was "okay". I told her GS's shed a lot.

It has gotten better but it's still very noticeable. Is this normal?

Thanks for your help. 

Maria


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## HeidiW

Yes they shed all the time. Seasonal shedding times varie per dog but those times it is worse. You need to use a slicker brush everyday, sometimes twice a day.


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## GSD MOM

They shed...a lot. It gets better, it gets worse. We brush 10 min everyday. We also noticed a difference when we put them on better food.


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## aviator0218

gsd's shed once a year but it last 365 days


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## onyx'girl

I think nutrition has alot to do with how much dogs and GSD's shed. My three are fed raw and I very seldom have fur come out on my hand when I pet them. Other dogs I am around, I could run my hand down their back and have a handful of fur on the rump.
Of course they do shed spring and fall, but diet plays a big role in coat condition-or if you switch the diet, can throw a dog into a coat blow.
Omega oil supplements with vitamin E daily help the skin and coat as well. Raw eggs are full of omegas and extras!


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## Zisso

The day I adopted each of my two, I also adopted fuzzy-wuzzies too!!


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## doggiedad

​wow, it's gotten better. you have a miracle dog. 



miro2010 said:


> Miro sheds a ton!!! I could have weaved loads of carpets and sweaters if I had saved all the hair the past 11 weeks (since we adopted him). ;-)
> 
> I actually want to make sure this is okay and not a secondary effect him being sick some way. A friend came over the other day and after seeing my floor asked if Miro was "okay". I told her GS's shed a lot.
> 
> >>>It has gotten better but it's still very noticeable. Is this normal?<<<
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Maria


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## DJEtzel

onyx'girl said:


> I think nutrition has alot to do with how much dogs and GSD's shed. My three are fed raw and I very seldom have fur come out on my hand when I pet them. Other dogs I am around, I could run my hand down their back and have a handful of fur on the rump.
> Of course they do shed spring and fall, but diet plays a big role in coat condition-or if you switch the diet, can throw a dog into a coat blow.
> Omega oil supplements with vitamin E daily help the skin and coat as well. Raw eggs are full of omegas and extras!


I agree with the nutrition thing. Frag is 9 months old now, and we got him in November. He started out on purina, then shortly after we switched to RAW for a few months. We then went on to feed solid gold, then natural balance, and we're getting ready to switch him again. He gets fish oil everyday and eggs a couple times a week. He doesn't shed at all. I slicker brush him once a week, but very few hairs end up in the brush, so it's pretty pointless. He can lay all over the bed, furniture, us, etc and doesn't get any hair anywhere, so it's pretty nice.


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## GermanPrinceHero

We have a white GSD and he does not shed much. There has been 2 times his shedding got heavy (he is only 1 year and 4 mos) once last summer and just last week. I went and got one of those bamboo care furbusters, the large size. When he was shedding heavy I brushed him for about an hour straight. I thought it would never stop coming off. Must have filled half a trash bag. It really does a good job of taking off the shedding fur, makes him very happy, reduces the shedding in the house to nearly nothing and you don't have to do it very often.


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## Lin

aviator0218 said:


> gsd's shed once a year but it last 365 days


:rofl:


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## Zisso

aviator0218 said:


> gsd's shed once a year but it last 365 days


:rofl: Don't know how I missed this post earlier but glad I wasn't drinking anything just now or it would've been spewed all over the screen!

I do have to believe that it can have to do with the way they are fed too. Unfortunately I cannot afford to feed 100% raw, so my two still get one meal a day kibble. However, they do not always eat that. Lots of times they will hold out for their RAW meal


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## jeng0304

I started my dog on raw about 3 weeks ago and have already seen a difference. I noticed it and thought I was seeing things, but my bf commented on it as well. 

He was fed EVO before, so the difference between raw and high quality kibble surprised me!


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## Jessiewessie99

I started using the Furminator!lol it works for Tanner whose coat is like crazy.lol


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## miro2010

Thanks so much for your answers everyone. I just made a post in the Diet & Nutrition section asking for tips on raw feeding. I am soooooooo trying it out!!!!


