Painted1 Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I swear I can empty out my vacuum cleaner daily and fill one of those big pumpkin looking trash bags that people fill with leaves and use as lawn ornaments! I was vacuuming again today and noticed the telltale signs of the dying Dirt Devil. It was loud and really sounded like it was gasping for its last breath it sounded so pitiful. In the last year, this will be my second heavy duty Dirt Devil vacuum. I swear, the quantity of dog hair is sucking the life out of any vacuum it comes in contact with! What can I do?? Shep has a gorgeously long coat, Adria's in a stage right now - where her adult coat is growing in, but it's different lengths throughout her body. I brush these two daily and try my best to vacuum each day, if not, then every other day. Adria, recently, has been shedding unbelieveably. You stroke her once with the brush, and hair flies every where! I remember when Adria was growing out of her fluffy puppy hair and it would literally "float" on air drafts around the home. That was a terrible, tiresome time. I have hair in the kitchen, sticking to any surface possible. I have hair along the crevices of the heater vents, hair coating the floor, the couch, the bed, anything or any where that the dogs have come in contact with - or not necessarily. The hair may just happen to "float" there. I try to keep a semi-clean house, but it never seems to get any more manageable. Any tips? I'm really pooped right now - in early December I had a fall off my horse and suffered a fractured pelvis and two broken backbones. So, it's even more tiresome then usual. Any tips that may help to keep the hair more manageable would be appreciated greatly! Possibly anything extra I can add to their diet that helps shedding? Different grooming techniques? I try only brushing them outside, but with the cold weather, I've had to suck it up and do it inside. Any really good heavy duty vacuums? I have supposedly the best - but two in one year?? I love my dogs, but right now, I just need help!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 What are the dogs currently eating? What do their coats look like right now? Any signs of itchiness in addition to the shedding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted1 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 We just switched the dogs from Pedigree, to Pedigree Lamb & Rice. I supplement occasionally with an egg mixed in. However, I can't really supplement Shep without him getting an upset bowel (we claim he has a sensitive digestive tract!). No, the dogs aren't itchy and they do have a clean bill of health.... Well, one issue we do have with Adria often is round worms. The vet's amazed that although we've tried several different worming strategies, they go away and almost always come back every few months. She's very active on the farm and I don't monitor her every second, so I don't know what she gets into. She has just recently had worms, but is free of them again. The hair issue has always been a problem, and I have had Shep for quite a few years now. Shep has a beautiful shiny coat. It's long and silky. You can tell if it's a Shep hair because it's a few inches long. He's not shedding as noticeably right now as Adria is. Although a lot of the hair is from him, don't get me wrong. (Teamwork I guess!) Adria is still kind of fluffy, but has lost the majority of her puppy "down" hair. Her coat is of a medium length. I sure hope it keeps growing because it's a little gangly looking, hehe. The body of her coat is shiny, although the wispy ends on her tush (she only has a few stray hairs here and there) are kind of dull. They don't seem to have dry skin and I don't bath them too often, only as needed really. But like I said, their groomed daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted1 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Adria has the split face, Shep's the larger dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 What kind of heat do you have in the house? Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted1 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I think it's set on like high 60's-low 70's right now. Although this is a year round thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 You can probably get lots of great dog care tips here that will help with the shedding. But as to the clean-up, I am sympathetic. A black and white border collie and a long-haired tuxedo cat live here, and between the two of them, there is fur everywhere. Equal opportunity -- the black hairs show up on the light surfaces, and the white show up on the dark. Here is a house-cleaning tool that may help. It's a Scotch-Brite Carpet Touch-Up Roller. It is just like your lint-roller for your clothes (every cat and dog owner has at least one, right?), except it's got a long wand and it stands up in a little cradle. You peel the sticky sheets off as you use them. You can buy 40-sheet refill rolls. I use it on the rug, the bare wood floor, and the furniture. When the sheets are "fresh" they even pick up kitty litter particles, which must get stuck between my cat's toes, since it is absolutely everywhere. I think I bought it at the grocery store, from the cleaning products aisle. It really helps spruce up the place and lengthen the intervals between vacuumings. ETA: do you notice the chewed-on corner of the coffee table? Happily, we've outgrown that behavior! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Man, I'm glad we have a smooth-coated BC and a short-haired cat. Of course, who in his or her right mind would eat food that didn't include at least a few pet hairs. I remember someone on - probably - the Jack Paar show who wanted to make a suit out of lint (pet hair would do) so it would attract blue serge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Actually, what I meant about heat, was do you have hot air, or baseboard? Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coloradogirl Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I got a bagless vacuume and it has lasted way longer then the bag ones especially when vacuuming all the hair!!! You can get one at wally world for the same as you would pay for a dirt devil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted1 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hehe - my Dirt Devil is bagless! I believe our heat is hot air, but I honestly don't know the difference. I'll ask when the significant other comes home from work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bailey44 Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I use a Swiffer everyday to help keep my sanity between monster vacuuming days. At least it helps that when I do have to bring the heavy machine out, Polly feels responsible and helps me. Her job? I use the carpet beater attachment on the carpets, then finish with the tile/hardwood attachment. I then take that off and put the carpet attachment back on. Polly follows me around and when she sees me do this, she knows we are done and picks up the tile/hardwood attachment and carries to the vacuum closet for me to put away. I guess she figures that she better earn her keep to make up for the mess... I still find hair everywhere--it even gets blown into the fridge. yum. Charlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coloradogirl Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Same here, my husband is always complaining cant I just have one piece of clothing without the cat, dog and your hair on it? I just smile and shrug my shoulders at him. The worst is when my MIL came over for dinner (she hates basically everything but her sweet baby boy (my DH) and she found a dog hair in the dressing she sure made a fuss about it. Anyone else I know would take it out and move on.... I still find hair everywhere--it even gets blown into the fridge. yum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 If you brush your dogs more, there's less to go around. That's really the best way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger's Dad Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I have a black suit that I cannot wear. Its like a hair magnet. The couple of times I tried to wear it I found it was actually a vacuum cleaner in disguise. Brushing does seem to help. However, I have a metal comb that I use on Ruger that really gets the hair out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Lots of good suggestions for clean up - I too use a bagless and it's held up well to several years of use (one dog tho). On the causation front: Heat source is a good one to look into - dry heat sometimes seems to dry out the coat more and increase shedding in my experience. I'd also recommend reading up on higher quality foods. Pedigree is fairly bottom rung, as are most other foods you can buy at the grocery store. Many people on here feed foods like Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, or Eagle Pack Holistic with great results. Several others feed raw and have noticed great imrovements in health. At the least, you might want to look into fish body oil or some other oil high in omegas and/or Vitamin E. Use the search function and you should turn up a recent post about coat condition and oils to watch out for as well as several threads on diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I know how you feel. Black Jack is a rough coated BC and there is hair everywhere! I brush him everynight, and he's out in his porch most of the day and there's still hair in the house. I have eaten so much black hair it's not funny. But when I have to go to town it makes me think of him when I see a little black hair on my shirt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Well, my previous dog was a GSD/Rough Collie and we had enough shed hair to stuff mattresses! Maybe it's just that the current hair supply is just light in comparison, but I don't think that Allie sheds too much. I use a cannister vacuum on the non-carpeted floors every other day or so, and a bagless vac on the carpet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Yeah if it isn't the heat causing excess shedding it could also be diet. Pedigree is a junk dog food with alot of inferior ingredients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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