Dog Hair

[tammynj]

Somebody please help - we are slowly drowning in a sea of dog hair. We love our dog; he's great! But he must be one of the hairiest dogs on the planet. His hair is ALL OVER our house, my car, our clothing, everything. We sweep and vacuum frequently, but there is no way to keep up w/ it. I have, to an extent, just given up. His hair clogs our vacuum (to the point where I literally sit with it for a half-hour, cutting the hair out and emptying it, every week or so). I use a lint brush on my clothes before I leave home, but of course, by the time I get wherever I am going, I have more hair on me (I can see it swish around the car when I have the windows open). Other than cleaning constantly, which I really do not have the time (or inclination) to do, what can I do?

If anyone knows of any tried-and-true products that help clean up dog hair or ways to help ease up on this, I would dearly like to know about it.

 

[yesteach]

Do you have a pug??

.. this sounds like my life with our pug.. they are THE WORST shedders I have decided. I've had a border collie and a setter who shed less than this pug.. I swear he loses and regrows his hair every day!

The only things I can suggest, from the past, are bathe them frequently and brush them. I've been told that certain foods can help with shedding, but I've not seen it help any... I buy lint rollers in bulk now!

 

[westernteach]

3 Dogs

I can relate...we have 3 dogs and they shed like crazy. I like to wear black but have given up on it because 2 of our dogs have light color fur and I am covered with their hair before I leave the house. I also buy lots of lint rollers and use them constantly. While shopping recently I stopped in at Petco and saw the FURminator (a comb/brush that is guaranteed to help pull loose hair off of dogs and cats.) It was pretty pricey ($30-$50 depending on the size you choose) but I went ahead and purchased the medium size one. It is GREAT! I have been brushing my dogs several times a week and EVERY time I get handfuls of loose hair off of them. I haven't had it long enough to tell if it really helps with their shedding but I imagine it will, after all, all of that hair ends up in our garbage can instead of on our furniture, carpet, clothes, etc.

 

[lucida]

My black lab sheds a ton too! I was getting so tired of vacuuming everyday and always seeing our comforter covered in black hair (she sleeps with us)! So, I found a vitamin/mineral supplement that's high in omega3's and fatty acids which is supposed to help control shedding. My lab still sheds a bit, however, I don't need to vacuum as often now.

 

[Hockey73]

We also recently discovered the FurMinator and are very happy with the results!!! Our dog policy is that she is only allowed on the main floor so she never gets up to our bedrooms on the second floor. I just can't stand the thought of sleeping in dog hair so it's kind of a sanctuary of minimal hair. I'm not saying we don't carry a little on our clothes up with us but it's WAY better than the downstairs. Since we started using the FurMinator, I do notice that she's losing less hair. The bad part for us is that she's also getting colder since we're removing the undercoat with that brush so we probably won't be able to do it for the next few months (midwest winters) or I'll feel bad for her shivering! It is pricey, but worth it IMO.

 

[Maestra]

Sticky sheets

My s/o ordered these things called "sticky sheets" after hearing whoopi goldberg rave about them on the view. They are big squares and will easily lift the hair off your furniture in no time at all. You can use them more than once....well, we did the whole living room with one sheet. I think they were about $15 for a dozen at

www.stickysheets.com

Doesn't solve the problem....but gives you ammo to tackle it!

 

[Azure]

I suggest you

take your dog and have it shaved down. We just took ours. We have a border collie/lab. My friend started taking her lab. I have even shaved our 3 cats. Once I can't keep up with their hair--they get shaved to about 1/4" in the summer. OUr dog is about 1" now that it's getting colder out.

 

[tammynj]

Thanks!

Thanks for all the good advice. I have a lot of ideas now. Ricochet says thanks, too!

 

[JMonk]

DYSON vacume

We have a golden retriever with LOTS of hair. I understand your problem. I could probably knit a nice afghan with the "hair" that is sometimes found on the floor.

My husband bough a DYSON, one that is made specifically for dog hair. I think he bought it at Lowes. It was costly, but is wonderful. I vacume the floors ( we have hardwood) twice a week and it helps tremendously.

We don't let LEX on the furniture, yet her bed is our bed. We just learned not to put clothes on the bed. Some people can't stand dogs in the house (my mother in law for one), but Lexi is our "girl" so I tell people the hair is just "part of it".

I try to brush daily, this helps out too. Your dog is cute, I know this is an old post... just ran across it, and started to laugh ( i understand)