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anniemm
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Location: Texas
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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Just recently my husband found a male black lab that he *really* wanted to adopt. Now, growing up I had 2 dogs, but they were kept in the backyard and very very rarely came into our home. One of the main reasons I haven't wanted to get a dog is that we do not have a fenced yard, we are basically in the middle of a forest in the middle of suburbia (if that makes sense?! lol). So anyway, we got the dog because DH really wanted to have one and I am trying really hard to take on this extra work with a spirit of love and obedience toward my husband. He's a really nice dog, my girls love him, he's house trained, and just generally well-mannered. HOWEVER, as I said I have never had an animal in the home before and his shedding is about to make me insane! He's not in all day, when DH comes home, he comes in, otherwise I leave him outside because I don't like having an animal in the house. Just the few hours in the evening creates all kinds of extra work! I have mostly laiminate "wood" floors with area rugs in the great room (which is the only room I allow him in, but we're in here most of the time). I feel like I can't get the house sanitary anymore!!! I hate that my little children are sitting on the floor doing puzzles with dog hair (even minimal dog hair!) or if they drop something it will inevitably have a black hair on it. It really grosses me out!  So I guess what I am asking for is some advice from other, more experienced, pet owners on how to handle this! DH bathes him frequently, he eats quality dog food, and gets the heartworm shot that prevents fleas and ticks...but still!!! Any suggestions on how to keep my home from getting all furry?!
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Andrea
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5athome
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 7:38pm | IP Logged
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We have a black lab aussie mix and I have the same complaints! One thing that helps immensely is shaving her hair very short periodically. There is definitely less shedding and hair clumps in the corners.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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#1 Purchase---lint roller. 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 7:45pm | IP Logged
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#2 Purchase- a Dyson!
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wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Karen T
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| Posted: March 11 2007 at 10:47am | IP Logged
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I can empathize a little bit b/c we have a yellow Lab, a Doberman and 3 longhaired cats, so we do deal with a lot of hair! however, we've always had lots of pets, and I'm a vet, and living with pet hair is just part of daily life for me 
Spring is especially bad for the hair b/c they are losing their winter coat. Regular brushing is usually not enough to get out the undercoat completely. I would recommend getting something called a Shedding blade (NAYY to this site and i haven't used them, just googled to show you a picture - I probably got mine at petsmart)
Take the dog outside every day and use it ( you unstrap one side of the handle and rake the blade down the hair, with the grain, not against it). It really gets out a lot of loose hair you may not even see. It's especially effective after a bath, once they are dry, b/c the bathing loosens up the hair.
Another suggestion is to have a local groomer do an undercoat removal in the spring and possibly fall also.
One other tip is if you have something like a shopvac to use outdoors, and if it has a reversal to blow air instead of sucking in, and IF your dog is not afraid of the noise, after bathing use the blower against the grain of the coat to help blow out a lot of undercoat. Follow up with the shedding blade.
Oh, and for the house I like using a Swiffer type thing on the floors - sweeping just stirs up the hair/dust into the air and even vacuuming doesn't always get it all. I don't like throwing away little swiffer "cloths" though, so I use microfiber towels (you can buy them cheap at WM or Target in the automotive section) and wash them.
Karen
p.s. studies have found that kids who grow up with animals in the house are LESS likely to have allergies later on than kids with no pets (assuming they weren't allergic to begin with)
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Cleaning and Pets?
