Stop Dog Shedding: Tips and Tricks

Shedding is a natural process for dogs, and while it’s impossible to completely stop it, there are several ways to manage and reduce excessive shedding. Whether you have a fluffy Labrador, a shedding Sheltie, or a short-haired Beagle, dealing with dog hair can be a frustrating task. Fortunately, with the right techniques and tools, you can significantly minimize shedding and keep your dog’s coat healthy and your home cleaner.

In this article, we’ll cover why dogs shed, how to manage shedding, and practical tips to reduce excessive fur loss. If you're tired of constantly cleaning up dog hair, read on for expert advice on how to stop a dog from shedding.

Why Do Dogs Shed?

Shedding is a natural and necessary process for dogs. Just like humans shed hair, dogs shed their fur to maintain a healthy coat and regulate body temperature. The amount of shedding can vary depending on the breed, season, and overall health of your dog. Some dogs shed year-round, while others shed more heavily during specific seasons, particularly in spring and fall as they shed their winter or summer coats.

The main causes of hair loss in dogs fall into the following categories:

1. Normal physiological phenomenon

• Seasonal hair change: most dogs will have seasonal hair change in March-May in spring and summer and September-November in fall and winter. When the weather gets hot in spring and summer, the dog will shed its downy coat to regulate its body temperature; when the weather gets cold in fall and winter, the dog will shed its coarse coat and turn it into a downy coat to protect itself from the cold winter.
  
  
• Puppies and Pregnant Dogs: Underage puppies will start to change their fur around 3-4 months; pregnant bitches will also lose large areas of hair on their backs due to loss of nutrients in their bodies after giving birth.
  
  
• Elderly Dogs: The metabolism of elderly dogs is slow, and the amount of hair color and volume will be reduced, and hair loss will occur. After entering the old age, you need to pay attention to the supply of nutrients, and you can eat professional dog food for the elderly.

2. Disease factors

• Skin disease: Dogs infected with bacteria, fungi, mites and other causes of folliculitis, eczema, dermatophytosis and other skin diseases, or parasites with a large number of dog lice and fleas, will lead to itching skin and emotional upset, which will cause a lot of hair loss.
  
  
• Endocrine diseases: such as hyperadrenocorticism, hypothyroidism, pituitary dwarfism, testicular or ovarian dysfunction, etc., will affect the hormone balance and lead to hair loss.
  
  
• Other diseases: Certain chronic diseases such as diabetes and immune system disorders may affect your dog's nutrient absorption and metabolism, which in turn may lead to hair loss.

Also Read: What Causes Diabetes in Dogs

3.Nutritional factors

• Unbalanced diet: Feeding a single food for a long time, such as only rice or simple homemade dog food, may easily lead to a lack of essential vitamins and minerals, which may cause hair loss.
  
  
• Excessive salt intake: Excessive salt intake by dogs will increase the burden on the kidneys, leading to hair loss and may cause other health problems.
  
  
• Nutritional deficiencies: Lack of protein, fatty acids, biotin and other important nutrients can affect the normal growth and health of the hair, leading to hair loss.

4.Environmental factors

• Insufficient sunlight exposure: Puppies that are not exposed to sunlight for a long period of time and are kept indoors for years can cause slight hair loss throughout the year.
  
  
• Environmental allergies: Dogs may be allergic to newly renovated environments, pollen, dust mites, etc., causing itchy skin and hair loss.
  
  
• Climate change: Climatic factors such as sudden temperature changes and high humidity changes may affect the health of your dog's skin and coat, leading to hair loss.

5. Human factors

• Improper bathing: Using adult soaps, shampoos and other high alkaline detergents to bathe your dog, or bathing too often, will disrupt the acid-base balance of your dog's skin and the normal protective substances, leading to dry, itchy skin, which in turn causes hair loss.
  
  
• Excessive grooming: Excessive force or frequent combing of the dog's hair may damage the hair follicles and hair, leading to hair loss.
  
  
• Stress and anxiety: prolonged anxiety, stress or tension, such as sudden environmental changes and owner neglect, may affect your dog's endocrine system, leading to increased hair loss.

