I got a samoyed dog that sheds alot once a year and am looking at an effective way of getting that hair out quickly. I am thinking about an attachment on a shopvac or vaccum that will brush the hair and suck the shed hair at once. this is what I am thinking of http://www.shopvac.com/detail.asp?id=424 Is this a good way or do you recommend another. Thanks

 

Anything that removes dog hair is certainly going to appeal to homeowners. Not sure the dog will take to the noise and the suction. Daily brushing outdoors tends to eliminate a lot of the indoor hair. Dog hair indoors is a given. Some breeds shed more than others.

See the following discussion for additional input: http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=287248

 

Check to see if the dog will let you near him with a running vac hose before buying anything.

 

I had to chuckle when I saw this post..sorry, but my family used to breed Sammies. We had a sure cure for the shed fur...we had the groomers remove the undercoat in the late spring, and sold the fur, which is actually more like wool, and many artisans who weave and spin, will gladly buy it.

The easiest method by far, unless you are willing to sit and actually do the work, is to have a groomer, remove the undercoat.

Been there, Done That..speak from LONG experience. Try about 30 dogs worth each spring!

As for the attachment, the thing is, the undercoat is actually what is shedding, and the vac thing won't properly pull if from under the guard hairs.

Just my two bits, hope this helps.

 

You are right about the undercoat. The description does say this "It is designed to easily and efficiently remove excess hair and undercoat from your double coated dog breeds before it sheds all over your house." Maybe? Cannot trust every claim out there especially from the manufacturer.

We got through last seasons shedding by doing as you said we took him in and had him groomed and it seemed to last about 3 days and the hair would just come back. If all the undercoat shed at once then I would just have him groomed once and then end of story but it falls out gradually.

Unless you have a top secret way of removing the whole undercoat while leaving the topcoat untouched. Believe me I am all ears.

Sense I asked I obviously am not sure weather the shop vac thing works well but I thought that suction on it would add something to it.

Only thing I can think of is regular brushes using a good tool that goes fast. I though that a undercoat rake with a powerful suction on it would prove to be such a tool.

He is around vacuum cleaners all the time so there is no problem there. Only question is is it effective and/or is there a more effective way of going about it. Thanks

 

Can Samoyeds be "stripped"? There is a difference between stripping and basic brushing/grooming, as you are essentially pulling out most or all of the undercoat. My Cairn Terrier was stripped anually and nearly eliminated hair in the house. Our double - coated border collie mix (we think there is a Husky in there somewhere!) is stripped twice a year and it makes a huge difference, though the warm months still make him shed somewhat.

I also have a theory that pets with white hair shed more than other colored pets because most of my wardrobe is dark, and everything has white hairs on it! ;-)

 

Stripping? I have never heard of that before. What instrument is used for stripping. Groomer should've informed me of this if it was possible but mayby they don't know either. I think the method they use is to first bath them, and then using a powerful blower blow the hair while brushing or at least something like that. Thanks

 

Stripping is done with a special knife/tool that pulls out the undercoat and leaves the top coat alone. When I posted about a groomer removing the undercoat, this is what I was talking about. Sorry I didn't use the proper term to begin with.

You can Google for *Stripping undercoat* and there will be a bazillion good sites for info, and also products that you can purchase to do it yourself.

Just a heads up, it is very labor intensive. Also, as mentioned before, I honestly don't think the vaccuum thing will really work with a Sammy, their coats are just too dense, in my honest opinion.

Good luck and Hope this helps!

 

I don't know why the local groomer didn't inform me of this. Oh well small town what can I say. At pet edge what tools would you get inorder to do this job. So many selections I don't even know were to start. Thank you for informing me of this.

 

I did a bit of googling and came across a very helpful article:

http://www.wirehairfoxterrier.com/wishes/learningtostip.htm

Now this is obviously not for a Sammy, but it will help you learn the technique so that you can decide which tools would be best for doing the Sammy.

I don't recall all the different tips and tricks these days..but once you start doing the stripping, somethings will come naturally to you with your own dog.

Hope this helps.

 

Will--
The vacuum thing is not nearly as nice as it sounds. I've tried a few and found that even though my Collies don't mind the sound, they certainly do mind the pulling created by the vac.

I don't have any experience with Sammys, but my little Collie (ha!) girl has a 'soft' or puppy-like coat even though she is 5. I swear, there is no skin under there it's all soft undercoat that tends to float around the house.

I have had good success with an undercoat rake.

I take her outdoors and give her a healthy rub with a Zoom Groom. That's a rubber brush similar to a curry comb for a horse. It loosens the undercoat and has the added benefit of an all-over body rub. Once I am done with that I rake her coat aginst the growth pattern so the undercoat layers are exposed and I am not pulling them through the guard hairs.

Takes a while, but one or two sessions usually gtes rid of the loose undercoat for a few months. I do this twice a year--in Spring when the Collie fur tumble weeds invade my house and again in the Fall when they drop what little underoat they maintain over summer.