Pet hair is a big issue in my house. Three cats, one of them a longhair, and two dogsÂWolfy, a Husky-Shepherd, and Angel, a Briard mix with very long grey hair.

Angel's hair is always all over the place, in coils and clumps like tumbleweeds. She's difficult to groom, but I comb Wolfy often, and most of his shedding hair is removed that way. The undercoat comes right out when it's ready, and I noticed recently that the top hairs are shedding, too. But again, it comes out in the comb and I put it right in the trash.

Other than that, I deal with pet hair by being equipped: Dyson vacuum for regular vaccuming, especially the rugs; stick Electrolux for quickie vacuums around the wood floors between regular vacuums; removable hand vacuum (from the Electrolux) for doing the stairs and wherever else hair shows up; lint brushes; and lots of lint rollers.

When we had little kids (and even more pets than I have now) we used an air filter sometimes. But mostly I think it all works out okay.

They say the "furminator" is great, but expensive. DH got me a dog brush for Christmas but not that kind.

This little Princess is the "worst" shedder. My First Pug. This time last year, I was vacuuming daily. She has just starting to loose her winter fur. She hates to be brushed. The whole time I'm trying to brush her the 2 none shedders are begging to be brushed.

I have a bagless vacuum....so I can see what comes off of the floors. Yuk, I could knit a new Pug twice a week at least.

The only cure is brushing I'm told.

Gayle

Another pug owner here, and for a small dog ( in size but not in personality LOL), boy! do they shed. I vacuum almost every day and between Tootie and the 2 cats, it's an uphill battle. Two steps forward, one step back...

Do I feel y'alls pain. We have a black Lab that sheds like crazy. DH brushes him a lot, but I don't know if it helps. He's such a good dog other than that.

Diet matters when it comes to shedding.By far the worst offenders on my cleaning route are those feeding their animals Science Diet or brand x type dog foods.Since dogs don't really utilize grains,dogfoods that don't list meat as the first and main ingrediant are not as great a buy as they seem to be.Adding oil to the diet will help the coat.Cheap fixes are fish oil capsules,fish oil of any type sprayed on the food,or evan a tablespoon of olive oil mixed in.good luck.

Well, I realized that Pippin the long-haired Tabby is starting to shed her winter coat as I passed two "tumbleweeds" of fur in the hallway this morning, LOL. I have the Shed Ender comb for her and boy does she LOVE it! I end up with a pile of fur the same bodily proportions as her after I brush her out.

Britain has long white hair and is easy to see, which spurs me to vacuum every day. I have a Rainbow and can use it as an air filter as well. He doesn't shed too much for a Border Collie, but giving him a bath every other week or so helps his coat. He HATES to be brushed!! He'd rather be beaten, LOL! ;)

I remember going crazy with dirt/dust before DD was born. Then after DS was born also, especially b/c we started getting pets. I used to dream of DS ingesting pet hair, ROTFL! Made me crazy, but I also realized it was part of nesting and eventually wears off.

How are you feeling, Joanna? We can't wait for baby to arrive!

Blessings,
Haley

Strangely..at this moment.. we are good..
I changed her food..and the weather seems a bit more stable..
But in December it was He$$..

Our rabbits are shedding early, too! They are big shedders to begin with, but not usually in Feb. With them, the only difference in food I can see is the hay they get, that our first rabbit didn't, but she was a dwarf Silver Martin, and these two are mini Rex and mini Rex mix.

Tami

We got the furmintator and it has made a huge difference in our Dudley. His hair was eveywhere and I was at my wits end cleaning it up. The furminator takes a ton of fur from the undercoat....not lying, we had enough fur from him the first time we used it to make another medium sized dog! I can't believe he has that much fur! It's an amazing tool.

Three Maine Coon cats + 2 love birds = tons and tons of fur and feathers.

The only saving grace is that 2 of the cats are only 2 and have not yet developed the adult coats with full undercoat. But when they do I am just opening windows and doors at each end of the house and letting it blow on thru.

Like already mentioned, I could not live without my Dyson.

Where can I buy a furmintator?

