Monday, May 26, 2008

Controlling Dog Shedding Through Brushing

It is needless to say that dog hair should stay on the dog and not on our sofas. The problem is that it often ends up on furniture, especially during those hot summer months. Shedding is a natural process for our dogs and it is a part of his life, although him loosing hair on our chairs and carpets is not really something that we love. The good news is that there are various techniques that you can do in order to minimize the mess caused by hair loss, controlling dog shedding.

First off, you need to know that you have to choose the right brush for your companion. For instance, a furry Alsation will need a different brush when compared to a smooth coated Beagle. In order to make sure that you make the right choice you can do two things. You should either real the label of the dog brush or you can ask someone that knows best, a friend or maybe even the salesperson or shopkeeper.

You have to brush the dog's coat deeply in order to allow the bristles to rub against his skin. If you do this you will notice that more hair will be removed because of the fact that dog fur will loosen at the hair follicle. Deep brushing allows you to remove the hair that is to fall in the near future and not only the one that needs to fall at the moment of brushing. Do not overdue it! If the dog is not comfortable do not press harder as you need only reach the skin level. Harder brushes will not do anything more than make the dog nervous. Also, keep in mind that static electricity can become a problem as the dog's coat will cause static when brushing it in dry weather. The end result will be shock to you both and neither of you will enjoy that. Use anti-static spray! You can find it in superstores and will make brushing your dog a lot easier.

When you brush the dog you also need to reverse direction. Just start in one area and then work backwards. Stop if this bothers him although it is useful when you can as brushing against the regular direction of natural growth will aid in shedding hair that is to fall before it actually falls. All will appear on your brush instead of your sofa.

After you brush your dog you should also use a rubber grooming mitten in order to take in hairs that are left behind. Your dog will surely enjoy the massage and there are specially designed rubber nubs that will capture extra fur while making your dog feel well. Never forget to use a gentle non-drying canine shampoo when bathing your dog and always do this on a regular basis. You should know that sensitive skin shampoos for dogs are great as they aid in moisturizing skin and will discourage over-shedding. Finish everything with a good dog conditioner, follow all these tips and you will see that dog shedding will not be as big of a problem as before.

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