6. Other factors

• Medication side effects: certain medications may cause allergic reactions in dogs or affect their endocrine system, leading to hair loss.
  
  
• Genetic factors: Some breeds of dogs are prone to hair loss themselves, such as Golden Retriever, Samoyed, Husky, etc.

How To Tell If Your Dog's Hair Change Is Normal Or Abnormal?

To determine whether your dog's hair change is normal or abnormal, you can start from the following aspects:

1. Observe the hair loss

The amount of hair loss: when the normal change of hair, the amount of hair loss of the dog is usually a gradual increase, and in a period of time to maintain a relatively stable. If the dog suddenly has a large amount of hair loss, or even in a short period of time the hair becomes sparse, it may be an abnormal situation.

Hair loss parts: Normal hair change is usually generalized, but if the dog has serious local hair loss, such as a certain part of the hair almost fell out, exposing the skin, or bald spots, it may be a skin disease or other diseases caused by abnormal hair loss.

Duration of hair loss: Normal hair loss has a certain seasonality and periodicity, such as spring and fall hair loss, the duration is usually ranging from a few weeks to a few months. If your dog's hair loss lasts too long, exceeds the normal moulting cycle, or continues to fall out during non-moulting seasons, it may be abnormal.

2. Check the skin condition

Skin color: During normal moulting, the dog's skin color is usually normal, with no obvious redness, itching, scabbing, increased dander or other abnormal symptoms. If the dog's skin appears red, swollen, broken, crusted, flaky, etc., it may be abnormal hair loss caused by skin disease or other diseases.

Itchy skin: When normal hair change occurs, dogs usually do not show obvious itching symptoms. If the dog licks and scratches its body frequently, it may be abnormal hair loss caused by itchy skin, and further examination is needed to see if there is a skin disease or parasitic infection or other problems.

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3. Consider other factors

Diet and Nutrition: If your dog's diet is not balanced and lacks key nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals, or if he consumes too much salt and oil, it may lead to a decline in coat quality and abnormal hair loss.

Environmental factors: Environmental conditions such as dryness, humidity, and air pollution may affect your dog's skin health and lead to hair loss. In addition, stress factors such as sudden environmental changes and noise may also lead to abnormal hair loss in dogs.

Psychological factors: Changes in the living environment, new pets joining the family, changes in family routine, etc., may cause stress and anxiety in the dog, which in turn leads to hair loss.

If you find that your dog has abnormal hair change, it is recommended that you take your dog to the veterinarian for examination and diagnosis in time to determine the specific cause and take appropriate treatment measures.

How to Stop or Reduce Dog Shedding?

While shedding can’t be fully eliminated, there are several ways to reduce and manage the amount of fur your dog sheds. Below are some of the most effective tips for minimizing shedding.

Here are some ways to stop or minimize your dog's shedding:

I. Daily Care

• Regular Grooming

Regular brushing of your dog's coat will help remove dead hair and reduce shedding. Long-haired dogs, in particular, need more frequent grooming. Brushing stimulates blood circulation to the skin and promotes new hair growth, as well as helping to prevent knots and tangles and reducing the spread of shed hair around the house. For long-haired dogs, brushing once a day is recommended to keep the coat neat and healthy. Choosing the right comb is also important. You should choose the right combing tool according to the type of dog's hair, such as a fine-toothed comb for long-haired dogs and a comb with harder bristles for short-haired dogs.

• Reasonable bathing

Don't bathe your dog too often. Proper bathing can help remove dead hair, but excessive bathing may irritate the skin and lead to increased hair shedding. Dogs' skin and hair have a self-regulating function. Frequent bathing will destroy the skin's natural protective layer, drying and dehydrating the skin and causing the hair to become dry, fragile and easy to break. Therefore, it is recommended to give your dog a bath just once or twice a month, use a mild dog shampoo and wash it thoroughly to ensure that the skin and hair are dry after washing. In addition, the hair should be blow-dried in a timely manner after bathing to avoid residual moisture that can harbor bacteria and fungi, further affecting skin health.

