Too much shedding

beanie10

Hi all. I have a boxer that I keep inside at night and in a pen during day time. He is free to run around garden when we come home. His shedding is getting to be a problem in that we would need to hoover every day to keep on top of it. No matter how many times we brush him the problem does not get better.
It's that bad when we brush him some of the hair can get caught in his throat.
Is there something else we should be doing to to reduce the shedding.

mymo

Good daily brushing should cut down on shedding, sometimes the food can cause problems, if he's not to sensitive try changing food, good quality or try adding oils to his food, oily fish like sardines and mackerel in oil, or tomato sauce.

It should be dying down by now, the weather is getting cooler, that usually helps.

Is his skin in good condition underneath?

cocker5

I have a cocker who is indoor 99.5% of the time as in he is only out for a wee and rarely sheds…

Shedding can be dramatically reduced by trying the following:

1. Adding salmon oil daily to their food –heres the one I get http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/supplements_specialty_cat_food/fur_skin_supplements/127318
It’s great for their joint / coat -general wellbeing and get for reducing shedding, I add a table spoon each day to his food

2. Daily brushing – have you looked at the furminator – http://www.zooplus.ie/esearch.htm#q%3DFURminator%26catl%3D5%26cats%3D1Dog%257C2Dog%2520Grooming%2520%2526%2520Care%257C3Combs%2520%2526%2520Trimmers%257C4FURminator
You can also get a shampoo that reduces shedding http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_grooming_care/shampoo/furminator_shampoo/183837

3. General dog food – what food are you feeding him? depending on the quality of his food will depend on his overall coat condition... poor quality food can lead to additional shedding

legallyblonde86

I have a Jack Russell/collie X. Tried everything. Brushing, change of food etc. Was told by a groomer that some dogs just shed more than others and you have to love them regardless!

cocker5

legallyblonde86 wrote: »

I have a Jack Russell/collie X. Tried everything. Brushing, change of food etc. Was told by a groomer that some dogs just shed more than others and you have to love them regardless!

have you tried adding the salmon oil their food?

sillysmiles

beanie10 wrote: »

His shedding is getting to be a problem in that we would need to hoover every day to keep on top of it.

Other people have dogs inside that don't have to hoover every day???

cocker5

sillysmiles wrote: »

Other people have dogs inside that don't have to hoover every day???

so true we only hoover once per week and that's for general dirt not dog hairs

sillysmiles

Realistically we only hoover once a week - but not because it doesn't need it :-D

loulou87

I have a boxer and she tends to shed more than another box I had a few years ago.
What I do that tends to help is - fish oils in food and I massage her once a week with olive oil and then shampoo her.. and brush her regularly

DBB

What sort of brush are you using OP?

vagazzled

I second the furminator- even at 35e (with a free bottle of spray on conditioner)
I have a JRT, a long haired cat, and 2 short haired cats. And a Dyson!
A simple dustpan & brush can be more effective on hair on wool rugs than vacuuming.
2 days without vacuuming and I get little tumbleweeds under the stars.

rockinmama

Never thought to post about this, thanks OP! I have a boarder collie who sheds like crazy, we now live with his brother who barely sheds at all... he's usually on either Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved so he's fed well, will try the fish oils and see how that works. Those tumbleweed balls of hair are starting to freak me out as there is more wooden floor space in the new house! I'm desperate at the daily brushing though, I'll have to get on that too!

cocker5

rockinmama wrote: »

Never thought to post about this, thanks OP! I have a boarder collie who sheds like crazy, we now live with his brother who barely sheds at all... he's usually on either Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved so he's fed well, will try the fish oils and see how that works. Those tumbleweed balls of hair are starting to freak me out as there is more wooden floor space in the new house! I'm desperate at the daily brushing though, I'll have to get on that too!

