Why is my Doberman shedding excessively?

Because of the weather, or it just may be the dogs genetics. I have had dobermans since I was a baby, and my dad has been breeding them since the 80's and they all have diffrent shedding limits. Dobermans are mixed with about 6-5 different dogs to come up with the dobie and the longest of the hair for all of them, was the Rottweiler. Which isnt think, but pretty long and they shed a bit. The dobie I have now's hair is kind long, but not like a rottie.

But what I do is give him regular baths.

Brush him with a RUBBER brush becuase thats what gets out all the excess and loose hair. Take him outside in the morning and brush him down for a couple minutes or however long you want. The more you do though, the more hair that comes out.

Then after, take a wet paper towel and wipe him down with it to catch all the wispy loose hair , dander and dirt. (Optional: Spritz with a doggie purfume, so he can be a walking air freshener)

Then, IF you want, take a natual baby oil, and lightly drip 2-3 pea sized amounts on your hand, and rub your hands together. Then take your hands and lightly put it on the top of your dobies coat and legs, to make a barrier to kinda trap the hair. But dont put too much or he will be very greasy, and brush him after you put it in. And do this 1-2 a week, No more. And remember, keep it VERY light. Keep out of eyes

well I hope this helped an go ahead and e-mail me if you need any further help.

Doberman Shedding

First of all, Ryan, I would like to say that you sound like a very nice, very intelligent and very well educated man. Your question was well written with very few spelling or grammatical mistakes if any (the magic of spellcheck, etc.?) and all I can say is that, however wrong your mother might be about some things, she must have done something right with you. I don't think there would be any laws against what your mother is doing, unless you might wish to get her in trouble with the welfare people. Technically, she is supposed to report any income, so, actually, that might be a tack you can take to get her to back down on the rent hike. Frankly, I wouldn't, though. If your mother is halfway decent in some ways, do you wish to get her in trouble? And I wouldn't threaten to do something you're not really going to do. But you could always mention it as sort of an aside. Just a whiff of your understanding that something is fishy here could help your mother come down to earth. However, remember ... there is no law against your moving out either, as far as I know. Where I live, $500 would definitely get you to be one half of a share, or a quarter of a college apartment or something. It seems a little unfair what your mom is doing because could make it harder for you to pursue your goals if you haven't finished college or are planning to go or are wanting to start a business ... anything.

I would bet, based on what you've said, that you need to switch to a higher quality food. Canidae is a very high quality food that uses human grade ingredients and isn't exorbitantly expensive (unless you live in Canada). I can get a 40# bag for around $30-35 and it lasts my three dogs at least a month. With higher quality foods you can feed less so your per meal expensive isn't as costly as you might think. Also, just because a food is expensive (like Science Diet) doesn't mean it's a quality food. You'll also have less mess in your yard as you won't be sending garbage your dog doesn't need through his system.

My dogs also get super omega and a vitamin E capsule every other day and their coats are in great shape. I feed raw eggs every other day or so and occasionally will put a couple teaspoons of oil in their food. I still have a lot of 'tumble puppies' floating around my house if I get behind on vacuuming, but seriously, I have three dogs. It could be way worse.

Hi James,

If your dog sheds a lot it does not necessarily denote ill health. Dogs that spend a lot of their time indoors are exposed to electric lights and central heat and air which can throw off their normal shedding schedule that nature built in. However, profuse shedding may have other causes like an unbalanced diet, a kidney or bladder infection or a parasitic ailment.

If your dogs shedding leads to bald spots you should seek help from your veterinarian as soon as possible. All severe shedding conditions are either parasitic or non-parasitic. Parasitic means caused by parasites such as mites or fleas. Non-parasitic means conditions created by a hormonal imbalance and or poor diet, which can easily be treated with vitamins and a more controlled diet. Look article: http://www.askedweb.com/askedweb/Your_Dogs_Sheddin...

Jason Homan

Blue and fawn Dobies tend to get a color alopecia, where their color causes them to loose their hair, it usually looks a little patchy but I have seen dogs that just kind of look like they are balding all over. There is not much that you can do, but you could put him on a omega fatty acid supplement.

If it is a black or red dobie, then I would try giving your dog an omega fatty acid supplement and putting it on a super premium food like Natural Balance (if he is not already).

It's springtime and lots of dogs shed their winter undercoats this time of year. Annoying and messy, but normal.

yeah he's getting rid of his winter coat,

if he were shedding in on area then it could be an allergy and you see his skin rid. it looks to me that he is shedding his winter coat don't worry. if it worries you brush him or get him some vitamins.

Your dog might be shedding so much because a lack of nutrients in it's dog food. You might want to ask you vet if he recommends a better food for your dog. I recommend Hill's Science Diet.

HE'S SHEDDING HIS WINTER COAT! :)