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## GSD MOM

Jessiewessie99 said:


> I started using the Furminator!lol it works for Tanner whose coat is like crazy.lol


 
Agree!!!! Our Furminator saves us!!! One day we walked into our Petsmart and we were looking for something to help up with Nellies coat. Of course we were not looking at the $60 fuminator but other things... this guys walks by and asks if he can help and we explain about Nellies sheding. And come to find out he is a groomer there with a sister that has a GSD. So he brought his furminator out and took two swipes down Nellie back and we were sold. It is amazing how much it works. Funny part is my BF got it for me for my birthday.. hahaha


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## GermanPrinceHero

GSD MOM said:


> Agree!!!! Our Furminator saves us!!! One day we walked into our Petsmart and we were looking for something to help up with Nellies coat. Of course we were not looking at the $60 fuminator but other things... this guys walks by and asks if he can help and we explain about Nellies sheding. And come to find out he is a groomer there with a sister that has a GSD. So he brought his furminator out and took two swipes down Nellie back and we were sold. It is amazing how much it works. Funny part is my BF got it for me for my birthday.. hahaha


I just looked into that and it looks lie the Furminator and Furbuster are about the same thing. I first saw the Bamboo Furbuster at Wal-mart, I think it was about $45.00. I decided to go home and see how much I could get it for on line. I got it on ebay for $15.99 with free shipping. I now see thousands of listings for the Furminator for as little as $10.00 with free shipping.


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## GSD MOM

GermanPrinceHero said:


> I just looked into that and it looks lie the Furminator and Furbuster are about the same thing. I first saw the Bamboo Furbuster at Wal-mart, I think it was about $45.00. I decided to go home and see how much I could get it for on line. I got it on ebay for $15.99 with free shipping. I now see thousands of listings for the Furminator for as little as $10.00 with free shipping.


Figures! We have had ours for almost two years and we also got the large size that's for horses but I should have know better then to get it from Petsmart.... live in learn. If I can justify it for $60 trust me it's worth $10.


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## jeng0304

GermanPrinceHero said:


> I just looked into that and it looks lie the Furminator and Furbuster are about the same thing. I first saw the Bamboo Furbuster at Wal-mart, I think it was about $45.00. I decided to go home and see how much I could get it for on line. I got it on ebay for $15.99 with free shipping. I now see thousands of listings for the Furminator for as little as $10.00 with free shipping.


I have both the furminator and furbuster and personally like the furminator better. I'm sure they are the same thing, but for some reason the furminator does a better job.


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## GermanPrinceHero

GSD MOM said:


> Figures! We have had ours for almost two years and we also got the large size that's for horses but I should have know better then to get it from Petsmart.... live in learn. If I can justify it for $60 trust me it's worth $10.


Yeah, I know what you mean. I allways check ebay first unless it's something I have to have right now. I can usually buy something on there and have it in 3 or 4 days. It is a habit for me because I have been a full time seller there for 10+ years. I can understand how most would not think of it when going out to make a purchase. They need to advertise on TV more to remind people. The fee's they get now are rediculous. They make billions a year and can't put a few ads on TV? It frustrates me sometimes


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## puppymamma

I really like the furminator but I would suggest you do it outside. Too much hair comes out to do it inside! Buy the large size, its worth the $$.


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## JakodaCD OA

I have had a metro air force blower for years, I can NOT live without one,,the investment was totally worth it, of course you can't use it in the house but I blow out the dogs once a week and it really cuts down on the furballs and shedding..


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## jakeandrenee

Where is the best place to look for one? Any brand more reputable? I have seen a lot of folks talk about them...


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## GermanPrinceHero

Here's a 4HP for sale on Amazon for $159

Amazon.com: Metro Vacuum AFTD-3 Air Force Commander 4.0-Peak HP Pet Dryer: Home Improvement


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## jakeandrenee

can you blow dog when coat is dry?


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## JakodaCD OA

I have the 4HP, and yes,,I hardly ever bathe my dogs and blow them out when they are dry...takes all the dirt/dander/loose hair , anything not nailed down on the dog blows off..love mine..

I think I got mine from Pet Edge,,


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## jakeandrenee

Thanks!!!!


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## Holmeshx2

JakodaCD OA said:


> I have the 4HP, and yes,,I hardly ever bathe my dogs and blow them out when they are dry...takes all the dirt/dander/loose hair , anything not nailed down on the dog blows off..love mine..
> 
> I think I got mine from Pet Edge,,


thanks just one more thing to look into now  lol 

With our last dog I had a furminator and was an "idiot" I bought the medium one. My theory was we lived in the country and had stray cats all the time that I would see get matted up so I wanted to be able to have something big enough for my dog and others dogs I would use it on but also something not to big so I could still use it on the cats or if there was a smaller dog someone needed me to help them with.

