Non Shedding Dogs

A shedding dog is one of the biggest complaints dog owners have. Who wants to run the vacuum every day to keep piles of dog hair off of the furniture and floors?

So, while professional breeders have been busy creating new breeds for various other reasons, dog owners and amateur breeders have been looking for that darn dog that doesn't shed all over the house. They haven't had to look very far. Poodles don't shed. Many of the Terrier breeds don't shed, including the very popular Westies. Goldendoodles don't shed.

Or do they?

As grooming shop owners, we are asked to counsel our customers on the best dog breeds, which breed is best as a house dog, which breed is the smartest, and on and on. Most of all, we are asked which breeds do not shed. Our standard answer is this, "If you are getting a dog, be prepared to vacuum a lot, or brush it a lot."

You see, there isn't a dog breed that doesn't shed. All dog breeds shed hair. Every last one of them. They either shed it off, onto your carpet and furniture, or they shed it into their UNDERCOAT. All dogs do one or the other.

Now you are probably asking yourself, "what will I have to do if I get one these 'non shedding' dogs?" That's a good question. And the answer is, you will have to brush it. Ideally, you will brush it every, or every other, day.

Here's what happens if you don't brush it a lot. The hair that the dog sheds goes in the undercoat. The undercoat builds up. Very soon, your dog is a matted mess. Matted hair can be painful for a dog, as it sticks to the dog's skin and can pull the skin when the dog moves.

Soon, the dog is so matted you can't do anything with it. So, you take it to your local grooming shop. Unfortunately, getting matted hair off a dog isn't easy, and it can be painful for the dog. Sometimes, the dog is so matted that all it's hair has to be shaved off. Which sometimes leaves you with an ugly dog!

So, fellow dog owners and seekers of non shedding dogs, remember this: When you get that new puppy, you are either going to be purchasing a new vacuum, or a new brush.

Find out how to save hundreds of dollars and form an even closer bond with your dog by learning to groom your dog yourself. Get more information on "Grooming Your Dog At Home" by Clicking HERE

There are many aspects of Do It Yourself Dog Grooming that are easy to perform, and learning how to fluff dry your dog is one of the easiest ones to do. There will be times when you want your pet to have that "just came from the groomers" look, but you don't have the time, or the money, to get her to a professional dog groomer. Depending on the size of your dog, and assuming she is on the smaller side, you can "neaten up" your dog in about half an hour.

The only items you will need to fluff dry your dog is a tub, shampoo, a blow dryer, and a dog brush. It is really important to wash him first, unless he was just washed in the last week or so. His coat will respond to the fluff drying process much better if it is relatively clean. If you don't normally wash your own dog, the most important thing to remember is that you need to rinse him thoroughly. Leftover shampoo isn't good for his coat, and will also make the fluff drying process much harder, if not impossible, because the areas of leftover shampoo will feel oily to the touch.

Once you have thoroughly rinsed the shampoo off your dog, you can towel her off to remove excess water. It is important here to not dry her too much with the towel, as you want the hair damp once you start the fluff drying process. This is especially true if she has curly hair and you are trying to straighten it out by fluffing.

After you have toweled off the excess water, put his leash on your dog and loop it on a door handle or heavy piece of furniture. The object here is to not allow him an avenue of escape! Most dogs don't like the blow drying process, although if they are regular visitors to the grooming shop your little household blow dryer will seem tame compared to the dryers we use on them.

The heat and force setting you use on the blow dryer is really dependant on the amount of hair your dog has. The more hair that's there, the higher the force setting you should use. Watch out for the higher heat setting, as you may dry her coat too quickly, and could actually irritate her skin if she has an extremely thin coat of hair and sensitive skin.

Now all you do is dry the dog with the hairdryer and brush it at the same time against the grain. If you start at his rear end, brush and blow dry toward the head. Basically, you are going to brush up, or towards the top of the dog. Use short, quick strokes, and do this all over his body. In most cases you can do some of the drying without the brushing, as long as you continue to dry against the grain. Once you have finished drying, brush him all over, still against the grain. If you find any areas that look out of place, or funny (too fluffy), just brush it back with the grain.

When you have finished, your dog will have that just been to the groomer look!