Posted on 02/02/2013 11:15:00 AM PST by heartwood
A Shepherd-Lab mix, she's blowing her undercoat. I brush her daily, vacuum and sweep daily, and she's confined to the family room and kitchen. But still the little hairs are floating everywhere. When I got the carving board out of the dishwasher and put it on the counter, there were hairs on it. Washed it and put the carrots on it - hairs. Wiped off the hairs, cut the carrots and put the celery on it - more hairs, and on, and on, and on...
The vacuum doesn't pick up most of the hairs - I am reduced to scraping the carpet with a shower squeegee - that works. An hour later it looks like I haven't vacuumed for a month.
Any suggestions as to dog brush, floor cleaning devices, what kind of furniture and flooring (for whatever distant future we make changes in) would be so much appreciated. We like having a dog - we will probably get a second at some point - twice the fun and twice the fur.
Had one. Loved that dog. She could read my mind.
Kept me mentally agile trying to keep her entertained.
If I lived somewhere w/ acreage or large lot for running that would be THE dog I'd have.
But, they do shed, a lot.
Have a poodle now. Nice dog, intelligent but not nearly as inquisitive, or as much fun as a Border Collie.
I’ll second the Furminator. You can also get a shedding blade, they are great for daily brushing.
Keep her OUT of the kitchen!
That will reduce the hairs in yer food.
I’ve got a Kenmore Pet Powermate - works really well.
You have to vacuum every day to keep on top of the
flying fur.
I would keep her out of the kitchen except it is the only reasonable place to feed her, and is also the easiest room to clean.
No magic solutions, not that I thought there were, but lots of helpful suggestions and good humor here...
They are differently bred, so each has a different kind of coat and sheds differently. The oldest is half field, half conformation, has a true outer coat and undercoat, and she blows her coat in the spring and otherwise hardly sheds enough to notice. The middle one is all field, granddaughter of a particular NAFC/NCFC who threw an odd coat for a Lab - a slick outer coat and NO undercoat at all. She sheds a little bit all the time, but since there's no undercoat it doesn't fly all around. The youngest has a thick plush undercoat and a thin outer coat, she sheds gobs in the spring and fall and some all year round.
Solution: (1) Furminator once a week while the shedding's going on (2) a good vacuum, vacuum floors 2-3 times a week (3) as little carpet as you can get away with - we have wood in the kitchen, foyer, dining room & tile in the baths and laundry. That helps.
I just got a Dyson pet brush attachment which seems to work very well. It's like a slicker brush (wire) but when you release a little button the wires retract and WHOOSH! all the hair goes down the vacuum. My oldest Lab is not real keen on the idea yet, but with some treats I think she'll go for it.
I don't have a Dyson vacuum but would like to get one. The 20% BBB coupon sounds like a good idea.
Worth getting 3+ different brushes, a great vacuum cleaner with HEPA filters, and a bunch of “dog” towels for either home bathing or at a do-it-yourself dog grooming place (where I take my huge GSD although I wash my two cattle dogs at home because they’re so easy). The GSD has an incredible coat that takes forever to get wet, work shampoo/conditioner into, and rinse a few times and these places have the best washing set-up and special dog blow-dryers so you can really get’em dry. So much fur comes out before, during and after the bath you’ll be doing a lot of brushing but the shedding does slow down quite a bit if you brush regularly (I do it in the yard) and you figure out the brushes that work best on your dog’s coat.
It helps that I have tile flooring throughout my current home. Had the wall-to-wall carpeting replaced with hardwood laminate at my last house and that was the easiest to clean and the 65 lb & 100 lb dogs didn’t damage it at all.
I wish herding dogs were smart enough to vacuum!
You have GOT to be kidding me.
I haven’t read all the posts yet so it has probably been addressed. Take the dog to a good groomer every few months and also get it used to a vaccumn so you can vaccumn it frequently. Make brushing a daily event if you have the time.
Or learn to love dog hair. I never keep up the routine and have two ACD’s, a Lab and a MinPin in the house so I vaccumn a couple of times a week, sweep up obvious piles of hair and try to ignore it the rest of the time. Except for throw rugs I have laminate floors throughout the house so that makes it easier.
I love your description of it. Completely LOVE GSDs! Mine is so respectful; a complete prince.
dyson animal vacuum. will work well. also consider getting a solid air filter. the people talking about grooming are correct as well to keep the hair down.
I understand.
I just hope it gets better for you;
lots of us have learned to live with sheets over our
furniture and a layer of fur over most of our clothes!
And we like it! :)
For Kitchen counters and surfaces, try micro fiber
cloths to wipe the surfaces - it’s very good at
picking up hair.
Take turns brushing her at least every other day -
during the shedding a few times a day might be better.
Those shep mixes have a LOT of fur - but they’re my favorite kind of dog.
When the seasonal shedding stops, sprinkle 1 tsp or so
of Bewer’s Yeast on her food, it does help lessen
loose hair.
Don’t get disgouraged, dogs are usually worth every
hair. They’re the best people I know. Holler in if you
need any support - you KNOW some Freepers will judge
you, but most of us would just like to help.
Shaving did not change the color of our dog at all. Even after being shorn, there is enough fur to maintian the color of the dog.
Get a Rainbow Vacuum.
They are expensive, but work very well, and last forever.
“take your dog to a groomer every few months..”
Just be VERY, VERY particular about the groomer if you go this route. Many groomers are use to small dogs like poodles, Llapso’s, Yorkies and such. Like some people, they are afraid of bigger dogs (especially guard dogs like GSD’s or Mastiffs). They can be rough or so apprehensive that the dog gets freaked out. Ask specifically if groomer X has groomed very large dogs and be breed specific. Ask how many they have groomed in the past year. I have heard horror stories from other big breed owners that frighten me.
You do not merely brush a German Shepherd blowing her coat. You pluck her.
Best thing to do is take her outside with a metal dog comb. Any tufts already sticking out, pull out directly with fingers. From there, take the comb, reach in to her coat, and pull up against the lay of the hair. This is plucking with the comb. Spend at least 5 min doing this all over the body. If weather is good spend 10. Do it every day and it goes faster. Doing it outdoors spares the house alot of grief.
As far as cleaning, all I can say is, SHOP-VAC. And sticky rolls for furniture, etc.
Should’ve mentioned, GS blow coat about every 6 months for about a month. You can really help it by plucking every day.
Here is a list of human foods that are bad for dogs.
Onions, garlic, avocado, coffee, nuts, raisins, grapes, salt, bread and chocolate.
Yes, basically it’s not good to bathe a dog more than every month.
My GS is the exception as she is grand champion of allergies and needs weekly medicated super baths. If she was normal, though, she’d get pretty shampoo but only once a month.
There is some evidence that garlic is beneficial to dogs. It’s lumped in because it’s an onion relative, and onions are bad for dogs. But, I’ve given mine foods with garlic, even garlic tabs before. Good for natural flea repellent, helps their immune function. They’ve all lived long lives.
Pet Smart is good here - they deal with just about every kind of dog there is (no ribbons or nail polish) but good at getting dogs clean and excess hair gone. They are good with our ACD’s, one of which isn’t sweetness and light :) She seems to think they are okay.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.