Just to say (not having a go or anything) but stick with the James Wellbeloved... royal canin while very expensive dog food is very low quality.
JWB is a much better quality dog food

rockinmama

cocker5 wrote: »

Just to say (not having a go or anything) but stick with the James Wellbeloved... royal canin while very expensive dog food is very low quality.
JWB is a much better quality dog food

Oh really??? :eek: Will do so! We just changed it up to give him a bit of variety and thought that considering they were similar price points they'd be the same quality... thanks for that!

cocker5

rockinmama wrote: »

Oh really??? :eek: Will do so! We just changed it up to give him a bit of variety and thought that considering they were similar price points they'd be the same quality... thanks for that!

yeah i know its confusing considering the price... if you look at the ingredients it has lots of fillers, bulking agents, bi products and little of anything else...

JWB is farrrr better so stick with that

dont worry about giving your dog variety, they aren't like us in that regard and changing food can lead to an upset tummy and bad stools etc

You could try and add a tin of sardines in oil into their food once / twice per week - this will give him a great coat (helps with shedding) and gives them a bit of variety a raw whisked egg is also great for protein and also good for their coat.

rockinmama

cocker5 wrote: »

yeah i know its confusing considering the price... if you look at the ingredients it has lots of fillers, bulking agents, bi products and little of anything else...

JWB is farrrr better so stick with that

dont worry about giving your dog variety, they aren't like us in that regard and changing food can lead to an upset tummy and bad stools etc

You could try and add a tin of sardines in oil into their food once / twice per week - this will give him a great coat (helps with shedding) and gives them a bit of variety a raw whisked egg is also great for protein and also good for their coat.

Gas! Ok will try the sardines, he is prone to an upset tummy after having surgery after swallowing a rope toy whole (traumatising!) so gets pancreatitis but he's been good for a while and only goes off his food when he's bored...

cocker5

rockinmama wrote: »

Gas! Ok will try the sardines, he is prone to an upset tummy after having surgery after swallowing a rope toy whole (traumatising!) so gets pancreatitis but he's been good for a while and only goes off his food when he's bored...

the poor guy!! Hope hes ok - god they really would eat anything!!

Just google the sardines in oil and pancreatitis -just make sure its ok for him to have it as its very oily!

http://dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/diet_and_pancreatic_diseases.html

this website appears to have great info.

I hope he has learnt his lesson

PonyMum

cocker5 wrote: »

Just to say (not having a go or anything) but stick with the James Wellbeloved... royal canin while very expensive dog food is very low quality.
JWB is a much better quality dog food

James Wellbeloved and Royal Canin are made by the same company and are equally good quality. Wellbeloved is marketed at people that prefer the idea of a more "natural" food. My previous dog thrived on James Wellbeloved but it didn't suit new dog at all, so he's on Royal Canin now and doing great 😊

cocker5

PonyMum wrote: »

James Wellbeloved and Royal Canin are made by the same company and are equally good quality. Wellbeloved is marketed at people that prefer the idea of a more "natural" food. My previous dog thrived on James Wellbeloved but it didn't suit new dog at all, so he's on Royal Canin now and doing great 😊

It doesn't matter whether they are made by the same company or not lots of companies make and sell all level of brands - from poor quality to high end the just make different profits from different foods.

Have you looked up the ingredients of Royal canin? It's poor quality I'm afraid
Google the ingredients.. Any food the has animal derivatives .. By products etc crude protein is not good quality. It's first ingredients is maize - a filler.. Second ingredients chicken bi products = crap dog food.

Google a dog food comparison website there are loads out there Royal cabin isn't a good quality food. And then google JWB far better ingredients.

If you havent looked up the actual ingredients and done proper research you cannot say they are equally good foods.

PonyMum

cocker5 wrote: »

PonyMum wrote: »

James Wellbeloved and Royal Canin are made by the same company and are equally good quality. Wellbeloved is marketed at people that prefer the idea of a more "natural" food. My previous dog thrived on James Wellbeloved but it didn't suit new dog at all, so he's on Royal Canin now and doing great 😊

It doesn't matter whether they are made by the same company or not lots of companies make and sell all level of brands - from poor quality to high end the just make different profits from different foods.

