For those with long haired dogs that live inside... how do you deal with dog hair?

Shampoos, brushing, vacuums, etc?

 

Let me start off by sayin that I'm allergic to my life. I'm allergic to about any animal dander including dogs, cats, and horses, I am also allergic to most types of dust and grass. Now that I've said all that I have two large dogs in the house, raise horses and a few cattle and deal in massive amounts of hay each year that gets stored in dusty ole barns.

As far as the long haired dogs. Never bathe them more then once a month and only that often if you just feel like you have to. The more you bathe them the more their hair will hold dirt and grime because your strippin the natural oils from it and it will make the shedding worse. If you have to do something use one of the many dry bath formulations on the market.

Brushing is also mandatory weekly or my green carpet turns white within a few days if I'm late on that. Brushing is almost daily during the shedding season. I also vacuum 7 days a week and run an Oreck air cleaner 24 hours a day.

A few of the most expensive dog foods have found out the secret and add fish oil to their food now but if your not feedin one of those few you can also buy the fish oil capsules in the vitamin section and use them for your pets. They are the soft capsules so you just poke a hole in it and squeeze it out on their food, one a day. Fish oil slows down the shedding process and helps keep the skin healthy. If you have allergy problems hair is not the problem, it's the dander from the skin and saliva and the fish oil really helps to minimize this.

 

Was there a little Freudian slip in your first sentence... did you mean to say you were allergic to your "wife"?

I am not really allergic to dogs. Dusty wheat straw, alfalfa and coastal yes; but I deal with it the best I can.

Not sure about dry-cleaning my dog though... Seems he has started shedding more now that the weather is just getting cooler. (It dipped down to 40 last night.)

The vet recommends a brush called a "furminator", of course, he sells it for $45. I brush him nearly every day with a regular brush and pull out 3-4 full brushes of hair. (I'd have enough hair after a week for a new dog.)

I feed a premium dog food, Nature's Variety. (Don't know if it contains the fish oil.)

Thanks

 

NO OUTFIT IS COMPLETE WITHOUT DOG HAIR!

 

You don't even realize how right you are at the moment with this statment.

Twice a year every mammal with fur and not hair sheds every piece of it and grows a complete new coat. Summer hair is solid all the way through and smooth on the outides of it. Winter hair is hollow inside with a rough exterior designed to trap warm air inside each strand and hold it in to preserve heat. Then in the spring with long haired dogs you also have all the undercoat to contend with. What a mess.

I always swore I'd never have another long haired dog indoors or out. The wife took this as a challenge and bought a Collie.

 

if i were you id invest in a dog that does not shed hair

Maltese
Shih Tzu
yorkies

its 7 30 am thats all i can think of right off the top of my head

but basically look up lap dog breeds..and most do not shed... b/c they are lap dogs...

i have a shih tzu... you NEVER find a hair annnnnnnywhere...

however...you exspected to bath them at LEAST 2 times a month...but no more than once a week ( b/c u will dry out their skin)


of course most lap dogs are delicate...meaning... you CAN NOT put them outside... ( b/c of extreme weather conditions it can kill the dog)

and you CAN NOT ignore them ( most lap dogs get seperation anxity)

( my shih tzu ..if you go outside for like 5 minutes u come in she acts like you have been gone for 2 months haha)


i mean i have never got when people have dogs like a german shepards for a house.. i mean they are huge.... anything bigger than a small collie..is crazy to me


haha

but just do some serious research

dogs are a big commentment


btw. lap dogs have both top coats and undercoats..neither shed


good luck buddy

 

In my house, I have "FURnature"!!!!

 

Maltese, Shih Tzu, yorkies... those aren't dogs... those are cats that bark. What good is a lap dog besides sit inside the house all day? My dog goes with me nearly everywhere, but has the run of the house and free access in or out.

I'm not looking for a dog that doesn't shed. I'm looking to minimize the amount of dog hair on the "FUR-niture"...

I love my Aussie. Aussies are among the smartest most loyal working dogs around. But he sheds ... and I'm not complaining, just trying to find out how others deal with the hair in the house.

 

Them little play toy dogs don't shed because they don't have fur, they actually have hair that continues to grow and you have to cut it just like your barber does yours.

In my world if my lap dog doesn't take my breath away everytime he jumps up on my lap he ain't worth havin around.

 

You are lucky that misplaced paw only knocks the wind out of you ... if you know what I mean.