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Post by sdsandiford on Jun 27, 2006 21:45:02 GMT -5
Our three boys are very special to us. They are as different looking on the outside as they are on the inside - and we wouldn't have it any other way. Of our boys, Dave has often seemed somthing of an anomaly. He will often walk right by a blanket or comforter and drop right onto the hardwood floor for a snooze. At 95lbs, when Dave "hits" the floor... well, you know. He is scared to climb up onto any surface. He has to be helped into the van, and he is scared to death of our bed and the sofa. We've become comfortable and respectful of Dave's desire to be on the floor. Today, I took Dave to the vet. His fur started falling out in chunks late last week. We didn't know whether the problem was external or internal. We thought maybe he had a simple allergy, but he was not biting, scratching, rubbing his eyes or showing any other signs of allergy. I got him into Ostrander today, concerned that something could be very wrong. Our vet also pulled out a big chunk of fluff, laughed and told me she could do a test on his fur, but did not see any signs of flees, etc. Daves likely "problem?"... He's "blowing" his undercoat!!! I didn't even know some greyhound had undercoat. When we adopted him we did notice that his coat was unusually thick.. With what looked like two distinct layers to it: his red brindle and a fawnish-white layer next to his skin. However, we never expected him to pull a husky impersonation and lose it!
Well, the vet agreed to see him again if more symptoms cropped up, but she told me to brush him thoroughly, wash him and then look for bald spots.. Baldness might indicate something else. Any-hoo, I brushed Dave and by the time I was done, it looked like I had sheared a sheep! He is now all washed and cleaned, with no irritation or bald spots.. Seems all he suffers from is being a fuzzy greyhound. Has anyone else ever had their grey blow an undercoat? Just curious.
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Post by ocydroma on Jun 28, 2006 6:50:49 GMT -5
My one red boy, Dakota, is like that. Right now he is fuzzy and shedding just like one of the cats!!! That's just been normal for him. The other greys don't seem to be affected like that.
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Post by Summer and Mickey's Mom on Jun 28, 2006 9:47:04 GMT -5
Our Summer, who is also red does the same thing... We found surgical gloves and a good rub pulls out this undercoad better than any brush or "pet" gloves. We also thought with such short hair Greyhounds would not shed.... well,,,, he does... but once a week or so with the gloves and a good rub, scratch on the front lawn and his coat is shiny and our house is hair free. Plus the birds pick up all the hair for nests so I never have to pickup hair outside. Wanda, Les and Summer
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Post by multiplicity on Jun 28, 2006 10:15:37 GMT -5
Devin and Murphy have an undercoat and are shedding like mad!!! My first greyhound, Tex, really didn't shed so I thought that it was true that greyhounds do not shed...Now 2 outta my 3 shed and (especially because I also have 5 cats) there is ALOT of hair in the house right now - in the form of tumble weeds!
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Post by sheri on Jun 28, 2006 11:01:06 GMT -5
Our grey, Sol, has so much hair too! I have been brushing him every night outside and you should see all the hair I get off him. I could get enough to make a little dog out of it. He must be so hot with all that fur. Some people have commented how thick his coat is. I went to petsmart and got him a special brush made out of the kong plastic...it has little plastic spikes on it so it's like he's getting a massage....it does a great job!
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Post by stylishhound on Jun 28, 2006 16:27:06 GMT -5
Kiki is shedding like madness right now! He's totally blowing his coat near his bum and there is a fairly bald spot. I use the Zoom Groom which takes out the hair nicely but I was like "hey, what's going on here!" so it's good to know that it's not just him in a hair crisis right now! I started worrying he was detoxing a bit too much with all the blueberries he's been eating!
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Post by romansmom on Jun 28, 2006 18:09:52 GMT -5
Well I'm glad to hear Roman's not the only one going through a shedding period! He is shedding like crazy right now - not really blowing his coat, but his skin is drier and more dandruffy than it should be (he's been on the same dosage of fish oil since winter) and he is shedding hair quite a bit. I guess it's being brought about with the warmer weather changes? Hopefully it subsides soon!
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Post by jiffer on Jun 28, 2006 18:13:26 GMT -5
Atlas has a super thick coat too. If I didn't brush him as often as I do, I'd have a very hairy house. LOL
Oddly enough, Icarus has been quite "fluffy" lately and last evening when I brushed him down, he was blowing off a lot of hair.
Dave is such a character!!!
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Post by sysmom on Jun 28, 2006 22:53:20 GMT -5
good to know sy's not the only one going through this. i've been vacuming once a day and sweeping or swiffering once a day as well. does anyone know when it'll slow down?
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Post by ocydroma on Jun 29, 2006 6:49:50 GMT -5
I don't know about anyone else, but Dakota sheds non-stop no matter what I do. I think it must just be a matter of the individual dog. The other 8 greys don't shed like that but the 2 labs that I have do.
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alphaB
Grey Lover
missing my Guinness
Posts: 442
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Post by alphaB on Jun 30, 2006 5:45:47 GMT -5
Guinness is shedding every bit as badly as my last dog who was collie, shepherd, husky X. In contrast, Jackson is shedding his usualy amount. Man oh man, it's like a layer of moon dust all over the hardwood floors, whether I bush him or not. I'm getting my aerobic exercise just from vacuuming daily. His coat, which is usually jet black and shiny is now black along his spine and sort of a grey brown on the sides where he's shedding. I'll try the surgical gloves outside to see if that makes any difference. Thanks for the tip....and I think there's a bath on Guinn's holiday schedule this weekend. ;D
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Post by sysmom on Jul 2, 2006 18:02:06 GMT -5
hi everyone- we tried the brushing/rubbing down outside and it's great. the hair comes off in huge amounts and you're right, the birds can pick up. it hasn't really lessened the hair indoors though. we just gave sy a bath, and it took us forever to clean the bathroom afterwards. oh well, at least he smells better. can't wait for the shedding to slown down - since he wasn't like this for the first 6 weeks we had him.
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Post by sysmom on Jul 20, 2006 19:39:06 GMT -5
hi everyone- are all your dogs still shedding? sy's shedding is getting so bad that his kennel rub on the backs of his legs has now turned to hugs spots - actually, his rumps look almost completely bald! any suggestions on what to do? a grey owner at woofstock suggested hemp oil in his food. his grey had a beautiful shiny thick coat. has anyone else tried it? would love to hear from anyone. thanks- lisa
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