.....

[joy]

I'll try this again.

Boy better be sure of what you're doing when you start a new thread, lol.

Our dog is part lab, part german shepard. He is older, very large and right now shedding a lot. You can't walk on our hardwood floors without the hair drifting around :p . I don't know how long it takes for dog's hair to grow back and I'd not want him to get too cold when cooler weather begins. Our winters are mild but again I don't want doggie to have any more troubles. He is such a good natured thing hubby pondered taking the clippers and doing the job himself. What do you think, pet lovers? Shave or not.

[tic chick]

lol, joy. thought maybe you had a good joke in comic relief.:)

i got a part black lab and part something else and he sheds as much as yours. i literally sweep and vacuum everyday.

there is a doggy grooming tool called a "shedding blade". it is a round metal loop with teeth on it attached to a handle. plus, you would need a fine-toothed metal comb that would get at the underhairs on his coat. you have to diligently use it daily and your dog would shed more for a while, but then the shedding wouldn't be as bad and you could cut back on doing it.

i also thought about having my dog's hair cut. he's an inside dog except for a lot of playtime in the summer and less in the winter. i would have it cut by a dog groomer, though. i wouldn't shave to the skin, just maybe cut half of his length off. although i really don't think that would solve the shedding problem, you would just have shorter hairs to sweep. :D

the daily grooming has worked well for me this summer.

http://bestsmileys.com/dogs/3.gif

jeannie

[Buttons2]

My rather wild theory? We had a Bouvier & she was kept shaved,I hated that cause she just looked like a giant Scottie! But housemate won out & she was kept clipped very short.

Then she developed skin cancer. So I've always felt that God gave some dogs long fur for a reason! The lesions were never there when her fur was long & thick,then all of a sudden there were 7 of them. At first we tried changing her food (per the vet's suggestion,and of course a brand of food he carried that was terribly expensive),after a few months & no clear up of the lesions he finally biopsied them & removed them.

A year later she had to be put down for cancer inside her body.

This is just my story/experience.

Now my dog Rags also sheds like crazy,I have a neat little plastic brush with a lift off part that collects the fur,I empty this 5-6 times everytime I brush him! I also just pull out the tuffs around his neck. Yeah,he makes a big mess,but I use a shop vac to clean the hardwood floors. Luckily we don't have any carpet.....that would be a different matter!

OT, but we have just changed both dogs diet,to an expensive no grain diet. I'm already noticing far less scratching,and will be curious to see if it helps with the shedding.

Just my 2 cents.
Buttons

[joy]

I guess hubby will keep up the grooming and I'll keep up the sweeping, lol. Hubby got a WalMart sack full of hair and there was enough more to go around the next day!

tic chick we have one of those wire brushes here somewhere so I'll look it up. Meanness just came in here right on cue! You'd think I called his name. Now how did that dog know I was writing about him, lol.

I was having a hard time wanting to see him clipped anyway. He is a handsome dog with all that fur. He looks more like a german shepard and his coloring is so pretty.

Thanks for the advice.