My dog sheds by the billion, any tips on keeping his fur intact??

what kind of dog?

regardless of that, if you brush him/her more regularly, you can pull off dead hair before it has a chance to get all around the house.

 

use relaxers

 

super glue

 

Big hair dogs shed hair come warmer weather and retain hair come colder weather. I don't think there is anything to circumvent this....other than choose a short hair dog when picking out a dog. This is one reason I specifically chose Rhodesian Ridgeback back in the day...cause the Labs and long hair dogs shed hair like crazy all over the house. It goes everywhere. Short hair dogs still shed hair...but nowhere near the amount of big hair dogs.

 

Get one of these:



FURminator deShedding Tool

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FSFNVI/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3280014001&ref=pd_sl_4imqjmry9h_b

They work. No, they won't prevent shedding. The breed of dog dictates that. Used everyday, however, they will reduce what ends up in your house tremendously. Petsmart is one place that has them. If anyone is thinking of getting a dog and doesn't want this problem, and can afford one, get a Labradoodle. No only do they scarcely shed at all, but they're about as close to hypoallergenic as you can get. I had one for over a decade, long before someone developed "the breed." Half Standard Poodle and half Lab, it was the most intelligent dog I've ever owned. I always wondered why I rarely saw his fur around my place. Years later, after he was gone, I figured it out. Found him at the SPCA in Houston. Today, a pup can cost from $1500 to over $2000. Yes, that's crazy, but I'm probably getting another in a couple of years. They are that good.

 

More baths, a good brush before and after....a brush outside daily or more than that would help. There's not a ton you can do passively, you're just going to have to put in more work.

Or shave that sucker.

 

To help shedding:

1) Give a good bath at least once a week. If the dog's bath lasts 5 minutes or less, it wasn't a proper bath. Most good pet hair shampoos need to sit on a dog for a few minutes at least to have full effect.

2) Brush consistently.

3) Buy a furminator (shown earlier in this thread) and do a really thorough fermination of the undercoat once a month. Be prepared for this, if your dog sheds as much as you say, it's going to be ridiculous. It will take a long time, there will be a ton of hair on the ground around you, it will seem like you aren't making any progress, etc. It's a chore. Anticipate doing at least 30 minutes of this if your dog sheds a ton of hair. The undercoat is deceptively massive.

 

The "trick" is to do it more often. Then the amount of fur you take off the pup (which can be incredible) will be reduced quite a bit. So will what is all over your house.

 

Baths and flea medication can knock out fleas. Do you leave them outside?

 

Right, but he's starting from stratch which is why I told him to be prepared for a chore. The first time you do it is a real pain. Once you get on the routine of bathing and brushing and using the ferminator at least once a month, it's not so bad. I occasionally just use the ferminator as my normal brush.

 

Gotcha! -

 

How often should you be giving a dog a bath? Isn't once a week too often

 

No. Shampoo for dogs is on par with human shampoo these days. If your dog is inside you should want them clean. It may dry their skin a little if you wash them once a week, but the trade off is they aren't dragging dirt, feces, urine, insects, etc. throughout your house.

My dogs are inside dogs that go outside for exercise, bathroom and play. If I only bathe them once a month they are bringing some pretty disgusting things onto my couch and carpet!
.
Edit: But to be honest I only bathe mine once every three weeks or so because of laziness.

 

My vet told me to give my dog a few ml of olive oil or animal fat a day.

Furrminator, what a great invention. No matter how long I do it, I end up with a bag full of hair. You're never "done" so it becomes like a game.

"SURELY that's all the loose hair!"

 

I'd highly recommend investing in a Dyson animal vacuum cleaner. It's kind of depressing how much hair that thing picks up. I have two dogs, and one of them is part chow and sheds a ton.

 

"My Pickapoozi weighs a ton!"

 

I suggest you get a prescription from the vet about the flea prevention pill. Works like a charm. Always find dead fleas on my dog. Before then i would picked the flea one by one to kill it because the collar and the droplet doesn't seem to work. It's like they stay away from the contaminated area. It's $100 a box. Comes with 6 pills. 1 pill per month prevent flea infestation.

Also try to use herbal essence shampoo. I have an english bulldog and they have sensitive skin. Always shedding. Even at one point she has bald patches until i use herbal essence.

Look how happy she is

Spoiler

BEFORE

AFTER

 

I remember when I got my two Ridgebacks...they just made a mess inside with food bits everywhere and some hair. They could never just stand still and eat their food. Always had to bring it to the carpet area. So, I ended up getting a nice Hoover vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter, etc. . Funny thing, though, I didn't know about the intake air filter...I only thought there was an extake HEPA filter. So, I'm using this thing for like 10 years and never once did I clean the intake air filter (which was basically just a square slot with a square sponge filter). So, both dogs die last year. I'm still using the same vacuum cleaner and I'm wondering why the suction sucks as I have a new bag. I figure out there is that intake filter area, I lift the lid, and it is just loaded with dog hair and foot bit crap everywhere. So, I clean it up and it works fine now. Kind of funny I went the whole lifetime of my dogs not having cleaned that intake filter area. I guess it would have helped with my cleaning. I also bought a Hoover carpet cleaner and used that a helluva lot to clean carpets and doggie accidents. At the end of the life for my dogs, it got really nasty because it was vomit and dookie central. I mean...the work involved was insane. And, it was becoming multiple times a day and multiple times every hour at the end there.

I'll tell you, though. I cleaned so much after those dogs that I don't think I want another one. I could change my mind but I busted my ass keeping my house clean. Such a pain in the ass...but it's still worth it to own a dog.