Dog shedding is a complete nightmare. Even with the best vacuum cleaner and non-stop working, we still can’t get rid of all those hairs floating all-around your house every few hours. You may have a similar experience and yearn to hear the answer from the question: “How to stop dog shedding?”
Why is My Dog Shedding?
Shedding is a natural way for dogs to lose old or damaged hair. Although it is a normal process for dogs, there are different factors that could affect the amounts of hair and frequency of hair that is shed. Factors such as age, amount of sunlight, outside and inside temperature, health, breed type, sex, hormone, nutrition, shedding season, etc.
Excessive Shedding in Dogs
There are many factors that can cause excessive sheddings, such as stress, poor nutrition or health issue. Also, the extent to which dogs shed can be varied by breed. In other words, what looks like excessive in one dog, could be normal for other dog breeds.
If you are suspicious that your dog might shed more than his peers, then it’s time to visit your vet. Your vet would be able to determine if your dog shedding is normal or not.
In the following, we will learn the common causes that contribute to excessive dog shedding. It pays to learn a bit about the things that cause your dog to shed excessively since the key to minimizing dog shedding is often as simple as eliminating the causes.
Causes of Excessive Shedding
1. Nutrition
A lack of nutrition is an important factor that causes excessive shedding. To prevent excessive shedding, you need to make sure your dog gets the right diet.
Therefore, it is important that the dog food that you feed must have the best premium ingredients. And the best ingredients contain a combination of fats, vitamins, minerals and protein sources.
You can also add additional supplements such as Omega 3 Fish Oil and coconut oil, both are essential supplements that help alleviate dog’s shedding problems.
2. Dog Shedding Season
A long time ago when dogs were still mostly functioning as a working dog, we can predict the months when dogs will shed a lot. These months are known as dog shedding season. Specifically, we can predict that dogs shed most in spring, and later in the fall.
In the spring, dogs shed to replace their winter coats with a shorter, lighter one for summer. While in the fall, the summer coat is shed and replaced by a heavy protective fur to prepare for the winter that is coming.
However, today, as more and more dogs live indoors under artificial light, dogs tend to shed all year-round.
3. Health
Excessive shedding in dogs can be caused by some health problems such as skin problems, ringworm, mange or cancer.
If you are suspicious that there is something wrong with your dog’s health condition, you should bring him/her to the vet for further examination.
4. Sex
Females shed a lot of coats when they give birth. The birth process from pregnancy to lactation consumes a lot of calcium, minerals, and energy that eventually leads to a post-partum condition when female dogs shed heavily, hence balanced and nutritious supplements are needed.
Balanced and nutritious supplements help to prevent the shedding from getting worse. But you should be careful with supplement products that you are about to give. Before giving any supplement product to your dog, you should consult the products first with your vet. Because some supplement products that are not balanced actually create more coats and health problems.
The act of spaying and neutering also promotes a change in a dogs’ coat that leads to excessive shedding. If you find the dog’s coat is sparse or has bald patches, after your dog is getting spaying and neutering, you should schedule an appointment with your vet as your dog might have some health issues.
5. Hormones
There are various hormones that can cause excessive dog shedding. Those hormones include thyroid, cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and growth hormone. One of the low level or high level of any of those hormones can make your dog sheds excessively.
6. Stress
Anxiety and stress can trigger excessive shedding in dogs. These are some signs that your dog might suffer from stress: panting, yawning, lethargic, ears pinned back, avoidance, aggression, tails between legs, and destructive behavior.
There are several more causes of excessive dog shedding, but the six factors discussed above are the most common causes of dog shedding
How to Stop a Dog from Shedding w/ These +50 Proven Tips and Solution
The following are 50 health and cleaning tips and solutions that can help you to control excessive dog shedding:
1. Brush Your Pet Regularly with Dog Shedding Brush
Regular brushing is the best way to keep your home free of hair. There are many benefits that your dog can get from regular brushing, for example, it keeps your dog’s coat softer and cleaner, eliminates tangles and mats, keeps dog’s loose hair away from clothing and furniture, message and lubricate your dog’s skin and much more.