Have you looked up the ingredients of Royal canin? It's poor quality I'm afraid
Google the ingredients.. Any food the has animal derivatives .. By products etc crude protein is not good quality. It's first ingredients is maize - a filler.. Second ingredients chicken bi products = crap dog food.

Google a dog food comparison website there are loads out there Royal cabin isn't a good quality food. And then google JWB far better ingredients.

If you havent looked up the actual ingredients and done proper research you cannot say they are equally good foods.

I think your well intentioned googling may have mislead you
According to the bag of Royal Canin under my stairs the first ingredient is not maize, it's dehydrated poultry protein. Second ingredient is rice. No mention of "animal derivatives, by products etc".
If you've convinced yourself that the very similar food made by the same company is superior, so be it. If nothing else it proves their marketing works (as I mentioned, the James Wellbeloved is marketed at people that prefer the idea of a more "natural" food).
I'll keep feeding what works for my dog, and you'll feed what works for yours and we can agree to disagree on the quality issue

cocker5

PonyMum wrote:

Cocker5 wrote:

It doesn't matter whether they are made by the same company or not lots of companies make and sell all level of brands - from poor quality to high end the just make different profits from different foods.

Have you looked up the ingredients of Royal canin? It's poor quality I'm afraid
Google the ingredients.. Any food the has animal derivatives .. By products etc crude protein is not good quality. It's first ingredients is maize - a filler.. Second ingredients chicken bi products = crap dog food.

Google a dog food comparison website there are loads out there Royal cabin isn't a good quality food. And then google JWB far better ingredients.

If you havent looked up the actual ingredients and done proper research you cannot say they are equally good foods.

I think your well intentioned googling may have mislead you
According to the bag of Royal Canin under my stairs the first ingredient is not maize, it's dehydrated poultry protein. Second ingredient is rice. No mention of "animal derivatives, by products etc".
If you've convinced yourself that the very similar food made by the same company is superior, so be it. If nothing else it proves their marketing works (as I mentioned, the James Wellbeloved is marketed at people that prefer the idea of a more "natural" food).
I'll keep feeding what works for my dog, and you'll feed what works for yours and we can agree to disagree on the quality issue

Dehydrated poultry protein.. And you think that's good food? To be honest that kinda says it all .. It doesn't actually say chicken or beef etc .. That's a bulking agent and a filler nothing good about that.

I am well able to use google .. Thanks.

I also just googled the cocker Royal canin food.. First ingredients rice then maize then that dehydrated stuff.. Personally wouldn't feed that food to a dog - ask other posters on here I'm not alone in being able to read dog food ingredients.

No food that's states dehydrated protein, crude prioten, crude ash (another favourite of Royal canin) can be good for a dog - the poor ingredients speak for themselves.. On all dog food comparison websites it gets a 2.5 stars - poor earring due to its poor ingredients.

Yes your right let's agree to disagree the quality of ingredients speak for themselves in this case.

cocker5

Btw I don't feed my dog JWB either..

PonyMum

cocker5 wrote: »

Btw I don't feed my dog JWB either..

I have no doubt you can use google, but without meaning to be condescending, what Google gives you is information, not an understanding of how to apply it.

So take the dehydrated poultry protein. Well, JWB lamb and rice, first ingredient is lamb meal. Not lamb. That's the dried, rendered parts of lamb tissue (thanks Google!). So in other words, dehydrated lamb protein. Essentially the same as Royal Canin....

And as for crude protein and crude ash... Well, they're not actual ingredients. You're mixing up ingredients with nutritional analysis. Crude protein is just the total amount of protein in the food (actually nitrogen content x 6.25), crude ash is the total amount of minerals in the food, so basically what would be left if you burnt away all the protein, carbohydrates etc... All food would have crude protein and crude ash, even "people" food.
James Wellbeloved lamb and rice is 20% crude protein and 8.8% crude ash

cocker5

PonyMum wrote: »

I have no doubt you can use google, but without meaning to be condescending, what Google gives you is information, not an understanding of how to apply it.