BIG mistake. You can use the biggest brush on a puppy or even a kitten with some care but DEAR LORD!!! do NOT try to do a big GSD or any other decent sized dog with one of the smaller ones. Talk about a job taking forever and hand cramps galore. Even with young perfectly healthy hands I'm pretty sure you'll get carpel tunnel and arthritis before being done with the dogs back lol.

They worked really well of course it seemed like the hair never stopped coming out. Now I get to go look into those blower things for our next dog.. this should be interesting. Anyone with experience on them I would love your advise on it either on here or through PM. I'm assuming they are loud like a blow dryer, so do you just start a pup out young with them so they are not scared of all the noise?


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## Sharbel

onyx'girl said:


> Omega oil supplements with vitamin E daily help the skin and coat as well. Raw eggs are full of omegas and extras!


I have capsules of Omega 3 enriched with vitamins D and E for my personal use (human use) one capsule per day. I was wondering if I was giving my dog 1-a -day too if it was OK or whether our supplements are for some reason not suitable for our dogs.

On Saturday I gave him one raw chicken egg. My aim is to get the coating stronger so that shedding is reduced or eliminated.

I brush his coat once a day but it seems that it is an endless process.


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## mjbgsd

Do they stop shedding, ahahahahaha no...... LOL Brushing and using the air force dryer really gets a lot of that excess hair out. I try to brush a few times a week.


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## Sharbel

Air force...dryer? While brushing or alone?


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## Jessiewessie99

GSD MOM said:


> Agree!!!! Our Furminator saves us!!! One day we walked into our Petsmart and we were looking for something to help up with Nellies coat. Of course we were not looking at the $60 fuminator but other things... this guys walks by and asks if he can help and we explain about Nellies sheding. And come to find out he is a groomer there with a sister that has a GSD. So he brought his furminator out and took two swipes down Nellie back and we were sold. It is amazing how much it works. Funny part is my BF got it for me for my birthday.. hahaha


I got mine for $48.28 at my shelter.Its originally 50 something, but since I am a volunteer I get a discount. Basically anything at Petsmart I can get for cheaper at my shelter's store.lol


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## DJEtzel

Jessiewessie99 said:


> I got mine for $48.28 at my shelter.Its originally 50 something, but since I am a volunteer I get a discount. Basically anything at Petsmart I can get for cheaper at my shelter's store.lol


 You can get them for less than 20 on amazon you know. That's highway robbery right there.


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## JakodaCD OA

Masi never has to be brushed when I use that blower on her , she has a shorter coat, my male aussie also has more of a stock coat, so I hardly ever brush him,,(again doesn't need it when I use the blower).

My female aussie tho, she has a thick show coat, and while she doesn't "mat", she tends to hang onto that 'hair' forever and it needs to be brushed out..


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## Jessiewessie99

DJEtzel said:


> You can get them for less than 20 on amazon you know. That's highway robbery right there.



UMMMMMM......no its not.The amount we paid is worth it.


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## DJEtzel

May be worth it, but why pay so much when you could pay 15? Just sayin.


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## GermanPrinceHero

DJEtzel said:


> May be worth it, but why pay so much when you could pay 15? Just sayin.


Exactly. There is nothing wrong with saving money. I suppose some people are fortunate enough not to have to worry about it. I will worry about it no matter how fortunate. BTW, again, you can currently get them on ebay for around $10.00 shipped.


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## Anja1Blue

JakodaCD OA said:


> I have the 4HP, and yes,,I hardly ever bathe my dogs and blow them out when they are dry...takes all the dirt/dander/loose hair , anything not nailed down on the dog blows off..love mine..
> 
> I think I got mine from Pet Edge,,


That's brilliant! I would never have thought of it, so thanks for the tip, I'm going to try it. My dogs hate being bathed, and even though I feed raw they still shed year round. They aren't outside all the time which probably contributes to that.....
___________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge


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## Caledon

JakodaCD OA said:


> Masi never has to be brushed when I use that blower on her , she has a shorter coat, my male aussie also has more of a stock coat, so I hardly ever brush him,,(again doesn't need it when I use the blower).
> 
> My female aussie tho, she has a thick show coat, and while she doesn't "mat", she tends to hang onto that 'hair' forever and it needs to be brushed out..


I've heard people talking about this being the easiest. Do you take them outside for this? How do you deal with all the flying hair?

I brush Dakota outside and try to collect as much hair as possible. I'm sure my neighbours do not appreaciate GSD hair floating around their yards. Right now the birds like it as they use it for their nests.