Different types of dogs require different types of dog brushes. It is important to choose the best dog brush for your dog, otherwise, your dog can experience pain or discomfort as a result.
There are 4 types of dog brushes available on market today, each with their own pros and cons: slicker brushes, rakes, bristle, and pin brushes.
Take a look at the video below or read an article from wikihow to learn how to brush your dog.
Read Also: Best Dog Brush and Comb
2. Feed Your Dog a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is one of the best ways to reduce excessive shedding. Give your dog a high-quality dog food with good digestible protein sources. High-quality dog food costs a bit more but it is a lot more healthy for your dog. High-quality dog food contains rich-meat nutrients that are beneficial to control shedding and dry skin.
Avoid dog food that has a lot of fillers such as corn and grains. These fillers are hard to digest and won’t give your dog any benefit.
I would also recommend giving additional supplements such as coconut oil, fish oil, olive oil, or flaxseed oil.
Coconut oil has so many benefits that are essentials both for you and your dog. It helps to cure many diseases such as yeast infection, smelly coats, and hot spots. Also, coconut oil promotes a smooth glossy coat and healthy, supple skin.
Meanwhile, fish oil, olive oil, and flaxseed oils contain omega-3 fatty acids that promote skin and coat health. Omega-3 fatty acids help inflamed skin, decrease dandruff, and improve overall coat texture. The benefits that are essential to control and reduce shedding.
Read Also Our Best Dog Foods Page for more recommendations.
3. Give your Dog Enough Clean, Fresh Water
The lack of water can cause dehydration that leads to dry skin, which can cause excessive shedding. Make sure you give your dog enough clean, freshwater to drink.
4. Control Allergies and Fleas
If your dog shows any sign of fleas allergies, marked by itchy spots, red bumps or hair loss, then bring your dog to the vet immediately to get the right treatments. Fleas allergies cause dogs to scratch incessantly, which causes hair to fall out.
5. Give Your Dog Regular Baths
Regular baths will make your dog clean. And a clean dog will have a healthier coat. Not only that, but regular baths can also encourage loose hair to fall out in the tub instead of furniture and car seats. However, you should avoid over-bathing since it can cause dry skin that causes excessive shedding.
You should visit your vet to learn the suggested bathing schedule for your dog since different dog’s breed can have a different suggested schedule. But, for most dogs, regular gentle bathing once a week is enough to keep your dog clean without drying the skin.
6. Feed Your Dog with The Best Dog Food for Shedding
According to the study, excessive shedding can stem from nutritional deficiency. Therefore, you should pay attention to what you feed your dog with.
The best dog food for shedding must contain essential fatty acids. Fatty acids are essential elements that your dog can’t produce on his own.
There are two types of essential fatty acids that your dog needs: omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids include linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, gamma-linolenic acid, and dihomogamma linolenic acid while omega-6 fatty acids include alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid.
7. Create a Stress-Free Environment
Stress can cause excessive shedding. To alleviate the stress you need to find the sources of your dog’s stress and remove it. Stress can come from many different sources: loud noises, unfamiliar places, new people, new pets or pain, and illness.
8.Coconut Oil
Do you know there are many natural dogs shedding solutions and free from chemical products that you can use as a medicine to help reduce your dog’s shedding such as coconut oil and olive oil?
Coconut oil is a natural medicine with so many benefits for dogs and often used as a medicine to reduce and control dog shedding. There are 5 health benefits of coconut oils that directly related to the dog’s coat and health:
- The ability to improve overall skin condition.
- Clears up various skin conditions such as eczema, flea allergies, and itchy skin.
- Can be applied as a topical medication to promote the healing of cuts, wounds, hot spots, bites, and stings.