So take the dehydrated poultry protein. Well, JWB lamb and rice, first ingredient is lamb meal. Not lamb. That's the dried, rendered parts of lamb tissue (thanks Google!). So in other words, dehydrated lamb protein. Essentially the same as Royal Canin....

And as for crude protein and crude ash... Well, they're not actual ingredients. You're mixing up ingredients with nutritional analysis. Crude protein is just the total amount of protein in the food (actually nitrogen content x 6.25), crude ash is the total amount of minerals in the food, so basically what would be left if you burnt away all the protein, carbohydrates etc... All food would have crude protein and crude ash, even "people" food.
James Wellbeloved lamb and rice is 20% crude protein and 8.8% crude ash

Like I already stated I don't feed my dog JWB and I wouldn't feed him Royal canin .. Due to its poor ingredients , bulking agents and fillers.

I feed my dog a grain feed food with lots of veg , salmon oil and lean meats and fish for a more balanced diet.

Why don't you ask all the other posters on here for their opinions... If you think I'm off the mark on Royal canin? 99% will agree .

Like you already stated let's agree to disagree..

If your happy with what you feed your dog then so be it!

PonyMum

cocker5 wrote: »

Like I already stated I don't feed my dog JWB and I wouldn't feed him Royal canin .. Due to its poor ingredients , bulking agents and fillers.

I feed my dog a grain feed food with lots of veg , salmon oil and lean meats and fish for a more balanced diet.

Why don't you ask all the other posters on here for their opinions... If you think I'm off the mark on Royal canin? 99% will agree .

Like you already stated let's agree to disagree..

If your happy with what you feed your dog then so be it!

Jen Pigs Fly

The company that makes Royal canin and JWB also make pedigree .....



Digest that for a second (well your dog can't anyway ....)

My doggies are thriving on champion grain free with fish oils added and the odd egg, and shedding is kept to a minimum and I've a Labrador and a LurcherXStaffy.
They used to be fed taste of the wild, Eden or origin but I found the champion suits the staffyXLurcher as she is 13 years old!

PonyMum

xxxJennyxxx wrote: »

The company that makes Royal canin and JWB also make pedigree .....



Digest that for a second (well your dog can't anyway ....)

My doggies are thriving on champion grain free with fish oils added and the odd egg, and shedding is kept to a minimum and I've a Labrador and a LurcherXStaffy.
They used to be fed taste of the wild, Eden or origin but I found the champion suits the staffyXLurcher as she is 13 years old!

Yes. Ultimately Mars group owns them. But if you look at a lower level you'll find that Royal Canin was floated on the stock exchange and used some of the revenue generated to buy the JWB brand. So Royal Canin directly controls JWB. Anyway, look, my point was just that Royal Canin and JWB are comparable foods, not whether they're better than whatever holy grail of doggy goodness anyone else likes to feed their pets. Life's short, my dog's a dog and if he's doing well on what I'm feeding him I happy out

As an aside, back in the days before "premium" dog foods were a "thing" I had a dog that lived a happy and healthy 18 years on Pedigree. Not saying it's a good food before anyone reports me for animal cruelty

Bowing out now, I think this post has gone a bit off topic. But my dog doesn't shed much. And he's very big and hairy

aonb

I had 3 dogs - 2 JRT X & 1 collie, up until last november.
The tumbleweeds of dog hair rolling through the house might have been embarrassing but its the price we pay for having animals as members of our indoor family
We now have only 1 dog & 1 cat, and the fur tumbleweeds are NOT reduced in any way. Winter/summer shedding doesnt seem to make a difference either!
I reckon the dog looses his bodyweight in fur every week
My daughter says it takes a week of being back at college to get the animal hair off her clothes
As I say, the price for having pets.
Life is too short to worry about it - let it go - ignore it - rise above it - or just brush every day, and vacuum every day, and get some oil into his diet

Ashbx

PonyMum wrote: »

As an aside, back in the days before "premium" dog foods were a "thing" I had a dog that lived a happy and healthy 18 years on Pedigree. Not saying it's a good food before anyone reports me for animal cruelty

I do believe in giving your dog the best food you can afford but I also have to agree with you. Our old family dog lived to 18 years old too....eating spars own brand wet dog food!