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## LaRen616

I bought my Furminator off ebay for $11.99 with free shipping I believe


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## DJEtzel

GermanPrinceHero said:


> Exactly. There is nothing wrong with saving money. I suppose some people are fortunate enough not to have to worry about it. I will worry about it no matter how fortunate. BTW, again, you can currently get them on ebay for around $10.00 shipped.


Yeah, if I needed a furminator I'd definitely buy one on amazon, even though I am fortunate enough to spend 60. It just makes no sense. I'd rather save my fortune for better things.


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## Ludogg

Were having major shedding problems with Luke: you could make a daily wig from all the fur he sheds. He sheds so much that Im considering making him an outside dog... Yesterday i opened my fridge and there was fur in there.. I had to thoroughly clean my fridge out.. I had a bad one and threw him outside, he even spent the night outside last night... now I feel bad cause he's been an inside dog since we brought him home, he looks really sad confused; he doesnt know what he did to be thrown out of the house. I think he thinks he's in trouble cause when I go outside in the yard he runs from me.. I need some advice how to manage this shedding dilemma .. I read the posts about the Furminator, hoping that will help. Aslo do GSD's shed more as pup then as adults?? Can anyone give me some advice???? Oh yeah someone told me if you give him a banana daily it would reduce the shedding is that true?


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## Ludogg

bump...


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## sadie006

I just checked EBAY and they do have a variety of furminators. Do you buy the large size or medium?


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## RubySlippers

For Ludogg-
I do not recommend making him an outside dog. It is extremely hard on a GS temperment to seperate them from the rest of the pack like that. They require socialization and inlcusion in the daily life of the house to become well rounded members of the household. You mentioned he ran from you now when you went out there, that is a perfect illustration of how sensitive and intuitive they can be. I'm sure you did not beat him or anything even close to that. But to him being seperated like after he sensed you were upset is very upsetting to him and you're right he has no idea what went wrong. He has no idea that dog hair is an issue.

I feel your frustration with the shedding. Most often they will shed more as adults then puppies, I think. The puppy coat is different, finer, softer. GS just shed a lot, part and parcel of having them. Furminators do work wonders and you can buy shampoos and supplements that may help reduce shedding, but they have a double coat and will just shed. They will shed due to diet, weather changes, hormonal changes, etc. 
The best things you can do is feed them the healthiest diet you can comfortably afford, vitamins, brush them daily for about 10 mins, and vaccum a couple times a week (some of us vaccum daily), and bathing about every 2 weeks with a gentle or puppy soap helps- NOT flea dip or harsh stuff. Some of us bathe much less depending on the sensitivity of our dog's skin and coat. It all depends on your threshold for the fuzz around the house. 

Dogs are pack animals, the need to be with their pack is hard wired into them. GS are even more so. If you try to relegate the dog to the backyard you will end up with a poorly adjusted dog that is miserable and can become difficult to handle. By difficult I mean, they will jump all over you when you go there, be unruly and over bearing- simply because they are trying to over compensate for not having been socialized with the rest of their "pack" which is you and their family. What will happen is you will be less inclined to go out back with them, and then it just goes down hill from there. They can also developing barking issues and find other undesirable ways to fill their time that can be destructive. 

When you have a GS you're bound to see dog hair float past you. It's unavoidable. But they are totally worth the extra dog hair. 

Oh and I've also heard that going to a raw feed diet (no cooked bones! dangerous!!) can help a lot with shedding but we do not raw feed and I can't offer first hand knowledge on that topic. But you can check it out on the diet forum here.  Lots and lots of us here do it.


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## Jessiewessie99

We just took Tanner to a new groomers(self service) and get him all ready for his audition on Hollywood tomorrow and I could not believe the amount of hair we took off! We have groomed him before but this time it was insane! He does have a longer coat than Molly's, but still. He seriously looks alot better. He always looked good, but I think I could have made another dog.lol. He seriously looks different, maybe not alot different but there is a difference.lol.

I think he likes it.lol. He will shine tomorrow!


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## Syaoransbear

I only have one german shepherd and he's all black, so his hair is probably less noticeable. But I don't really feel like he sheds a lot for a dog his size. Then again, ever since he's been on six fresh fish orijen + Show Stopper + salmon oil I feel like he just doesn't shed nearly as much anymore. He's nothing compared to the cats. If you pet them while they are sitting on your lap, you will get a lap full of hair in just a few pets that sticks to everything. One cat likes to rub himself against your face, and their hair is so fine that you can feel it sticking to your face but you can't get it off!


