It's Shedding Season

[Woody]

Having two chocolate labs you never notice (as much) the shedding. It seems to blend in a little more with the colours of our house. I tell you with this yellow fellow in the house there is dog hair everywhere. My wife pulled a huge bowl of hair off of him today and he has been getting brushed outside.

Tonight my daughter says Georgia is shedding but in reality she was just covered in Ovie hair.

[SunDance]

My experience is that yellows shed the worst. My two yellows and, now, yellow mutt, were/are like walking snowstorms. My chocolates weren't. Actually, the only time we saw Hershey hair was on his bedding. I've always brushed daily and my yellows...during shedding season...were almost as bad as my Akitas. Dan's shed is about two weeks off-schedule from his mother's and not nearly as bad.

If something doesn't have dog hair on it, it's probably not mine.

[smartrock]

So odd, I posted a response last night to this thread and it's not here today. Happened to the thread on Asher's stomach problems earlier this week, too. Hmm...

Anyway, as for our decor disguising the dog hair, I said we put some silvery gray carpeting in recently and I couldn't really see much hair was on it until I vacuumed and got huge amounts of dog hair. I had to empty the vacuum canister repeatedly. Or else it was the new vacuum cleaner actually doing the job it was meant to do!

[Snowshoe]

I regularly find clumps of yellow undercoat brushings down a trail we walk. A neighbour has two GR, he carries a brush with him.

Just to note: I'm reading now that if you put any kind of topical treatment on your dog, for fleas or whatever, please don't put the brushings out for birds. Just in case that chemical is still in/on their hair. Actually, I think this applies to oral meds too.

[SoapySophie]

Just curious what type of brush are you all using? I have one of those mitt types but am looking for something more effective.

[smartrock]

I think I have one of everything!

I sometimes use a Zoom Groom first to loosen up hair- it takes some out but not all. KONG Dog ZoomGroom Multi-Use Brush, Boysenberry - Chewy.com

I have an undercoat rake that gets a fair amount out. Like this one: ConairPRO Dog Undercoat Rake, Medium - Chewy.com

I usually finish up with a slicker brush regardless of whether I use one or both of the above tools. I also have the glove type thing but the little nubs don't get down into the coat very far. Not this brand slicker but this general idea: Millers Forge Unbreakable Style Slicker Brush, Regular - Chewy.com

My pooches are OK with me brushing both with and against the direction of hair growth as long as I don't get too rough with it.

[Annette47]

For shedding I love my undercoat rake. I own other things, but that is the most effective.

As for who sheds the most, I'm not sure. When she was younger, Cookie shed ALL the time, but over the winter she developed the best coat she's ever had and barely shed, although I'm expecting her to start blowing that coat any time now. Sass rarely sheds - even her seasonal shed is mostly a non-event. Chloe has always been a heavy seasonal shedder but as she's gotten older (and since being spayed) her coat has changed quite a bit - now she sheds all the time and her seasonal shed (which is happening now) is crazy bad.

[MightyThor]

Both of mine are blowing their coats right now and it's a snowstorm in my house. We call the little balls of fur that accumulate in the corners "tumble-Thors". Seems like they reappear right after I vacuum! Thor is much worse than Barley, but his coat is much thicker since Barley is still maturing.

We used to live in a very temperate, even climate and he didn't shed as bad, but he did it consistently year-round. Now we live in a climate with big seasonal swings and this early summer/late spring shed is awful! But once it's done the shedding really slows down to almost nothing. I'm not sure which is worse.

[ZoeysMommy]

Oh the yellows are the worst! Aimee is my little pig pen, clouds of hair just follow her everywhere. Its horrible right now, in addition to her normal daily cloud of poof, she is also blowing her coat. How in the hell is she not bald?!

[ccetta]

We just finished brushing Lucy outside- used the furminator and finished with brush. I swear I could build another dog with what Lucy sheds!