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Guide on How to Control Pet Hair

November 20, 2019 by Mary Telesz

Love Your Dog, Hate the Dog Hair?

Pet Hair controlLike many people who love their dogs, you probably regard your dog as a member of your family. That means your dog spends time with you indoors, and in some cases, shares your bedroom or even your bed with you. If only you could do something about the hair the dog leaves behind.

Most of us care more about having the dog than having to clean up dog hair in the house. We regard regular dog hair clean up as a small price to pay for the joy of dog ownership. However, there are some ways you can minimize the amount of hair your dog sheds in your home.

What You Can Do About It

Dogs, like other animals, shed their hair as a way to replenish old, damaged hair with new hair. The purpose of hair is to help with sensation, skin protection, and regulation of body temperature. Some breeds shed more than other breeds. Understanding that, you can take a few easy steps to reduce the amount of shedding by your dog.

Rule Out Health Problems

The first step is to check with your vet about the volume your dog sheds. If it is unusually heavy for the breed, your dog’s shedding could be a health problem that you haven’t identified. Heavy shedding can be a symptom of allergies, anxiety, or parasites.

Change Your Dog’s Diet

Shedding can be exacerbated by a poor diet or a nutritional deficiency. Just like with humans, a well-balanced and healthy diet can go a long way to having a healthy body. In dogs, a healthy diet will help keep shedding down to a more manageable level.
Put your dog on a healthy diet. Consult with your vet to learn about good quality food and the amounts your dog needs. Realize that an imbalanced or poor diet will deprive your dog of the nutrients it needs for a healthy coat. Your dog needs the right amounts of good quality protein, fat, and essential fatty acids to normalize the amount of shedding. Also, add some moist food to the diet. It is surprising how much the quality of food affects the degree of shedding and the health of the coat.

Regular Grooming

Baby and DogYou can reduce the amount of hair in your home by grooming the dog regularly. That means bathing the dog with a good dog shampoo and conditioner. Human shampoos are too harsh for a dog’s skin. Dogs have very thin skin and human shampoos can be uncomfortable and dry out your dog’s skin.

Also, brush the dog regularly – do it outside or in the garage to keep the hair out of your house. Ideally, brush the dog daily, or at least several times each week. After just a few days of this, it will take less time to brush it out, and you should notice less shedding in your house. Consult with a professional groomer about what type of brush or comb works best for your dog’s breed and type of hair. If you use the wrong tool, you can damage the dog’s undercoat and make the experience unpleasant for your dog.

For very short-haired dogs, you may think no brushing is needed. However, their coats and skin respond very well to using a hand-mitt. It will remove loose hair very well on short haired dogs that shed a lot, such as a Doberman or a Dalmatian. It also works well on Labrador retrievers, Bulldogs, Boxers, and breeds with similar coats. A hand-mitt or rubber curry comb will also massage and stimulate the dog’s circulation, which will also help the coat shine.

If your dog has a heavy coat, try using a grooming vacuum. It will get the dander and loose hair deeper than you can access with a brush. It does a great job of bringing the dog’s natural oils to the surface. Before long your dog’s coat will shine and feel better to the touch than it ever has before.

Use a Professional Groomer

To really keep your dog’s coat healthy and the shedding under control, try getting the dog professionally groomed on a regular basis. Professional grooming will help you keep the shedding in check, as well as notify you of any health issues that may be developing on the dog’s skin.

Contact Paw Pals for more information

Child and DogFor more tips on controlling pet hair in your home, call the pet experts at Paw Pals. They are experienced with pet care and pet health issues. They are always available to help you with your own four-legged companion. Be sure to inquire about their pet sitting services, too. With Paw Pals pet sitting services, you can be comfortable leaving your pet home for long hours, but never alone. Paw Pals pet sitters are trained and licensed pet sitters. Call for more information.