- Coconut oil contains antibacterial and antifungal properties that help reduce the doggy odor and impart a delightful scent to your dog’s skin and coat.
- It prevents and treats a yeast infection, including candida.
9.Fish Oil
Fish oil contains omega-3 and omega-6 fats that are essential to control important hormones in the body. While omega-6 fats are abundant and can be found in any food that your dog eats, omega-3 is a little hard to get. That’s why your dog needs to eat fish oil as an additional supplement. Some of the benefits of fish oil include: promote healthy skin and glistening coat and decreased shedding.
10.Vitamin E
Vitamin E is used to treat dry skin, and as you may know already, dry skin is one of the main reasons for excessive shedding. There are three ways you can use vitamin E: you can apply vitamin E oil directly to your dog’s skin, you can add vitamin E to the water when you bathe your dog, or you can give vitamin E pill orally.
If you choose the third option, you should consult with your vet on the recommended dosage for your specific dog breed.
11. Electrolyte-Replacing Liquids
Mild dehydration can cause dry skin, and dry skin eventually causes excessive shedding. When you notice signs of mild dehydration such as dry mouth, panting and a loss of skin elasticity – pour flavorless electrolyte-replacing liquids, such as sports waters or Pedialyte. Drinking flavorless electrolyte-replacing during mild dehydration replaces minerals like potassium and sodium immediately.
12. Dawn Dishwashing Liquid
A drop of Dawn dishwashing liquid works more effectively to kill fleas than some prescribed flea shampoos. To kill fleas with Dawn dishwashing liquid is really easy. Follow these steps:
- First, you will need to buy a dawn dish detergent. Dawn is recommended because it works great killing the fleas, and it’s the safest for your dog.
- Prepare a warm bath for your dog.
- Put your dog in the tub.
- Soak the pet using a removable shower head, cup or a water hose.
- Apply the dish soap.
- Work the lather into your dog’s coat.
- Let it soak for 5 minutes.
- Scrub your dog using a pet brush.
- Rinse your dog when you see dead fleas.
- Scrub until you see no fleas.
- Add a tiny drop of dawn dish detergent to the head.
- Repeat step 6 to 10 once again until you see no fleas in your dog’s head and face.
13. Oatmeal
A dog with skin allergies, infection and other diseases which cause itchiness can’t help but scratch a lot which eventually makes a lot of hair fall out.
Finely ground oatmeal is one of the best natural remedies to ease the itchiness. You can use baby oatmeal cereal, put the oatmeal into a bath of warm water and let your dog soak there for 5 to 10 minutes. Your dog will gain immediate relief from itchiness with this approach.
14. Borax Powder
The borax powder has become my secret weapon to kill fleas around my house for years. It kills fleas effectively, inexpensively and relatively non-toxic compared with the exterminator.
To use borax, you just need to sprinkle the borax on your floor or in the area of major fleas infestation. Leave the borax for 1 or 2 days. Then sweep or vacuum up thoroughly. In 2 days, the invisible borax crystal will kill all the fleas. Lastly, don’t forget to dispose of the vacuum bags outside to prevent larvae and eggs from coming back to your house.
Remember that borax is dangerous for small children, pregnant women, and your dogs. Therefore, keep them away from the infection area. Even a small amount of borax ingested can cause harmful effects.
15. Lemon Water
Lemon water is a great natural remedy to relieve the dog’s allergies and repel fleas. To make lemon water solution, slice one whole lemon then pour boiled water over lemons and leave it to steep overnight. Remove the lemon slice and pour the lemon water into a spray bottle. Spray your pet lightly. Spraying lemon water also has an extra benefit, it makes your dog smell clean and refreshing.
16. Baking Soda and Salt
Baking soda and salt are a great combination to get rid of fleas in your house.
To kill fleas on your carpet, sprinkle an equal amount of baking soda and salt on a dry carpet then leave them overnight. After one night, the banking soda and salt will dehydrate all the fleas and kill them.
