How to minimize shedding in a black lab

[tacklejunkie]

Is there any medicine or shampoo I could use? It seems he is shedding alot but he looks and acts healthy

[corncob]

Do not feed him crappy dog food!.....Suppliment good quality(corn free) food with meat, eggs, fish and fowl.

[tacklejunkie]

Do not feed him crappy dog food!.....Suppliment good quality(corn free) food with meat, eggs, fish and fowl.

Is there a brand you would recommend? Currently, I feed him Purina

[DaSwede]

Is there a brand you would recommend? Currently, I feed him Purina

Always look at the first five ingredients. They should be meat. Doesn't matter if it's chicken, duck, salmon, turkey, just make sure it's meat.

I currently feed my dog Fromm, but there are many quality dog foods out there.

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Here's what it says on my breeder's HSOforum:

Dog Food

Some thoughts on dog foods. There are many good premium foods on the market today most of which will cost about $1-$1.50 per pound of food. We have some brands that we recommend that we either have experience with or know they have a good reputation.

Those brands are:

• Canine Caviar

• Eagle

• Innova

• Nutri-Source

• Red Paw

• Royal Canin

• Sensible Choice

• Fromm’s

The first 5 ingredients are the most important ones in the food. Look for a variety here with the first being some kind of meat meal (ie Chicken meal). For example if the food says rice, rice flour, rice bran etc that means there is a lot of rice in the food and they have just broken it down so that it looks better and other ingredients come out on top. So, not too much of any one ingredient.

Look for a food that is 22-25% protein and 12-16% fat for a maintenance diet. Puppy diets will be higher in both fat and protein. If you are doing a lot with your dog or it is hunting hard you will probably need to go to a performance diet with higher fat and protein. The 2 best high calorie foods we have found are Royal Canin 4800 and Canine Caviar. There are many higher protein and fat diets on the market today that are grain free and are a good option for many dogs. Calorie content has started to be included on many bags of food and this can help you decide what to buy depending on your dogs’ body condition and how it seems to be using its food.

A personal observation we have made is that diets which are more natural or holistic, with lots of fruits and vegetable ingredients, tend to produce a softer stool.

The food you choose should produce a dog that looks good, has a nice coat and a good stool. If you are not happy with any of those things then you should probably try a different food. One of the latest recommendations for foods is that they contain probiotics or good bacteria. This helps to maintain a healthy digestive system.

If you feel the need to supplement a diet, then go with probiotics and/or fish oils with flax oil. There are many of these on the market also so read the labels.

[CJH]

Shedding is natural, the best way to minimize it is to brush regularly. Even then, when its hot out, its going to happen.

[nofishfisherman]

I guess my first question would be are you seeing shedding that would be considered more than normal? With all breeds there is going to be shedding no matter what but there is a normal amount of shedding and an abnormal amount of shedding.

If you aren't brushing your dog thats the first and easiest thing to do. Second would be to look at the diet. A high quality dog food will do wonders for a dogs coat. Lastly you could look at supplements, there are a bunch out there.

I'd avoid shampoos or anything like that. Shampooing your dog also removes the natural oils so you'll end up leaving the dogs coat and skin dry and flaky if you wash them too much.

If none of the above help and you think the shedding is more than normal there may be some sort of allergy issue. Changing foods may eliminate it depending on what the allergy is but it may take some time to figure out what the allergy actually is.

[UMC]

Getting rid of the dog is probably the only way

Labs all shed a lot, some more than others. I really don't think there's much you can do about it other than sweep your floors regularly and brush the dog a lot.

[gspman]

Good quality food and brush your dog regularly. Brushing is going to help the most as the dog will shed whether or not the food is good quality. A dog will generally blow its coat twice a year and will shed even more at these times. With a lab it'll be obvious when its blowing its coat.

[Pherris]

There is a supplement called lipiderm that claims to reduce shedding and promotes healthy coat. I use it for the healthy coat but don't notice a lot of shedding so maybe it does help. I would also recommend a product called the furminator. It is a deshedding brush type tool. It really gets the hair out. I do it every couple days. Also brushing is helpful because it helps the coat release the natural oils. In the end these things will help reduce shedding but as mentioned dogs shed it's just part of the deal.

Good Hunting!

[ReelTimes]

Even with good diet you will get shedding. Best thing I have found to control this is a dog mob called the fulminator. You can get it at Fleet Farm. Don't bother with the shampoo products; just get the brush itself. There expensive but has probably reduced shedding in our house 90% as long as you use it regularly

[ReelTimes]

Sorry for typo...called the furminator

[brittman]

I'd try coconut oil

[aanderud]

One more vote on the furminator here! They are the best brush I've used to get the dog's dead hair off. I am not religious about it by any means (not every 2 days like some of the folks here), but when I do use it, I get LOTS less fur in the house. When I start noticing more fur in the house, I use it again. It's probably once a week or so on average.

Here's a video of a guy using one on his lab.

[BLACKJACK]

I have a furminator, it does work to take a lot loose hairs off, but when do you stop?? I can brush for 1/2 an hour and still be taking hair off at the end, I finally get tired of it.

[trapperdirk]

I never met a lab owner that shedding wasn't a complaint and all labs tend to shed alot especially if your swimming them . The reason I find they shed more is because everytime they hit the water their body tells them of the temperature change and it reacts .Colder temps to hotter temps and back and forth makes labs shed . It's in a labs genes .

TD