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## Samba

Our dogs eat Orijen and raw also. They get oils and a coat supplement too. Their coats are all beautiful and feel almost unreal. But, they are very healthy coats and they put in a thick, luxurious lot of hair. When it is time to blow all that, it is phenomenal! I think the day to day shedding is less though. 

All the hairy dogs are inside here. They are lying about this morning as I am on the computer. I just noticed we keep a shop vac in the living room!


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## cristofa

Jessiewessie99 said:


> I started using the Furminator!lol it works for Tanner whose coat is like crazy.lol


 

*the furminator is brilliant!*


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## katdog5911

Stella hasn't been too bad in the shedding dept. yet. But then again, I am comparing her to my newfie/lab x who sheds enough daily to make wigs for the entire state of CT! Maybe as she gets older it will get worse but for right now...not bad. I have had other GSDs and don't recall shedding being really bad. The worst were a collie, a chow x and the newfie/lab. The chow x was so bad we shaved him down one year. He didn't look so good but lack of hairballs was nice!


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## Pepper311

My dog is shedding her winter coat bad. She never shed till it turned to summer and she hit a year old. Her coat color is changing too. 

I use a horse shed blade it is the only thing I find that really gets the dead fur out fast. It's amazing. I have been using it for many years. I have tried all different kind of brushed this is the one I always go back too. I don't think it will work well on really long hair dogs. 

This thing
Shedding Blade 26 Inch - Horse.com


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## Teresa_C

*Thinking of starting to turn GSD fun into "wool"*

We have to almost 6 months old GSD' she shed quite a bit and he sheds A LOT!! They are fed raw diet, that is about 75-80% meat, about 10-15 percent organ meat and 10-15% bone - varies a bit depending on the day. They are healthy and doing really well but we have to vacuum everyday - and sometimes twice when they are in more in the winter. :wild:


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## maxtmill

DJEtzel said:


> I agree with the nutrition thing. Frag is 9 months old now, and we got him in November. He started out on purina, then shortly after we switched to RAW for a few months. We then went on to feed solid gold, then natural balance, and we're getting ready to switch him again. He gets fish oil everyday and eggs a couple times a week. He doesn't shed at all. I slicker brush him once a week, but very few hairs end up in the brush, so it's pretty pointless. He can lay all over the bed, furniture, us, etc and doesn't get any hair anywhere, so it's pretty nice.


Do you feed the eggs raw, shell and all, or do you remove the shells and cook them?


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## maxtmill

jeng0304 said:


> I started my dog on raw about 3 weeks ago and have already seen a difference. I noticed it and thought I was seeing things, but my bf commented on it as well.
> 
> He was fed EVO before, so the difference between raw and high quality kibble surprised me!


That makes feeding raw very tempting!


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## maxtmill

JakodaCD OA said:


> I have the 4HP, and yes,,I hardly ever bathe my dogs and blow them out when they are dry...takes all the dirt/dander/loose hair , anything not nailed down on the dog blows off..love mine..
> 
> I think I got mine from Pet Edge,,


So you don't use it to dry a dog-you comb and blow at the same time?


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## robrymond

Our 20 month year old didn't shed as a puppy but now it is coming out in clumps. We have a furminator which is good which I try and use every other day at least. To be honest the worst bit is round the rear and back legs.

We feed a high quality kibble but I don't think it matters too much. I think there are worse breeds, like labs which leave hair just walking around carpet. At least with ours most of the hair is on the floor due to me wrestling the dog or playing with him rather than him just brushing past.


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## maxtmill

It sounds like adding a fish oil capsule daily may be key, as well as feeding raw. I will definitely do the daily fish oil capsule, and strongly consider a raw diet when I get my next shepherd!


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## voodoolamb

Eh. My guys aren't big shedders aside from coat blowing season. I can run my fingers through and rough up my purebred shep's coat and get like maybe 3 hairs. He doesn't leave much lying around. 

My gsd mix was like that up until about 12-13 years old. Then he started dropping more hair. I'm pretty sure it's because of age related declining health.

Mostly Homemade raw and supplemented with commercial dehydrated and freeze dried raw since they came home. 

That said... blow time is coming up. I am not looking forward to it lol


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## Dunkirk

The vet shaved my dog's coat off 4 months ago looking for a tick. (Didn't find one, he's on NexGard). As a nudist - micro short coat - he still shed. (or sheded?)


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## Teresa_C

Mine have always been on raw. I think this is just having 2 new pups in one house and dark hardwood floors!


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## eugenepi1025

Yeah, keep shedding here too. Balls of fur all over the place.


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