| Doberman Dogs do Shed... What you can do? |
Someone has started the idea that "Dobermans don't shed" and that's simply not true. Most Doberman owners find out the hard way, after they've owned a Doberman a few months. Then it's, "Why didn't someone tell me about this??" So my reply to this person who wanted to shave their dog was this: I have to admit, I've never had ANY success in stopping shedding in ANY dog by shaving them. At one time I thought that shaving my long-coated dogs (I've also had border collies, golden retrievers and sheltie mixes) would help, but after time and research I discovered that the coated dogs have their own inherited behaviors to help them deal with heat and that it's better not to shave them down. After all, we never see dogs shaved in nature... But that's another story. What does then help with shedding? *Good food first. We recommend Maximum Nutrition (Wal-Mart) or Dimond or Main Source *Good weekly grooming second. Shedding is basically dead dry outer hairs falling off as new growth occurs. People shed too - you just don't have as much to shed! When I say "good food" I don't mean the type that costs about $4 for a 20 pound bag! When you look for a good food for coat, fatty acids and oils are important. I take about a cup of food and put it into a small brown paper bag. (Some stores will have small sample bags you can try.) Leave the food in the bag about an hour, then check the bag. If the food has lots of oils in it, you'll see it as having "leaked" onto the paper bag. It's real obvious. There are a number of good foods that will do that - what food you choose would depend on a number of other things such as food allergies in your dogs, content and quality of what makes up the food, availability, etc. As in most things, this is a case of, "you get what you pay for." Weekly grooming should be almost a ritual in any dog home, not just for a Doberman. Grooming of Your Doberman is quite simple. Dobermans have semi-coarse overcoat fur and a soft fine undercoat fur. They need to be combed to remove the soft fine hair or it will quickly mat and shed. Taking a few minutes to comb and brush your Doberman on a weekly basis is an excellent control for shedding. A bath every three to four weeks is helpful in controlling parasites, shedding, and helps maintain a healthy skin condition. The shedding blade draws out all the already dead but not fallen out yet hairs, so you basically pull them out before they fall. Then you can dispose of them just once, rather than having them all over the house, furniture and clothing all the time. You have to wait for the new coat to come in while the old one sheds off. And yes, you may see an INCREASE in shedding while this happens, but it will be obvious to your eyes and fingers if the new coat is softer, shinier, and healthier. Also give Your Doberman a gentle massage, they really love it. It's like a good fingertip scratching all over.. And I laugh when I watch mine wriggle as I do it. So make up your mind to take ten or fifteen minutes a week to check out your Doberman, keep things clean and neat, and do a good brushing. It's certainly worth the effort when your clothes and furniture and floors don't end up covered with Doberman hair! |