Lugeanjaam Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I grew up with GSD's and all my childhood memories involve our beautiful loyal dogs. I also remember the dog hair - everywhere - all the time:). I would so love to own one again in the future (a few years away at this stage) but I am not that big on hair on our clothes and furniture all the time. I work in child care in our home so cleanliness and a hair free environment is important. The dog would not be in the day care area but I remember the hair migrating to the furthest reaches! In saying this my parents were not the most consistent of groomers. My question is if a GSD or any dog that sheds for that matter was groomed regularly would you be able to keep the shedding down to a manageable level? Also can it be an individual thing where dogs of the same breed can shed at different levels? All the dogs I have owned in my adult life have been low shedding so I have never had to deal with a heavy shedder. I enjoy grooming so it would not be an issue as far as the work involved is concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessca Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 My GSD's only about 7 months old, so can't really say much there. But I'm sure if you groom them regularly then it shouldn't be a problem. We use a furminator brush on our girl and its great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyBlue Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 If you get any double coated breed then be prepared for hair in the house. It stands to reason that the more hair you get out with a brush the less you get in the carpet but it doesn't seem to matter how long or how much hair I get out of my dog I still find fluff bunnies behind the doors and hair all over the carpet. Invest in an electrostatic broom - they drag all the hair out of the carpet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have a 9yr old GSD, and if there was one thing I'd change it would be how much he sheds. He gets (at least) weekly brushes and generally a monthly bath with a HV dryer (I do casual grooming). My house is mostly carpet (which I wouldn't change, because I'm often rolling around on the floor with him) and I vacuum with a dyson twice a week. He was on medication for a serious problem and the medication stopped him shedding for the time he was on it but it also had other bad side effects. Of course it's seasonal, but if the dog is an inside dog, as mine is, they don't have proper coat seasons because they get affected by our heating/air conditioning, but you'll still find more undercoat floating round the yard at THIS time of year. funny - as a child I don't remember our Shepherd shedding at all, but she was sickly and we lived in the tropics so she didn't have to develop a wintercoat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lugeanjaam Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks for your replies:). I pretty much assumed that even with regular grooming for the most part you pretty much just need to learn to live with the shedding. I have heard mixed reviews about the furminator so I was interested in your thoughts on it, thanks. Thing is the are such beautiful dogs that living with the shedding seems to be a small price to pay:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooky Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 My boy is 10 months and I hardly notice any hair off him, he's a longcoat. He lies up on the sofa but there's never any hair where he's been lying. I have a 1 year old little girl who is still crawling and she's never covered in hair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Shepherd~ Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I can fill a garbage bag with my Whitey (long Coat). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Mine is shocking! Get a dog's worth of hair just about every week and he still drops heaps and looks a mess Dosn't help that he has skin problems! Think I will stick to Kelpie length or shorter from now on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lugeanjaam Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have a friend who had a GSD x Husky and OMG!!! The amount of hair that comes off her is amazing! I have also seen what comes off a Pug after a groom. How can such a little dog shed so much hair? It's just astounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casima Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 My Shepherd sheds like crazy! there was a time years ago where I brushed him daily and he still shed everywhere, these days I just brush him every few months, I don't want to ever own a dog with that kind of coat again, drives me crazy. Although I think Mum's Corgi's are even worse... and we wont even mention my brothers Malamute My Raffy's (BSDxBC) long coat sheds much less and my border collie's medium coat hardly loses any hair at all much easier to live with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyBlue Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks for your replies:). I pretty much assumed that even with regular grooming for the most part you pretty much just need to learn to live with the shedding. I have heard mixed reviews about the furminator so I was interested in your thoughts on it, thanks. Thing is the are such beautiful dogs that living with the shedding seems to be a small price to pay:). I like mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I probably wouldn't mind the grooming if he stayed looking half decent for more than a day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I worked in boarding kennels, and german shepherds were amongst the worst shedders. If you don't like hair, I can't think of much worse than a GSD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pockets Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) GSD's do 2 major coat drops a year, when you notice shedding, you strip their coat out to get rid of all the coat and give them a good hydrobath but when they shed, they really do shed and it often has you wondering how they have any coat left on them Shepherd hair is not for the faint hearted! Lucky what they shed in coat, they make up for ten fold in love, loyalty and absolute beauty Edited November 8, 2011 by Pockets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayly Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I worked in boarding kennels, and german shepherds were amongst the worst shedders. If you don't like hair, I can't think of much worse than a GSD. This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleDuck Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) My boy is a shepherd x kelpie and has the shepherd double coat. If I invest the time in grooming him then I do find less hair around the place for a few days up to a week. Same with the toller. Furminators are amazing, life changing, wonderful brushes honestly the best grooming tool I've ever bought for doof! :D We had a shepherd growing up and I remember still finding hair around the garden for a year after she was PTS Edited November 8, 2011 by PuddleDuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huga Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Harry was PTS a year ago (today, actually) and I still find the odd hair around. It used to drive me nuts, but it makes me smile now. He was made up of two of the worst shedding breeds around (pug and GSD). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 The worst shedders are anything with a short double coat and they seem to shed one hair at a time, 365 days a year. So GSDs, Labs, Corgis, Pugs are all major shedders. I have owned a Lab and will never own another dog with sort of coat again. Long coat Shepherds have a different texture coat that should only have a major shed twice a year like all the other double long coats such as Collies, BC, Aussies and most Spitz breeds. The long coats come out in clumps that are much easier to remove from clothes and furniture than the individual short hairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 With three seemingly permanently shedding GSDs and a WSSD, fur is a fact of life here. If someone identifies the shedding gene or an anti shedding drug, they could retire tomorrow as billionaires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianca.a Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I have tile throughout the house and with only 1 small GSD I vacumm daily! I brush her quickly everyday and it makes no difference. You learn to live with the fur tumbleweeds that blow around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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