Shedding

[Seamus]

Hi there, my name is Jocelyne and Seamus is our 2.5 year old yellow lab. Since the beginning of winter he has been shedding excessively. I thought it was maybe since our winter was so mild, but now I am not sure. I brush him every couple days and we have had him groomed professionally, but still no change and it seems to be getting a bit worse now with spring here. He would normally go through the regular shedding seasons for his bottom coat and shed his top coat year round as well, but not like this. The shedding he is doing now is mainly his top coat. I use a rubber brush and it gets a lot out, but I have to vacuum every day still. It's so bad that if he scratches his face there will be a pile of tiny face hairs on the ground. I am just hoping to see if anyone else is experiencing or has experienced this or if maybe this is just how an adult lab sheds? Thank you for your help 😀

[doubledip1]

Hi there, my name is Jocelyne and Seamus is our 2.5 year old yellow lab. Since the beginning of winter he has been shedding excessively. I thought it was maybe since our winter was so mild, but now I am not sure. I brush him every couple days and we have had him groomed professionally, but still no change and it seems to be getting a bit worse now with spring here. He would normally go through the regular shedding seasons for his bottom coat and shed his top coat year round as well, but not like this. The shedding he is doing now is mainly his top coat. I use a rubber brush and it gets a lot out, but I have to vacuum every day still. It's so bad that if he scratches his face there will be a pile of tiny face hairs on the ground. I am just hoping to see if anyone else is experiencing or has experienced this or if maybe this is just how an adult lab sheds? Thank you for your help 

Welcome! Same here. I vaccuum daily. They produce too much love and magic so that's why they shed so much!

[Tanya]

welcome from a fellow eastern ontarian!

Welcome to the world of labs! they shed. and shed. and shed some more. While you can't stop the shedding, a good diet (meaning a food that works well for the dog) really helps overall coat health. Some people seem to have success with supplementing with coconut oil or salmon oil (or both) - i don't use them so you'd have to ask in the health section for how much to give. But that may manage a small part of shedding, it's won't eliminate it.

Curious what the groomer did when you brougth him in? did they clip or cut or shave? or just brush?

[Seamus]

Thank you both so much for your kind welcomes . The groomer that we took him to just bathes and brushes (maybe some trimming of feet, but definitely no shaving). Our first baby was a long haired shepherd rescue with a double coat. We were nieve to the fact that an inexperienced groomer would shave her when we had just moved and were in a new city. Well, we learned quickly that not all groomers are equal, when the new one we took her to shaved her. It was awful, I pretty much threw the money at her, ran out and cried in the car for our poor baby girl....she was so uncomfortable. Long story short lol, we would never have Seamus shaved, his coat is his protection.

[Tanya]

Thank you both so much for your kind welcomes . The groomer that we took him to just bathes and brushes (maybe some trimming of feet, but definitely no shaving). Our first baby was a long haired shepherd rescue with a double coat. We were nieve to the fact that an inexperienced groomer would shave her when we had just moved and were in a new city. Well, we learned quickly that not all groomers are equal, when the new one we took her to shaved her. It was awful, I pretty much threw the money at her, ran out and cried in the car for our poor baby girl....she was so uncomfortable. Long story short lol, we would never have Seamus shaved, his coat is his protection.

that's awful, and unprofessional of them to not have told you what they were doing

[Berna]

After getting wet / bathing they tend to shed more. Other than that, I agree with Tanya that if he is shedding that much and for so long, you may want to try a diet change. Labs do shed, but other than twice a year when they do shed excessively for a couple of months, the shedding is minimal to moderate. I remember how much Cookie shed year around when he was on Pedigree and how the overall quality of his coat changed when we switched to a better quality kibble, and even more so when we switched to homemade raw.

[Labradorks]

I swear, yellow Labs shed more than the others. My yellow sheds awful! At my trainers we have black matted flooring and he leaves behind hair every time. They call him Pigpen after the Peanuts character. His worst shed is this year. Like your dog, he is 2.5. He is on Fromm with raw a few times per week. He shed less on ProPlan when he was younger, until he was one or so (but, they shed differently when they are young). So, I don't think it is diet-related.

[POPTOP]

As others have said, welcome to life with a lab. I have both a yellow lab and a GSD and the spring shed is in full bloom right now.

I brush almost daily with a Zoom groom brush. Hint: If it seems to not be working as well, wash with dish soap and it's back to new. I follow up with a Bamboo brand comb to help release more undercoat. It's a fact of life in our house with the "puppies" rolling around. The poor vacuum groans each time I pull it out of the closet. Oh, the big shed happens twice a year, spring and fall.

[Snowshoe]

Welcome to the board. Yes, as others have said, Labs shed. I found it could differ from year to year. But some things your wrote sound a bit off to me. They mostly shed their undercoat, not the top coat. Some top coat (are we talking about the same thing? The longer, outer guard hairs?) comes out but not nearly as much as the soft, fine undercoat. And if "he scratches his face" hair shouldn't come out at all. They don't shed the hair on their faces in a shed. Again, some hairs fall out but also again, are we meaning the same thing when you say "face" and I think face?

My dog did shed all his outer guard hairs two years ago, none of the undercoat. He was sick, he had Folliculitis following another serious illness. I hope I am misunderstanding you and your dog does not have Folliculitis. There is another thread about F right now, will see if I can find it.

ETA: Not so much about F but it's mentionned. https://www.lab-retriever.net/board/diet-and-nutrition/8571-help-dog-food-sensitive-skin.html

[ZoeysMommy]

I swear, yellow Labs shed more than the others. My yellow sheds awful! At my trainers we have black matted flooring and he leaves behind hair every time. They call him Pigpen after the Peanuts character. His worst shed is this year. Like your dog, he is 2.5. He is on Fromm with raw a few times per week. He shed less on ProPlan when he was younger, until he was one or so (but, they shed differently when they are young). So, I don't think it is diet-related.

I am 100% convinced that yellows shed more. My little yellow Aimee is a little pigpen, she leaves clouds all around her. I am used to Zoey but wow Aimee is so much worse and she is only 8 months old. She has been shedding like this since she was about 5 months old I would say. Her adult coat is growing in super thick and wavy so I know nothing is wrong with her coat or skin, she is just a heavy shedder