Don’t forget to vacuum up the dry carpet once you are done, and throw away the vacuum bags outside the house.
17. Yogurt and Acidophilus Pills
Puppies are prone to yeast infection. Yeast infection is an inflammatory skin condition that is caused by an overgrowth of the Malassezia species of yeast which can cause your dog to shed a lot.
A little plain yogurt as a snack or acidophilus pills wrapping in the beacon helps prevent the yeast infection from infecting your dog.
18. Bounty Paper Towels
Bounty paper towels can be used as a first aid to control dog excessive shedding. To prevent your dog from shedding all over the house, dampen a sheet of paper towels, and run it over the dog’s fur to collect the loose hair.
19. Pesticide-Free Pet Shampoo
Pesticide-Free Pet Shampoo can kill fleas immediately. Give your dog a bath using a natural pesticide-free pet shampoo. Work the lather into your dog’s coat and let it soak for more than 5 minutes. After the bath, most of the fleas will be drowned and dead.
20. How to Stop a Dog from Shedding w/ Olive Oil
Olive oil contains omega-3 fatty acids that make your dog coat healthy and shiny. You can add olive oil directly to your dog’s food. As a guideline, you can add 1 teaspoon olive oil per 15 pounds of your dog’s weight.
21. Essential Oils – Lavender, Cedar, Peppermint, and Eucalyptus Oil
Essential oils like lavender, cedar, peppermint, and eucalyptus oil smell good and work greats to repel fleas. Just add a few drops of essential oils to a fabric collar and see the benefits yourself.
22. Molasses
Molasses have been long used as a secret supplement for children by all mothers in the U.K. It’s a natural sweetener that contains numerous benefits that are useful both for humans and animals.
It is useful to minimize dog shedding — since molasses contains vitamin B16 which is beneficial for fat digestion, hemoglobin synthesis and metabolizing amino acids found in protein — that improves your dog’s hair and skin condition
23. Baby Powder
Dogs with sensitive skin can develop conditions such as dandruff, eczema, and rashes. Those conditions will make your dog itchy. The itchiness that will make your dog scratching, chewing and licking like hell. Those activities will eventually lead to excessive dog shedding. To relieve the itchiness, sprinkle baby powder on your dog’s coat.
24. Vinegar
Vinegar is a great solution for treating various skin conditions from dandruff to yeast infection. Vinegar is best used after you’ve already shampooed and rinsed your dog. Pour the vinegar with warm water over your dog and rub it through his coat, then rinse with clear water.
25.Home Flea Shampoo
To make your own flea shampoo, all you need, just add the following ingredients: 1 cup dawn, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 quart of warm water. Then rub it and let it soak for five minutes. And before too long, you will start seeing the fleas floating and died in the water.
26. Balloon
The balloon is one of the quickest and painless solutions to take the fur out of your furniture. Just take a normal rubber balloon, blow up the balloon, and rub it on the furniture. Then the rub will form a static effect that attracts the fur.
27. Rubber Gloves
Wet rubber gloves and watch as your dog’s fur magically sticks.
28.Squeegee
When you don’t know how to wipe fur off your carpets and rugs, use the squeegee.
29.De-Shedding Tools
If your dog is a heavy shedder, you should use de-shedding tools, it will make your job a lot easier. Use de-shedding tools at the beginning of spring and fall, the two periods when dogs’ coats begin to fall and grow.
30. Sponge
If you don’t have rubber gloves, use sponges. It works as effectively as rubber gloves to remove fur from furniture.
31. Duct Tape
Duct tape and paint roller cover work miraculously to remove pet hair. First, wrap duct tape around a paint roller cover with the sticky side out. Then, roll the paint cover over furniture to pick up the pet hair. This method also works great on seats in your car.
32. Robotic Vacuum
Believe me when I say the robotic vacuum is worth the price. It is not cheap but it saves you hours of vacuuming time.
