Dogs give us so much. A warm, furry welcome when we come home from a hard day; unconditional love and affection; wet-nosed kisses when we’re unhappy.
One unwelcome gift is the shed hair that collects around any dog. Pets shed to get rid of old, damaged, or dead hair; they shed in spring to adjust for warmer temperatures; sometimes, it seems like they shed just for the fun of it.
Even short-coated dogs lose a phenomenal amount of hair every day. Dog hair is clingy and static, so it sticks to everything: floors, clothes, upholstery. Not only does it look unsightly, shed pet hair is a breeding ground for dust mites that can cause allergies.
If you’re sick of seeing snowdrifts of fur all around your house, try these products to discourage shedding and clean up the mess.
Types of de-shedding products: brushes, rakes, combs, dietary supplements, a revolutionary bathing tool and blades designed to reduce shedding.
1. Pet grooming gloves
Grooming gloves are a fun and easy way to brush away your dog’s stray hair. The textured surface of the gloves is designed to loosen and collect dog hair. Pets love the sensation of being groomed by hundreds of little bobbles, and it’s great for pets who hate being combed. The gentle scraping motion also loosens dead skin, so these are great to use in the bath instead of harsh scrubbing brushes.
Regular brushing does more than reducing shedding. It’s essential for healthy skin and shiny fur. Brushing allows for essential skin oils to spread through the coat and removes dirt.
2. FURminator
You wash him, you brush him, you towel-dry…and twenty minutes later, Fido is shedding all over your sofa again. Brushing only removes the long surface hair, and it doesn’t touch the short hairs of your pet’s undercoat. This clever squeegee-shaped comb is designed to penetrate all the layers of your dog’s coat, from the coarse outer hair to the soft fuzz next to his skin. It’ll drag out a lot of dead hair (seriously, a LOT: wear goggles and a facemask), reducing you pet’s shedding by up to 90% afterwards.
“I am astounded how much of my dog’s undercoat is removed with the FURminator. He looks at least 10 pounds slimmer now.”
3. Kong Zoom Groom
Short-haired dogs can be a nightmare for shedding. Long-haired breeds might produce more hair, but they’re also much easier to groom, and the length of the coat tends to catch stray hairs until they’re brushed away. But brushes and combs don’t work well on short coats, and too-vigorous grooming can cause skin irritation on short-haired breeds.
This grooming brush has rubberized teeth, which serve a double purpose: they’re gentler on the skin than plastic or metal bristles, and their sticky surface collects hair rather than sweeping it onto the floor. Every few swipes, bang the brush hard against the inside of the trashcan to dislodge the hair and clean the bristles. Made by the company famous for it’s dog chew toy.
4. Skin and Coat Supplement
Many pet owners swear by dietary supplements to reduce their pet’s shedding. Excess hair loss can be caused by underlying health problems, so if your dog seems unwell or listless, then your veterinarian might recommend medication or supplements to help. In healthy dogs, excess shedding can be caused by a lack of fat in the diet, so adding flaxseed or omega oils to your pet’s food may create an improvement.
Shedding supplements usually contain fatty acids along with vitamin B, brewer’s yeast, and minerals. If your dog’s shedding is caused by a vitamin deficiency, these supplements will make a huge difference; even if they don’t work to stop your pet’s shedding, those extra nutrients will probably do your dog good.
Supplements are cheap and easy to incorporate into your pet’s diet, so it’s worth experimenting with them for a few months to see whether they make a difference.
Reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Check them out.
5. Pet hair roller
However diligently you clean your home, there’s always a few stray hairs that make it onto your clothes. These sticky rollers are designed to trap and lift pet hair: give yourself a once-over before leaving the house to ensure your clothes are looking their best.
The sticky surface is kinder to fabric than a clothes brush, and the handle means you can get at hard-to-reach places. You can also use them to quickly lift hair from upholstery, saving you the trouble of vacuuming your sofa every time you have company coming over.
6. Dog shedding reducing shampoo
This shed-reducing shampoo actually acts by encouraging shedding – but only while washing. As you lather your dog up with this shampoo, you’ll find his hair will start to fall out in your hands – it gets messy. The more hair he loses during bathtime, the less is left to drop on your carpet afterwards.
Some dog owners find that their pet sheds more shortly after treatment, but this drops off after a few days. This kind of shampoo is great for dogs with a double-layered coat (like Alsatians) which can’t be trimmed in the same way as long-haired breeds.
7. Pet hair vacuum cleaner
You could use any old DustBuster to clean up after your pet: why choose a special pet hair vac? If you’ve ever had to drag hairballs out of the carpet brush attachment, you’ll know that not all vacuum cleaners work well at picking up fur.
Consumer Reports tested a range of machines on how well they cleaned pet hair out of a carpet. They found that most normal vacuum cleaners struggled with dog hair; specialist pet vacs usually worked great at grabbing hair, but performed poorly at other tasks like picking up crumbs.
Only one pet vacuum made their recommendations list. CR also found a couple of handheld machines which cleared up shed fur efficiently – if your current vacuum cleaner works well on everything but fur, consider getting a hand-held as an affordable way to help with clean-ups.
[..]some of those that excelled at pet hair removal were lackluster at other tasks. In fact, only one of the full-size pet vacuums made our recommended list, the bagged upright Hoover WindTunnel T-Series Pet UH30310.
8. Wearable water sprayer and bath scrubber
Did you know…? An effective way to get rid of excess hair is to give your dog frequent baths. Yet many dog’s don’t like to get bathed. As a result the activity quickly turns into a water wrestling match. This innovative tool gives you more control when bathing your dog and gives him a good ol’ scrubbing at the same time. The Aquapaw injects water in his fur instead of spraying it on him making the experience much more pleasant for both of you.
Pre-order at Kickstarter.
Last Updated on February 8, 2017 by Tyler