Also Read: The Canine Cleanse: A Comprehensive Guide to Dog Bath

• Keep the environment clean

Keep your dog's living environment clean and regularly clean the floor, bedding, etc. to minimize the accumulation of hair indoors. Dogs shed a lot of hair in their daily life, and if the indoor is not cleaned in time, it is easy to cause hair accumulation, which not only affects environmental hygiene, but also may trigger allergies and other health problems. Therefore, it is recommended that owners regularly clean the floor, carpets, sofas and other furniture surfaces, using a vacuum cleaner or hair remover to clean up and effectively reduce the accumulation of hair in the home. In addition, bedding should also be washed frequently to keep it clean and hygienic.

II. Dietary Management

• Provide nutritionally balanced food

Choose high-quality dog food to ensure that it contains enough nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals, and you can also add some fresh vegetables and fruits as appropriate to provide more comprehensive nutrition. In addition, ensuring that your dog has enough water intake is also one of the important factors in maintaining a healthy coat.

• Add specific nutritional supplements

You can add some nutritional supplements to your dog's diet that can help with coat health, such as Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E. Omega-3 fatty acids help to maintain normal moisture levels in the skin to reduce shedding caused by dry skin, and also support coat, joint, heart, immune system and cellular health, while Vitamin E has an antioxidant effect that promotes coat growth and health. 

• Avoid feeding inappropriate foods

Foods high in salt and oil, as well as certain ingredients in human food, can trigger allergies or skin problems in your dog, leading to hair loss. You need to avoid feeding your dog these inappropriate foods and replace them with healthy foods designed specifically for dogs.

III. Disease prevention and control

• Do a good job of deworming

Regularly deworm your dog both internally and externally to prevent hair loss caused by parasitic infections. 
Timely treatment of skin diseases: If the dog has abnormal symptoms such as itching, redness, swelling, crusting, and increased dander, it may be hair loss caused by skin diseases, and you need to take your dog to the veterinarian in time for examination and diagnosis, to determine the specific type of skin disease, and use the appropriate medication to treat it, such as antifungal medication, antibiotics, and so on.

Related: Why Does My Dog Have Dandruff?

• Timely treatment of skin diseases

If your dog develops abnormal symptoms such as itching, redness, swelling, crusting, and increased dander, it may be hair loss caused by skin diseases. You need to take your dog to the veterinarian in time for examination and diagnosis, to determine the specific type of skin disease, and use the appropriate medication to treat it, such as antifungal medication, antibiotics, and so on.

• Endocrine concerns

Certain endocrine disorders, such as hypothyroidism and hyperadrenocorticism, can affect your dog's hair growth cycle and cause hair loss. If you suspect that your dog has endocrine problems, you need to seek medical attention for relevant endocrine tests, and medication or dietary adjustments will be made according to your veterinarian's recommendations after confirmation of the diagnosis.

IV. Other aspects

• Increase outdoor exercise

Appropriate outdoor exercise and sunlight exposure help ensure the health of your dog's coat. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight can promote the synthesis of vitamin D and help the absorption of calcium, which in turn is beneficial to the health of the coat. At the same time, exercise improves blood circulation and strengthens your dog's physique.

• Reduce Stressors

Try to provide a stable and comfortable living environment for your dog, and avoid stress factors such as sudden environmental changes and noise, as these may lead to stress and anxiety, which in turn leads to hair loss.

• Choose the right clothing

During the dog's hair changing season or when the hair loss is serious, you can dress your dog in suitable clothing.

FAQs

How often should I brush my dog to reduce shedding?

Conclusion

While shedding is a natural part of a dog’s life, excessive shedding can be managed with the right care and attention. By maintaining a regular grooming routine, feeding a balanced diet, and addressing any underlying health issues, you can significantly reduce your dog’s shedding and keep your home cleaner. If you’re struggling with excessive shedding, don’t hesitate to consult your vet for further guidance. With patience and the right approach, you can enjoy a shed-free environment while keeping your dog healthy and happy.