Top Must-Haves If You Struggle With a Shedding Dog

Enter Nyla. Christmas time a year ago, my boyfriend and I were browsing a dog rescue page when we came across her. An eight week old Yorkie/Cocker Spaniel rescued from a puppy mill with her 6 siblings. We couldn't resist! We filled out the application in hopes we would be approved for any one of the six pups, and we were lucky enough to be matched with her.

Since we've had her, she's surprised us in more ways than one. The first being her size; she's about 20 lbs heavier than anyone expected her to grow... we were bargaining for a small dog as a companion for our other Yorkie. HA! Secondly, now that she is an adult, she is clearly not just a Yorkie/Cocker Spaniel. The third, the amount of hair she sheds. If you're anything like me, dog hair drives me INSANE. This is why I wanted to share with you the top must-haves I use to eliminate pesky dog fluff from my home.

After trying multiple brushes, this is my favorite brush that I have found so far. It has a double row of plastic teeth that maximize the amount of hair it picks up per stroke. I find the teeth also really get down to my fluffy, long hair dogs' undercoat and brushes it out without any pulling or ripping. I brush Nyla with this weekly, sometimes every second week if I've been super busy. But even if I skip a week, I'm not panicking. This brush really does cut down on the amount of hair she sheds.

Brushing Tip: If you find your dog's hair becomes fly-away and staticky while brushing, put a little water in a spray bottle and mist them down before brushing. This way, the hair doesn't fly all over your house!

Furminator brushes are a highly sought after brand in the pet supplies world and for good reason. These brushes come in all sorts of sizes and hair types that you can't not find a combination that works for your dog. They also do a great job. They get down to the undercoat and brush out all the loose/dead fur without pulling or ripping out other hair. The only problem I have is with the size. I have the large dog size and I don't find that it is as versatile when trying to fit it in areas like under her legs and such.

Also, if you have a Furminator brush, you can get a vacuum attachment that does all the fur collecting for you. Unfortunately, Nyla is deathly afraid of vacuum cleaners, we have found out, but this is a good option for dogs who are not!

If you're like me, I used to just bathe my dog with whatever shampoo I had around the house. However, if you have troubles with a shedding dog, investing in a decent de-shedding shampoo may be worth it. I find Furminator De-Shedding Ultra Premium Shampoo does the trick in combination with a rubber bath glove like the one seen below. Used monthly, this shampoo helps release hair in the bath. It also keep coat healthy and shiny with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, calendula extract, and papaya leaf extract. It also smells great!

Fight shedding from the inside out. A healthy coat begins with a healthy diet. Along with many other, almost countless benefits, Omega 3 Fatty Acids help reduce shedding. Sourced in the Canadian Atlantic, any dog can benefit from this stuff. It's super easy to use, just add a bit to their food at meal time! Most dogs will love the taste because of its fishiness, so no worries there. I started noticing results in my dogs after about a month!

No matter how many preventative measures you use, your fur-babies' hair will always find its way into your life and onto your fabrics. Having one of these brushes in your home works wonders. I find that it saves me from constantly vacuuming and even gets into places a vacuum can't. I use it on my clothes, upholstery, blankets, throw pillows, etc. It's less wasteful than those sticky lint rollers and I find it picks up hair better, too.

I hope you find these products as helpful as I have in the fight against pet hair! They are owner approved!