Dog Sheds Too Much

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Question: Our dog sheds too much. I know Labs shed, but our dog has been shedding excessively for years. Brushing the dog doesn’t help, bathing our pet doesn’t help and the vets I’ve taken her to have no answers.

She literally sheds handfuls of hair when I pet her. It’s as if she reproduces hair immediately. When brushing the dog I can fill an entire small garbage bag with hair! Within a few short hours, I can brush her again and fill another trash bag full of pet hair. The local vets said they’ve never seen anything like it.

There might be a medical problem if your dog sheds too much in the manner you have described here. Make sure that your veterinarian has checked blood work on her within the past year. The thing to be most concerned about is the thyroid levels in the dog. It is common that Labs can get hypothyroidism, low thyroid levels. This disease causes hair loss in many pets.

If those levels are fine, keep up with the brushing. A dog shedding blade such as the FURminator de-shedding tool works really well (shedding blades for cats work great too, by the way).

Also, add fish oil to the dog’s diet. Fish oil is very high in omega-3 fatty acids. These omega-3′s really help keep the skin and fur in top condition. It will take about a month to make a difference, but you will see that omega-3 pet supplements will get your dog’s coat shinier and she will shed less.

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