Read Also: Best Robot Vacuums for German Shepherds
33. Lint Roller
A lint roller is a best friend of any dog owner. It is great for picking up dog hair on your furniture and clothes.
34. Velcro
You can use velcro if you have one at home. Run the prickly side of the velcro to remove fur and hair from clothing and furniture.
35. Air Purifier
An air purifier is a helpful tool, especially if you have a family that is prone to allergies. It helps to remove hair, dander, and typical household allergens from the air. Just make sure you change the air filter frequently.
36. Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets work wonder for removing dog hair from furniture and clothing. Just try it yourself: take one, rub it on the affected surface and you will see yourself.
37. Humidifier
A humidifier helps prevent dry skin in dogs during the winter and as you already may know, dry skin is one of the common causes of excessive dog shedding.
38. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a natural remedy to kill ringworm fungus, and as you may know, ringworm fungus can cause excessive shedding in dogs.
There are two ways to use apple cider vinegar:
The first way is to add a small amount of apple cider vinegar to your dog’s drinking water. Within one month or so, you will see some improvements.
The second way is to make a solution with water and apple cider vinegar. Rinse your dog’s entire coat with the solution, and then allow to air dry.
39. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil has been known as a great disinfectant that helps with many skin conditions. The oil is helpful for treating topical infections such as ringworms.
40. White Vinegar
Washing your clothes with whites vinegar can loosen pet hairs and make them more likely to come off.
41.Microfiber Cloth
When you run a microfiber cloth along the surface of wooden furniture, it generates static electricity that helps to remove fur easily.
42. Herbal Topical
Herbal topical such as peppermint, chamomile, rose bark, juniper, and lavender, is useful to relieve the itching caused by allergies.
43. Aloe Vera
Sunburn can cause excessive shedding. If your dog suffers from sunburn, you can apply aloe vera, which acts as a soothing and healing agent, onto the burned area before you bandage it. Or else you can use raw honey.
44. Blanket
Covering your favorite furniture with a throw — that is easy to maintain and wash — is one of the easiest ways to protect your furniture from excessive dog shedding. Alternatively, you can use slipcovers or blankets.
45. Dampened Mop
If you have hardwood floors, a dampened mop is one of the best ways to clean your dog’s fur.
46. Treat Mange with Natural Remedies
Mange is a skin disease found in animals and is caused by parasitic mites. Some of the mange’s effects are hair loss and severe itching, and the formation of scabs.
If your dog is diagnosed with Mange, you can apply the following home remedies:
- Hydrogen Peroxide and Borax
- Honey
- Yogurt
- Cooking Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Lemon
- Soapy Water
- Aloe Vera
- Neem Oil
- Calendula Tea
- Lemon-Garlic Rinse
47. Doggie Massage
There are many benefits that your dog can get from massage such as improving circulation, reduce muscle fatigue, remove toxins, and condition your dog’s coat as the massage helps distribute his skin natural oils throughout his fur.
48. Aspirin
Do you know that Aspirin is not only useful to reduce fever, but also can be used to relieve the dog’s itchy skin?
First, create a mixture from crushing two aspirin tablets and mix the powder with a small amount of alcohol. Then you just need to apply the mixture directly to the affected areas. Be careful and use cotton wools or cotton swabs when you apply the mixture.
49. Herbal Teas
Herbal teas such as chamomile tea, green tea, or calendula tea can kill yeast and bacteria, relieve inflammation, and reduce itchy skin.
To use herbal tea, you just need to spray your dog with the solution made from herbal tea.
To make the solution, you just need to steep two tea bags in two cups of hot water. Remove the bags and allow the tea to cool before spraying to the affected areas.
50. Herbal Powder
You can combine some of these dried and powdered herb to create a solution to repel fleas: rosemary, fennel, eucalyptus, rue, yellow dock, and wormwood.
Apply the mixture to your dog’s skin starting from the neck and continue to belly, and back. Place your dog outside of your house, so the repelled fleas don’t come into your house.