Dogs naturally lose their old and damaged hair by shedding. However, it may be a normal process for you. The amount of hair they shed usually depends on their breed and health. Shedding will also depend on the season. Dogs usually develop thick hairs during winter and then shed excessively during the spring.
So, if you are having problems with your dog’s shedding, what can you do to stop or at least lessen the amount of dog hair fall?
Lucky for you, we have listed several easy methods that you can do below to help you stop a dog shedding.
10 Easy Methods To Do to Stop Dog Shedding
1. Feed Your Pet with High-Quality Food
Dogs that are eating healthy food also mean having a dog with a healthy and shiny coating. As we have mentioned earlier, as long as you’re feeding your pet with high-quality dog foods, the healthier their coat will be and the less amount of hair they would shed.
Most food packages for pets usually come with an Association of American Feed Control Officials Statement, which could help you discern if the food would meet your pet’s nutritional needs. But be sure to consult it with your pet’s vet to know if the nutrition it contains is enough for your furry friend.
2. Control Fleas and Allergies
Did you know that fleas and allergies can also cause excessive dog shedding? Due to itchy allergies and flea bites, it will only cause your dog to keep scratching their body, causing them to shed more hair. Shedding is the first thing you’ll see if your dog is infested with dog fleas.
So, if you think your doggo is shedding more than they normally do, you should check their coat if they are covered in fleas. If your pet does, use an anti-flea shampoo and powder to kill and prevent your furry best friend from getting invested again.
3. Regular Brushing
If your pet naturally sheds a lot and doesn’t have any health conditions or fleas, then we suggest that you brush their coat regularly to lessen the amount of hair fall. If they have a long or thick coating, you should comb them regularly to make them less annoying when cleaning the house.
We are fully aware that cleaning the house with all the fur flying around can make the job harder to finish. Therefore, if you don’t want to vacuum the air as well, then we recommend you comb or brush your pet’s hair every day, or maybe even three times a day.
4. Use Lint Rollers
Aside from shedding, another problem that dog owners could face is dog hairs sticking on their dark-colored clothes, furniture, and other surfaces. This is where lint rollers work effectively. You can roll the sticky adhesive through surfaces like the sofa, bed, clothes, tables, and even on your dog to help lessen the amount of hair fall. Having dog hairs on your clothes cannot be prevented, but you can lessen the amount of it sticking on your clothes and furniture.
5. Bathe Your Pet Regularly
Doing regular bath times can remove your furry friend’s loose, damaged, and excess hair on their body. However, you should search how frequently you should bathe your pet, especially if your dog has thick and long fur. The recommended bathing schedule should be at least once every 1 or 2 weeks.
Bathing your pet weekly or every other week could prevent your pet’s skin from drying, hence preventing excess shedding. Before bathing your pet, make sure that it is gentle on your pet’s skin to avoid any skin irritation. After bathing your pet, comb and dry their coat to remove the hair that hasn’t been washed off during bath time.
6. Groom Your Doggo
This method isn’t much of use for those who own dogs with short hair like pugs. It’s mostly meant for owners with long-haired dogs, such as Golden Retriever, Shih Tzu, Samoyed, and other dog breeds with long hairs. If you groom your pet on your own, take your time and be gentle to make grooming easier.
While grooming your dog, make sure to brush their coat to remove their loose and damaged hair. Grooming is also very important during summer so that your pet won’t get a heat stroke.
7. Provide Plenty of Water
When your pet is dehydrated, it causes their skin to dry and increases dog shedding. So, always make sure that your dog has access to water. You can provide an ounce of water for an adult dog, but it would be much better to provide your pet with unlimited access to water.
Aside from placing a water bowl on their usual feeding area, you can also consider placing a couple of water bowls around the house, especially during summer, where pets getting heatstroke is common.
8. Add Fatty Acids in their Food
Adding in some Omega-3 fatty acids can help enhance the health of your pet’s coating and control the amount of shedding by decreasing their dandruff and helping soothe their irritated skin. You can purchase a specially formulated omega-3 supplement from a pet store, or you can add some flaxseed oil or olive oil to your meal.
The recommended amount of oil you can add is 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of dog’s body weight. So, if your dog weighs around 30 pounds, you can add three teaspoons of olive oil or flaxseed oil to their food. You can also put the oil on your dog’s coat, but they could only lick it off their body or spread the oil everywhere in your house.
9. Do Regular Checkups
Take your dog to the vet at least once a month to prevent any skin diseases. Your pet’s veterinarian knows a lot of things about your dog’s health as well as their well-being. Therefore, regular checkups are recommended to ensure that no diseases infect your pet’s health without you knowing.
If your pet is shedding more than it used to, but you don’t have any reason that has caused it, don’t hesitate to bring your pet to their vet. Some health issues could be caused by allergies, mites, infection, trauma, hormonal imbalance, and ringworm.
10. Consider Using a De-Shedding Tool
Is your dog a natural heavy shedder? Then consider purchasing a de-shedding tool that you can use to lessen the amount of dog shedding. Tools like these works by reaching to your dog’s topcoat to help remove most of your pet’s loose hair, which is placed around their undercoat, without injuring or hurting their skin during the process.
Some de-shedding tools claim that they can reduce the amount of shedding by around 90%, as long as the tool is used in the right way. These tools are much more effective when used in spring, which is the month where your pet’s winter coat is falling, as well as during the fall season, where their winter coat is starting to grow.
Conclusion
Did you enjoy reading the following methods above? If so, which method would you be trying first? Comment your answer down below.
Now that you know why your dog sheds and how you can lessen the amount of their shedding, you will be able to practice how you can control dog hairs that are flying around the house. We have made this list about how to stop dog shedding as we care about you and your pet’s well-being. Therefore, we hope that this article has helped you a lot with your pet’s shedding problems.