Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Posted by Animals at 5:26 PM Saturday, May 15, 2010

Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Miles Still Sheds, but....

Posted: 13 May 2010 08:27 AM PDT

Miles-waits-with-DrLarry He sheds a lot less. We started using a Furminator on him a few weeks back and I promised to report back with the results. 

Here we go.
 
First of all Miles, like many Labs, sheds an inordinate amount of hair. He has an undercoat that is supposed to keep him warm in frigid water. I'd have to say that is working out fine for him since he loves to jump in icy water and would swim all day if he could. 
 
His skin is healthy and his coat is shiny. Regular brushing and good diet play an important role in skin health. He is in the process of shedding that undercoat right now due to influence of warmer weather and more day light. 
 
I should mention that we did not do the full treatment as recommended on the Furminator web site. We skipped the shampoo, soak with de-shedding solution and the fancy dryer work. I'm not a professional groomer and we just spent a couple hundred at the beauty shop on my wife so she could get all dolled up for my high school reunion. Money well spent, by the way. I went to a boys school and all my old class mates were green with envy.
 
Miles-in-training
We brush Miles every day, usually when he's a little tired after his big walk up Boston Hill. It takes about three minutes to do a thorough brushing job. One word of advice - don't forget the tail. I seem to be able to fill the brush with a few swipes in the tail area. He's not wild about me grooming his tail but loves being brushed everywhere else. Not sure whether it feels good or if he is reacting to the human contact. Probably some of both. That's what my wife says when I brush her hair.
 
As far as results go, I'd say we are dealing with a lot less hair, now. While some of this might be due to his having shed most of his undercoat, there is undeniably less hair on our floors and furniture. When I first started I could fill a grocery bag with Miles' hair. I could sweep up a dust pan full of hair every day from the family room alone. And the furniture needed daily vacuuming. 
 
This morning I only filled up the FURminator three times. Our model has a handy hair ejector function and when we started it was easy to eject 10 full loads. The floor can go two or three days without being swept and the vacuum has been it the repair shop for a few days. There's some hair on the couch but not so much that I feel creepy sitting on it. 
 
I give the Furminator good marks. We've got several other brushes gathering dust around the house to prove that point. While we never really thought we could eliminate dog hair, we are pleased with the results. Miles likes the daily routine, too. He'll stand there calmly while we brush gently away. I get a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that all that hair in the trash can won't be coming back to haunt me.

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