Have I mentioned my sister is a husky? I think you get the point. Let’s jump straight to ways you can minimize dog shedding.
While you can’t stop a healthy dog from shedding fur, you can minimize clean up and excessive hair loss with the following tips:
- Brush your dog regularly and consistently
- Pay close attention to their diet. Healthy foods go a long way when it comes to a dog’s coat
- Supplements specifically for skin and coat
- VACUUM
- Regular grooming
- Did I list vacuum?
If I had a dollar for every time my mom vacuumed in a week, I’d have $7 a week. I could buy a lot of sweet potato treats with that.
Obviously certain dog breeds have a tendency to shed worse than others. I use to think my hair clumped up in corners a lot until my little sister came to live with us. I wake up with husky hair in my mouth now. It’s unbelievable. How is she not bald yet? It just never stops coming out.
Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the natural things you can do at home to keep your dog from shedding so much.
Disclaimer: The Can My Dog articles contain information based on the individual research and opinions of the author of the site – who just so happens to be a dog. How you utilize the information given is completely up to you. Proceed at your own risk.
Brush Your Dog on a Regular Basis to Minimize Shedding
If your dog has two coats, you already know how important this step is – especially as seasons change. But even if they don’t, habitually brushing them is crucial to minimizing the amount of hair they shed.
Work this process into your daily routine. Taking five minutes out of your day to brush your dog will dramatically decrease shedding in comparison to sporadic brushing throughout the week.
This can also be a time to bond with your dog. I know some of my dog friends hate to be brushed, but this is mostly because they’re brushed infrequently. Make it a habit to brush your dog and they’ll start looking forward to it.
Your Dog’s Diet May Be a Reason They’re Shedding So Much
Skin and hair health are both big deals in my home. My humans talk about this all the time – even when it comes to their skin and hair.
Feeding us a well balanced diet ensures we get the nutrients needed to maintain a healthy coat and a more natural and anticipated shedding schedule.
Foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids have a tendency to make our coat shiny too. Just be careful with excessive amounts of fat in our foods, we can’t digest these as well as cats can. High amounts of fat can make us sick.
As a matter of fact, this is why you shouldn’t let your dog eat your cat’s food on a regular basis. I’ll link that article here for your reference.
Supplements For Your Dog to Minimize Shedding
Just like our humans, if you can’t get the necessary nutrients from regular food, supplements may be helpful – intended to “supplement” a regular diet, not to replace it.
Disclaimer: because I’m a dog and I never finished medical school, I have to tell you to talk to a veterinarian before giving your dog any type of supplements.
General Supplement List:
- Omega Chews (You can order these online)
- Omega-3 and B-Complex Vitamins (Available online)
- Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil (Also available online. Who am I kidding? Can’t you get anything online? Just go ahead and assume the rest of the list is available there too.)
- Dry food developed specifically for skin and coat (Chewy has a lot of great options in this category. Not to mention you can have this auto-shipped and delivered right to your door. Personally, these are my favorite delivery days at home)
- Olive oil (great source of omega-3 fatty acids). As a rule of thumb, add 1 teaspoon per 15 pounds of body weight to your pups food. This tastes delicious. I’ve had it a few times.
Start with these supplements as natural ways to minimize the amount of shedding your dog is capable of.
Vacuum Daily to Maintain the Amount of Dog Hair on Your Floors
I’m so tired of the vacuum. Frankly, it terrifies me. Will it suck me up? How will I get out of that tube thing if it does? Can it bite? Why does it constantly yell? I hate it, but apparently it’s a necessity – because of Callie.
Huskies and all that hair…
This is something, like brushing, that you need to work into your normal weekly flow. Depending on the type of dog you have, vacuuming everyday may not be necessary, but consistency is key to keeping it from accumulating in the corners and all over the baseboards and furniture.
All I know is this is a daily occurrence in my house.
Huskies and all that hair…
Groom Your Dog Regularly to Minimizing Shedding
This one goes without saying. What do you think would happen to your human hair if you decided to never wash or brush it? Gross. Clumps and gobs and tangles, that’s what.
Same goes for us. Regular maintenance and upkeep are essential to the health of our skin and coat while simultaneously controlling excessive shedding issues.
Win/win.
Even More Tips and Tricks to Minimize Dog Shedding
Did you know that if you rubbed a dryer sheet to the baseboards in your house that hair can’t stick to it?
Increase the amount of water your dog drinks in a day. When our skin is dry and dehydrated, hair loss increases. As a general rule of thumb, we need to drink at least one ounce of water per pound of body weight.
Use a shedding tool like a FURminator. Regardless of the breed and amount of year-round shedding, properly using a shedding tool can remove the dead and loose hair in a more intentional manner.
Sprinkle baby powder directly on your dogs coat – specifically if they suffer from skin allergies, dandruff, eczema, heat rashes, or just generally itchy skin. This will sooth your dog’s irritations, thus minimizing scratching and hair loss.
This next one happens to be my favorite. Massages. By giving your dog frequent skin massages, their natural oils are distributed throughout their fur to help them maintain radiance and silky, shiny beauty.
Conclusion
You will never totally win in the battle of human versus dog hair, but we admire your courage and persistence.
You can’t stop us from shedding – you shouldn’t want to if you could, it’s completely healthy and natural – but you can absolutely take steps to lessen the amount of fur you see scooting across your hardwoods on a daily basis.
And as always, Live, Love, Laugh, and Scratch our bellies often!
Love you guys,
JTB
P.S. If you’re new to this world, you may want to check out my Ultimate Guide for First Time Dog Parents. It’s a great reference to get you started on this journey.
Related Questions
How Often Should I Groom My Dog?
This question is multifaceted and requires a few parameters before being answered.
Grooming involves many different aspects from:
- Brushing
- Cutting hair
- Trimming nails
- Washing
- Drying
- Accessories
For this particular grooming question, I’m going to assume you’re referring to the entire process as outlined by the bulleted list directly above.
Grooming frequency also depends heavily on the breed of dog you have and their hair length.
Generally speaking, short hair dogs should be groomed every 8-12 weeks.
Conversely, long hair dogs should be groomed every 4-6 weeks.
*Brush your dog’s hair weekly (at least). Especially if they’re a breed that has a tendency to shed more than others.
Should I Bathe My Dog Before or After Grooming
Bathe your dog and allow them to dry completely before trimming or cutting their hair.
A clean and dry coat that has been thoroughly brushed through will make cutting their hair a much easier process for everyone involved.
You don’t have to overcomplicate the grooming process. As a matter of fact, you can groom your dog yourself if you feel so inclined.
