10 Natural Ways You Can Reduce Dog Shedding
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Even if your dog is the cleanest dog with the shortest hair in the world, he or she is very likely still shedding all over your house. It is life; dogs shed and there is very little you do can do about it. You can try and stop the shedding, but it won’t work. The best you can do is to minimize shedding to make your life just a little simpler and a little more enjoyable. You can, of course, choose a dog to have in your home based on shedding factors, and dogs with shorter hair tend to be easier to care for. You could choose a dog that’s hypoallergenic, such as a Maltese/Poodle mix (Maltipoo). This is a good example of a dog that does not shed. And since my husband and I had one of our very own for about five years, I can assure you that there is absolute truth to the fact that this dog does not shed. But, if you choose a dog that does not have the hypoallergenic factor going on, you’re going to need to come up with a few tricks for keeping your home as hair free as possible, and we have a few for you here. These tips are all natural ways you can prevent excessive shedding and minimize the shedding that’s happening in your life thanks to your canine companion.
Feed Your Dog a Healthy Diet
You are what you eat, and the same is true of your dog. Your dog is going to be a lot healthier if he or she is given a healthy diet rather than something that’s unhealthy. When your dog consumes food that does not agree with his or her lifestyle, his or her coat will suffer. The healthier your dog eats, the better he or she will be in terms of coat health.
Get that Dog to the Vet
You might not consider this a way to prevent shedding, but it is. The less often you go to the vet for checkups, the more often your dog will suffer from things unknown to you. This means his or her coat might suffer from health issues you know nothing about. The vet can treat health issues and keep your dog’s coat as healthy as possible.
Brush Your Dog Daily
Your dog can lose a lot of hair every day, and brushing is going to prevent much of that hair from being lost all over your furniture. You can be sure your dog is going to have a much healthier coat and a much happier lifestyle if you are able to brush the dog with regularity. Your dog is going to lose most of that hair in the brush instead of all over your house.
Get the Right Brush
Now you just need the right brush. You can talk to someone at the pet store or even to your vet about this. It’s not always easy to determine which brush is going to work best for which dog unless you know a lot about dogs, brushes and grooming. Just be aware that you’ll do a lot better choosing a brush if you have the opinion of someone who is familiar with this concept.
Use a Healthy Coat Vitamin
Some dogs will see a great reduction in hair loss with a healthy cat vitamin. These are something you should first discuss with your vet to ensure it’s not going to affect the health of your dog. Once you have a clear answer and you’re able to find the right vitamin, however, you’re going to be very happy you chose to do this.
Use Flea Control
The less your dog scratches, the less hair he will lose. If he or she is suffering from fleas, it’s time to get rid of that issue and start working on something a bit healthier and less stressful. A dog with fleas is going to lose significantly more hair than a dog without, so now is a good time to go ahead and have your dog treated for fleas and keep the treatments active to prevent fleas in the future.
Do the Doggie Bath Thing
Not all dogs should be washed too often. It’s not good for their skin and can cause skin irritation, which is not what you want. They do, however, need baths. This is especially true during the summer when dogs are more likely to suffer from issues such as dry skin, irritated skin and sweaty skin that has other issues. Wash your dog more often during the summer than you would other times throughout the year, but also be sure to wash with something that will not irritate his skin. Your vet can provide you with good recommendations.
Make the Vacuum Your Friend
Since you cannot completely rid your dog of shedding issues, you can at least make sure your house doesn’t become a dog hair mess. One way to do this is to make the vacuum your best friend. Do what we do in our house – even though we don’t have a dog – and vacuum nightly. It’s a quick process that doesn’t require much effort but that does have a huge impact on the cleanliness of your home.
Cover Furniture
If you have furniture you don’t want dog hair on, cover it. We are by no means suggesting you go the plastic wrap route on your furniture and make it look like….that. Maybe just try and keep a blanket or something on the cushions when you’re not home and you suspect the dog is climbing on the furniture and getting dog hair everywhere. Go ahead and cover it up as best you can in those instances to keep it cleaner.
Train the Dog to Stay Off the Furniture
One great way to minimize shedding on your furniture is to stop your dog from getting on it all together. You can tell your dog that you want him off and teach him to obey that command. We can’t promise you he won’t make it his home the second you leave the room, but you can make your best case.
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