Nody

What I don't understand is why people are paying top dollars for rice, maize etc. by buying Royal Canin, JWB etc. when for about the same price you can get a totally grain free food such as Taste of the Wild which is a significant step up in quality by comparison...

aonb

I have a large bag of Royal Canin Adult Neutered dog food. A gift (for my post op dog ) Usually feed home cooked, but we are going abroad for several weeks, so some kibble will be useful. Ive tried to exchange it at a couple of large stores for James Wellbeloved etc, but cant without a receipt. So being the frugal person I am, Im torn between just feeding it to him or donating it to our shelter

oh and, while on the subject. Dog is post-op from a replaced cruciate ligament. He has become anxious/stressy (understandable) but this dog who would eat anything has now become a bit fussy about his food too. He is on anti-inflammatory/pain medication - RIMADYL 20mg - anyone have experience of this causing tummy issues/going off food?? He's going to the vet on Monday, so will ask that question then too - but in case anyone here found similar?

tk123

aonb wrote: »

I have a large bag of Royal Canin Adult Neutered dog food. A gift (for my post op dog ) Usually feed home cooked, but we are going abroad for several weeks, so some kibble will be useful. Ive tried to exchange it at a couple of large stores for James Wellbeloved etc, but cant without a receipt. So being the frugal person I am, Im torn between just feeding it to him or donating it to our shelter

oh and, while on the subject. Dog is post-op from a replaced cruciate ligament. He has become anxious/stressy (understandable) but this dog who would eat anything has now become a bit fussy about his food too. He is on anti-inflammatory/pain medication - RIMADYL 20mg - anyone have experience of this causing tummy issues/going off food?? He's going to the vet on Monday, so will ask that question then too - but in case anyone here found similar?

Does your vet stock the RC - they might take it from you and credit your account - I've done that before I had a big bottle of metacam left over from Bailey's op last year but the vet couldn't take it from me because it was a different brand (loxicom) It would have been close to €100!
For Rimadyl - yes one of the side affects is stomach upset (we've never had an issue with it thank god!) - ask the vet to exchange whatever you have left for one of the others eg Metacam or Previcox... we've had them all at this stage lol!!

aonb

Thanks for that TK123. Not a real issue - plus I am trying to keep his weight down since he has zero activity - but if the vet renews the meds on monday I will definately ask for one of the other 2.

tk123

aonb wrote: »

Thanks for that TK123. Not a real issue - plus I am trying to keep his weight down since he has zero activity - but if the vet renews the meds on monday I will definately ask for one of the other 2.

I'd ask for some to have on hand just in case if the vet isn't planning on renewing them? When Bailey had his surgeries were given 2 weeks supply by the surgeon but my vet gave me extra to have on hand - I did end up using some of it a few weeks in when he was very uneasy and I knew he was in a bit of pain.

aonb

tk123 wrote: »

I'd ask for some to have on hand just in case if the vet isn't planning on renewing them? When Bailey had his surgeries were given 2 weeks supply by the surgeon but my vet gave me extra to have on hand - I did end up using some of it a few weeks in when he was very uneasy and I knew he was in a bit of pain.

Jeez, hadnt thought of that 8-( We are off abroad for 5 weeks, so it would be a disaster if I didnt have some. He doesnt seem to be in any pain, from what I can tell - apart from being very clingy. I think more bored/fed-up without his 2 walks and playing all day long. He must have pain though or he would put his foot down? Hes perky, and the tail is up, but even hobbling all day must be tiring.

In prep for the big trip, Ive rehomed my hens - bawled buckets on the way to my friends with the hens clucking in the back!! How Im going to put Tux (the cat) into a cattery for 5 weeks - thoughts of it is just making me feel ill I swear these pets are more worry/heartbreak than human children! I think sometimes that I will not replace any of the pets as they go, but life without someone to walk and talk to all day would be pretty bleak!