I bought a Furminator about a month ago after hearing about it here on KT! I agree - it is wonderful! And the cats love it (my rabbit doesn't, but he just doesn't like being combed, anyway). It does take a huge amount of hair (I have 6 cats!). I bought mine, brand new, as a Buy-it-Now on eBay. I think I paid somewhere around $26 total. It's well worth it.

I bought the middle size (yellow handle). I can't imagine the smallest one being worthwhile unless it's a very small cat. I absolutely love the Furminator. All I have to do is hold it up and the cats come running! :-)

Try bringing your dogs to a professional groomer for a bath. When they bath them they use a stong blower to get the moisture out of their fur to cut down on drying time. This blower gets rid of all of the fur that they are shedding from their undercoat. I have my dog done a few times a year and it makes a huge difference.

I bought my furmninator on QVC.....a great tool!

We bought our furminator at Petsmart. Works great.

Dudley is just a hair dispenser - it is EVERYWHERE. I did change his diet and he doesn't scratch like he did before, but perhaps I need to investigate the furminator!

I have a little rubber horse brush with tiny rubber bristles. It takes hair off well. Then I follow up with duct tape.
Holly hates being taped but then she hates being brushed.
Gabby and Tuffy just love it though.
Take a six inch length of tape, double it back on the roll and roll it over your dog. This removes the loose stuff brushing leaves behind.

Lori

I have an American Eskimo(the king of shedders)
I once told a customer that I had an American Eskimo,and she replied"Oh you must REALLY love dogs"To say she sheds is a gross understatement.....winter summer,it's all the same..wish I knew how to spin her fur to make wool and knit with it,because I could easily take a shopping bag full of hair out of her every day,and it's so soft and silky.
Add to that one long haired cat and a short hair that also leave trails behind on every surface they touch,and it's a full time job keping up with them.
I've tried lots of gadgets,but a good combing on a regular basis seems to help...I use a slicker brush on all three.If I have company comming i go over sofas and chairs with a rubber glove and follow up with a lint brush.
Ahhhhh...what the heck,they give me so much love in return...I can't complain.

I've had a "border" for about 3 mos. -- our DD's beloved Rotty mix (must be mixed with a spaniel, we think, B/C she's only 35#) and I can't BELIEVE how much Holly sheds! Even tho I vacuum the hardwoods constantly, I still find these balls of undercoat/fluffy stuff around the bases of the furniture. Before Holly, we used to occasionally get "dust bunnies." Now, it's a way of life with the "dust doggies."

Wow,
I've never heard of the furminator. Is the yellow handle the size I should get for my cats?
Donna

Can you use a furminator on dogs?

Don't know it they work myself but if the kt is raving about them....here is a link to ebay express.

Amazon has some good deals too.

Here is a link that might be useful: pet brush

How about a pet vac?

Here is a link that might be useful: Pet vac

I can see how those of you with short-haired shedders have a rough time--those little hairs just stick into everything, right? And those of us with the long-haired variety--balls of floating doggie fur. It's a darn good thing I have a Dyson. And my furminator brush is being delivered from Amazon this week, thanks to the great recommendations!

And thanks, Haley, for asking...I'm feeling pretty darn good for 7 months! :)

Bearcat_va - absolutely the Furminator can be used on dogs. Here's the website.

As mentioned, I use the middle size for my cats.

Here is a link that might be useful: Furminator Website

Furminators ROCK !

This photo was taken after our first grooming session with the Furminator last year. That pile of undercoat was about half of the total I extracted. He enjoys being furminated, it's like his special massage time.

Now I furminate him about once a week, it removes a handful or so, and there is MUCH less fur on furniture, floors etc.

I wish someone could Furminate me!

I bought a Furminator a month ago and love it~~I got the small one (blue handle) since I have two cats, of course the older white cat that sheds the most does not like it but I make her do it! DS used it on the dog she is short haired and she looked better than the last time she went to the groomer.

I was taking my white cat to the groomer 2-3X's a year and that helped alot but she meow's so much and is wiggly they do not want her back:( That is from two groomers. The last trip they called early and had me come get her, she is usually the only cat there and she makes the dogs crazy:(