Well, not really. If you have a pug, you know the unstoppable force of shedding. As a wise sportscenter anchor once said, “You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain it.”
Yes, this is true for pug shedding. As I understand, pugs have an overcoat and an undercoat. The undercoat is also called “down” — it’s lots of small hairs right next to the body designed to keep warm air close to the body. I also understand that through genetics, black pugs only have one of these coats, I think the outer coat. (I think the outer coat was bred to be darker and the undercoat was bred out — but i’m not sure on this)
Anyway, black pugs shed less than fawn pugs, apparently. I wish I had known this.
So, how do you keep your pug from shedding? Well, I have a couple techniques. The first and foremost is my vacuum. This is what is meant by “containment.” I now have a dyson 14 animal vacuum, which i highly recommend. The next step after that is to brush frequently. If you can get the hair off in a controlled manner, you’re more likely to get it in the trash can, rather than on your floor or clothes.
I use a furminator along with the standard wire brushes you find in stores. The furminator essentially is a fine tooth comb combined with prongs that cut or pull the hair out. It does a very good job at gripping and thinning hair. However, It’s still not enough. Pugs shed A LOT, especially after a bath.
So, Tricia and I just had to make a bunch of returns to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and one of the things we picked up was a barber’s hair shaving kit. I just shaved Gizmo and Gadget to 1/8 inch of hair, and, well, it’s kind of a butcher job (Gizmo hates the look, but he didn’t mind getting shaved).
I’ll have pictures up in the next day or so, but, well, i’m not a professional, and they look kinda bad. However, what’s left is most of their undercoat, and they’re a LOT cooler, especially in the New Orleans summertime heat. Gadget’s already starting to get way overheated, and we thought that a good way to combat the heat was to get rid of some of the extra hair.
So far, the shedding has been lessened — what sheds is shorter hair, and there’s less of it. We’ll see what happens when there are baths and more time has passed, but I think this is going to be really good for them, once their “bad haircut” grows out a little bit and later when I get better at trimming them.
Do you do this? Should I have gone longer than 1/8 inch? Do you have any tips for pug shaving? Reducing dog shedding?
I read online that ground flaxseed was great for reducing shedding, and maybe i’ll try it. Anyone know?
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By the way, the FURminator is a very good product.
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I plan to buy him a coat in the winter. It doesn’t snow down here but I want to make sure he stays warm.
I want your vacuum!! I have been asking my husband to buy me a purple Dyson ever since they came out.
I haven’t found anything to help my Chihuahua mix’s shedding problem. She carpets my tile floor. It’s awful. I am curious to know if the hair cut helps, because I thought of doing that….