Hello -

Back in the US I used to buy a liquid fish oil from PetCo which helped reduce my dog's shedding dramatically. I tried one brand here but it doesn't seem to be helping at all. Also went to Qualipet this week and found nothing.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!!

Our dogs shed a lot. They are short haired dogs. (Basset Hounds).We have tried everything...slicker brush, loop shaped shedding tool, and finally, the Furminator deshedding tool as well as regular brushing and still lots of hair everywhere.

At times I think that the Miele dog and cat vacuum was really meant to use directly on the dog.

I do find that after a bath using shampoo and cream rinse the shedding is less. The best solution seems to be regular brushing with a soft bristle brush. I have never applied any oil products to the dogs' coats.

Just to clarify - are you talking about a fish oil additive to the dog's food, or a topical treatment?

If a food additive, I give my guys Fjordpet Lachsöl, a salmon oil product, to help keep their coats looking shiny and healthy.

Some people say that it helps reduce shedding. I can't comment on that, though, because nothing - and I mean nothing - will stop a sheltie from shedding. There are days when I swear I have sheltie-fur tumbleweeds rolling around the house. And that's about 10 minutes after vacuuming.

(Thank doG the collies don't shed... much. )

Nonetheless, the dogs' coats look much better when they have a little fish oil in their food a few times a week. I used to use a salmon oil from Fressnapf (Mc -Something or other), but didn't see any coat improvement, where with the Fjordpet I have.

I get Fjordpet from Meiko:

http://www.meiko.ch/index.cfm?shopar...77E989D73CE590

Or, you can get it from Zooplus in Germany:

http://www.zooplus.de/shop/hunde/hun...ung/haut_haare

(It's far cheaper from Germany, but Zooplus usually sends things DHL to Switzerland. If you get hit with the Zoll - and thus DHL admin costs - that often eats up the savings.)

If you are looking for a specific brand, you also might ask at a Reformhaus.

Like Mrs D, I just brush. And brush. And brush.

Meloncollie, if you start now you will have an entire scarf collection for winter, or you could make sweaters for the dogs

http://www.bbkirk.com/Dog%20Hair%20Yarn.htm

Too bad Basset hair is too short for spinning.

Amazing.

We thought that Lily was shedding a bit more than usual this year, so we asked the vet and he recommended fish oil. We got a bottle of Omega 3 Fish oil capsules from the vet and I empty the contents of 2 caps into her food in the AM. The shedding is marginally better, but her coat looks good, and since she´s been taking fish oil, she´s a lot calmer. Always good for an angsty pup. Since fish oil has the same effect on some people, it makes sense.

The stuff from the vet was chf 42 for 100 caps. Since I buy suppliments from iHerb in the US, I´m going to get the next bottle there.

Handy hint from someone who used to groom dogs for a living years and years ago, try this ....make sure you do it outside or on the balcony though ... put on a pair of rubber washing up gloves, used gloves work best, and run your hands over the dog. Works much better than a brush and the dogs love it ..not a remedy but helps to control the problem ..

That is priceless!

Although with all the fur I end up wearing as a matter of course (for stick-to-it-ivness, sheltie fur beats velcro hands down ) I wonder if anyone would even notice if I wore a scarf made of the stuff...

Actually, I can't decide if wearing spun doggie fur is the coolest thing since sliced bread - or if I'd feel ever so slightly Cruella De Ville-ish. Hmmm...

Fantastic site, Mrs D - thanks!

I have a "zoom groom" brush-like thing that I bought in the US... it´s rubber, and has fat teeth-like bristles. I´ve seen them in fressnapf too- made by Kong. Wonder if that´s the same idea. Gets lots of hair and seems to have a nice massage like action.

Thanks for the advice and product info - we'll give it a go and cross our fingers!!

One of my parent's dog's liked being vacuumed with one of those small portable vacuum cleaners - that sorted out her hair problem a bit as she would lie there with her eyes closed for ages whilst being vacuumed.

The other dog, however, would have had your arm off if you so much as looked at her whilst wielding said vacuum cleaner.

I have resigned myself to a bathroom lined with white tiles and bits of black fur despite combing the dog almost every day. The dog thinks the comb and brush are toys and gives me a cheeky look when I groom her before trying to eat the equipment.

We have the same problem as you with our Fudge... he shed s worse than anyone or thing i ve ever known, If i dont hoover every day , within two days were knee deep in Fur.... i take him to the dog wash regualrly and he does like being hoovered , but , it doesnt really help. Instead of fish oil , i was given a cheaper option of sunflower oil, that you cook with pour two tablespoons of it on his feed twice a week, it does help a bit .

During our "prime time" we had two Newfs and the accompanying hairy problems.
The only solution was to give them a quick (15 min) once-over daily with a big brush to get rid of the fine loose hairs and a thorough deep groom with a long-pronged comb for the thick undercoat once a week. As for vacuuming, well - suffice it to say that James Dyson deserves to be canonised At least the fluff floating around our place was nice and shiny (olive oil twice per week in their food)

The coat is very shiny if you don't use shampoo unnecessarily (which is like almost never!). Not using shampoo is recommended by the Guide Dog School.

I think I should use the brush more often for the outer coat as I already do use the long-toothed metal comb for the under coat quite frequently. Come to think of it, the hairs in the bathroom are from the outer coat.

When i was working at a vets in the UK we had a maine coon cat in for dematting and grooming. I was amazed by the owners request that we keep the unmatted shedded hair for her. Turns out she spins it, knits squares, sows them onto white linen and turns it into cushion covers!!! I was flabbergasted!

ok i hoovered the dog, and in the interests of science i hooverd 300 grams of fur off him, he wasnt sure about the hoover at first... he just sat there looking at me one eyebrow raised , saying please dont do this daddy .. then he sort of got into it and start moving around to the bits that tickled.. so we made a game of it , he was happy and so was i... however he has now dropped a further 300 grams of fur on the floor in the last 24 hours... so im not sure hoovering actually does anything except stimulate the fur to fall out .. I could knit a duvet a week at this rate .. :S

Maybe he enjoyed the experience so much he is giving himself a good shake and tugging at his fur so you will do it again.

You are now his doggy slave...

We hardly ever shampooed the Newfs because it would have destroyed the protective natural fattiness/greasiness of their fur which waterproofs them. Only exceptions were when they had close and intensive contact with badger poo or decaying fish near water (both used to roll in the stuff). Just regular brushing distributes the natural oils in their fur and keeps it glossy and not-so-smelly.

meloncollie, I know this is a bit off topic, but I did want to start another new topic just for this question.

I was wondering if you maybe know how much are other costs (if I order something from zooplus.de to CH)? I know for shipping cost http://www.zooplus.de/content/shippingcosts, but am not sure how much are all other costs (for example customs and so on)?

Thank you.