Filed Under: Pet Advice, Pet Care

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Monday
9am - 5pm
Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Centreville – 20120, 20121
Chantilly – 20151
Clifton – 20124
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Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
4.9
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith
21:22 03 Oct 21
I never worry when Mary and team take care of my dog!
Michæl Silva
Michæl Silva
21:38 01 Jul 22
Mary at Paw Pals Pet Sitting is the greatest! She has helped me train my pooch Chico how play nice with other dogs and for that I am extremely grateful! A+A+A+A+A+A
Kwi Kim
Kwi Kim
22:37 17 Jun 22
I hired Paw Pals based on my sister’s referral. Meet & greet was very thorough and detailed. I was surprised that my finicky cat came to check the sitter out. Subsequently, a sitter watched my cat over several separate visits, and it was clear through the visit reports that my cat loved the sitter. All the visits were completed having followed my directions & with professionalism.I would highly recommend Paw Pals to anyone who’s looking for a dependable, personable, & professional sitter.
Joseph Walter
Joseph Walter
19:55 13 Jun 22
Paw Pals provided a large number of photos of our pets along with a personalized message on how our pets were doing with every single visit. I would highly recommend using Paw Pals, we'll be continuing to use them whenever we go on vacation.
Ashley Manning
Ashley Manning
09:50 11 Jun 22
Highly recommend as pet sitters!Initially, a sitter from the company will visit the house to meet the pets and learn where everything is. Tatiana took careful notes and we got her some spare keys.While we are away, Paw Pals sends sitters to come and look after our boys. They feed them, scoop litter, bring in mail and packages, and they will even manage trash, recycling, blinds and lights so that everything is comfortable for our kitties. Each time they check in, we receive an email message with updates and pictures, which is so comforting when we are on the road.Also, if you don’t let Paw Pals know when you are home, they assume something has happened and will continue to care for your babies. If something were to happen, I know they would be okay.Five stars for Paw Pals!
Brian Wood
Brian Wood
04:08 22 May 22
We have used Paw Pals for a number of years now and would highly recommend to anyone looking for help with their pets. Great communication from owner Mary and flexibility to make adjustments in schedule as life changes over time. Have had a consistent set of walkers who have gotten to know our pup and the various walking routes around our neighborhood quite well.
Lesley Bush
Lesley Bush
13:58 18 Mar 22
We can't rave enough about Paw Pals. They took care of our 18 year old Cat and 20 year old Chinchilla while we were away and when our flight got cancelled, they were so accommodating and available last minute for an extra day. We worked with Jen to coordinate visits from Miko and Danny. I loved the pictures and updates on how our Lil geriatric guys were doing. Thanks a million, Paw Pals!! Our special pets were so well cared for.
Sebastian Barnes
Sebastian Barnes
01:06 17 Jan 22
I have used Paw Pals for several trips over the last few months, and they have been phenomenal every time! Mary is extremely kind and responsive, and she makes sure that my cat and dog have the care that they need every time I am out of town. All of the pet sitters that I've had have been incredibly sweet to my pets, and they treat them like their own! Will gladly continue using Paw Pals every time I need a sitter.
Julie Shildt
Julie Shildt
17:45 14 Nov 21
It has been a pleasure doing business with paw pals. We have used this company for several trips we have taken over the past 6 months. They have been wonderful caretakers for our 2 cats. Anytime there is ever a question they don't hesitate to give us a call and they leave the best notes and pictures in the emailed report of each visit. We are so glad have found such a great company.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Katie McCune
Katie McCune
19:19 15 Jul 21
I honestly cannot recommend Mary and her whole crew enough! We started using Mary originally about 7 years ago to stop by occasionally when our Aussie Lana was younger. Over the next couple years Lana stayed with Mary and her family for a couple weekends when we went on vacation. When we moved to our new house in Manassas, Lana stayed with Sam, who lives in Manassas, overnight for moving day, and did great. Right before the pandemic, we adopted our second Aussie, Goose, and Mary recommended a fantastic trainer for him.We now have weekly walks for the dogs, and they love all of their walkers! Trevor, Paul, Hazel, Sofie, and probably a couple others have helped Goose get used to more people, and have helped my husband and me when our schedules are crazy.Paw Pals is our go-to for any help with our dogs, so I highly recommend them!
Alexandra Hill
Alexandra Hill
22:43 23 May 21
I was a nervous mommy to leave my cats with a sitter service for the first time. Paw Pals went above and beyond to care for my cats and ease a nervous mommy. I already made a reservation to use them again!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
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