Excessive Shedding!!!

[hannahjoe]

Hi Guys, I wanted to ask if anyone is having a problem with excessive shedding? I have a 9, 91/2 year old male rottie that is shedding like crazy!! I brush him every day and come up with SEVERAL "hair filled" brushes. I can stop brushing him and still see the hair that needs to come off. Allot of it is undercoat, which I THINK I got most of that gone over the last couple of weeks, but it is still excessive with daily brushings. I feed the RAW diet and that is supose to help with shedding, but not in this case. I know age has something to do with dogs shedding as well, but this is crazy. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Lisa

[brunie's mom]

It may be time to take him into the vets for a complete blood and urine work-up. He is a good age for a Rott, and the time for things to start falling apart.
If everything is good with his blood work-up, I would be seeing if maybe the raw diet you are feeding needs some tweaking. Is he getting enough vitamins and minerals? Is zinc lacking? Are you feeding enough variety in meats, organ meats, liver,etc? What veggies?? Are there enough fatty acids in the diet ? Omega 3, and 6??

Gina

[hannahjoe]

Thanks, I may need to change his raw diet around. I work at a vet's office and just checked his urine and bloodwork, he was fine, so maybe it's changing some of his foods around. At least I hope that's all it is.
Thanks

[brandygirl]

Some Rotties shed more than others - I have one on the moore side There is some stuff (like an oil) you can buy at the pet store..... I think maybe called Vita-coat which is supposed to reduce shedding. Some dog's it helps more than others. You should do a search on here - I know I posted with a similar prob. last year.

Do be careful on the brushing though. Depending on what brush you use it could chafe your pup's skin. I have a small array of brushes that seem to work decent for me. I start with a slicker for the undercoat - do a few rounds of that, use a knife.saw blade for a few rounds and then I usually brush for a while using a rubber brushing glove. That removes the loose fur while giving the pup a nice massage. As an aside - if you have a problem with static when brushing.... try rubbing a bounce sheet on the dog before brushing (I usually use an old one) - it sounds funny but it works.

Good luck

[Paulos]

C'mon Hannah...after 9 1/2 years...aren't you used to it by now? Mine sheds a lot too, but I have not found a cure...and I don't think there is one. Like you, I brush a lot and I also vaccuum the house often.
What I have tried: Omegas 3, and 6. fish oil capsules, many premium foods, and other oil supplements. I hope someone proves us both wrong...maybe there is a cure...???

[Carol Burke]

I started adding vitamin E & Selenium and noticed somewhat less shedding. I feed raw also.

[sweetkate]

Aside from there being an actual problem(there may be, but that is for the vet to decide)...you just have to learn to let things go sometimes. I have to vaccum more than I EVER did, but it is worth having my big guy around. I HATE scooping poop EVERY day. I HATE it, but I LOVE living with my dogs MUCH MUCH more!!! If there isn't a problem, I'd just learn to love to vaccum a little a more and don't let them on the furniture!

[frontierrots]

It's something about the weather (at least here in New England) this year (cold, hot, cold, wicked hot, cool, hot)

My own dogs are on their third round of shedding! AND as a better indicator that the world is insane :) darn near every kennel client (we have a client base of 2000+ owners) coming in this year, even those with smooth dogs, has complained about how much their dogs are shedding this year. Almost every dog we groom as well is shedding gobs of coat

This is the kibble fed, the crappy kibble fed and the raw fed dogs; no exceptions

[livertw]

Daisy, age 5, is shedding like crazy right now! I thoroughly brushed her Wednesday evening (enough hair to make at least two or three small dogs), swept the floor, and this morning (Friday) the tumbleweeds of black hair on the kitchen floor looked like a barbershop on a busy day!!! Maybe it is this year's crazy weather: wet, dry, hot, cold, hot hot hot, cool...... she is really outdoing herself!!!

[mrsgrubby]

Please make sure your vet did all the necessary tests like for a tumor and also thyroid. We lost our favorite Rottweiler last fall after she began to shed more than normal. It turned out she was sick and it was missed and she died. Our vet guessed she had a tumor on her liver or kidney but never did an autopsy to find out.

[hannahjoe]

Yes, I work for a vet and did all kinds of blood work, urine tests, you name it and it came up with nothing. His blood work is great! So I am going to chalk it up to old age! Since nothing else seems to be wrong with him.

[LORHEL]

Yes, my girl is shedding probably twice as much lately. I had wondered if it was due to the hotter than usual summer, and we've had absolutely no moisture/rain for ages.

She is on fish oil capsules, and a kibble for those who have allergy sensitivities.

[Mochasmom]

I had mentioned excessive shedding to my vet a while ago and he too thought it to be due to the crazy weather this year. The dogs just didnt know if they should shed or grow hair!