Why is my Golden Retriever shedding so much? How to improve coat?

Hello, dogs are expected to shed their fur in excess at least 2 times per year. Other causes for excessive shedding include stress, inadequate diet, or diseases affecting the skin coat or hair growth. You may limit the amount of hair shed onto your environment by brushing Leo daily and ensuring his diet has is adequate (i.e he eats a balanced diet approved by AFFCO). Additionally, you can inquire about feeding Leo a diet with added essential fatty acids to promote skin health. If you feel that Leo is shedding excessively due to being stressed, anxious, or nervous you may talk to your veterinarian about medications to control his anxiety in addition to behavior modification training. Best of luck and hope this helps.

Adding Fish oil to his food daily (Welactin fish oil in a pump in one easily administered product) will help with the shedding as well as with dry skin if he has that as well. Additionally giving VetriScience Derma Strength chews daily (available on chewy.com) and switching to a higher quality food may help as well (Royal Canin and Hills are two examples of frequently recommended dog food brands). Lastly, purchasing and using a furminator brush to remove as much of the shedding hairs and undercoat at once will likely help as well. Good luck!

There are a number of reasons why he could be losing hair. If his skin seems fine and he's not scratching, his skin looks normal (no redness, scaling, oozing, etc.) it could be part of the natural shedding cycle or due to his age and developing his adult coat. If the shedding seems abnormal, if the skin is involved, if he is losing hair in patches, itching, etc., I recommend you get him seen by a vet who can examine the skin, possibly do some labwork and., based on these results, will be better able to advise you on the cause of the shedding and how best to manage and treat it.

If Allie has dry skin, it may be causing her to itch more. Sometimes when dogs itch more often, they can shed more hair than normal. Make sure she does not have any red/pink skin discoloration or scabby lesions on her skin. If you see these, she may need antibiotics from a veterinarian to help her from being itchy. If she does not have skin lesions but does have dry/flaky skin, an omega 3 fatty acid/fish oil supplement taken orally should help resolve her dry skin issue. You can find several different brands for dogs online or at pet stores/vet clinics. There are several dog food brands that are high in omega 3 fatty acids. Look for a dog food that contains salmon. Another option to decrease the amount of dog hair in your house would be to have a groomer give Allie a "lion cut". This means that the groomer would trim the hair on Allie's body but leave the hair on her neck, head/face, tail, and legs. I hope this has helped. Thank you for using pet coach.

I completely feel your pain! I have a Basset Hound that sheds like crazy as well. It can be normal, but it can also be the result of allergies, hormones, diet, stress, or a skin condition. I would have Cash Morgan seen by a vet to rule out the causes I mentioned above, and once they are, I would recommend brushing him daily to cut down on the shedding.

Hair shedding is a normal process in dogs when the hair follicle turnover happens. THis can increase due to environemnt or hormones. To help pick up some of the shedded hair I woudl suggest purchasing a product called a Furminator brush, which can remove the shedded hair so that less of it collects on the floor. You can also give him over the counter dog fish oils from your local pet store to encourage a healthy haircoat. I would continue to bathe your pet with dog shampoo to routinely cleanse his skin. Otherwise as long as you are not seeing bald patches on Romeo's skin, his haircoat is fine. I hope this helps! Best wishes with your pet and take care.

Hi Nilesh. This dry coat can be a sign of parasites that cause mange, such as Demodex, canine scabies, and cheyletiellosis (Walking Dandruff), or it could indicate that your dog has lice. I would take Maggie into the vet to get her coat checked out.