Shedding lab.

[bmc]

I was wondering if there was any thing I could mix with my 5 month old female yellow lab's food to keep her from shedding so much? She's spent much of the summer in doors and a fair amount of time outside in her kennel and on her runner. I've been using Iam's Large Breed puppy food. Or is it just part of owning a lab? Yes this is my first lab. Maybe i'll just have to color cordinate the carpet in the house to my dog's coat? LOL
Thanks,
bmc

[Surface Tension]

Sounds like the pup has a good diet.
I think your pup is getting ready for winter. Soon you'll have to decide if this is an indoor or outdoor dog. The repeated cycles of in and out will make for a coat that isn't suited for winter or indoors and lots of shedding. Some pups put on a heavier then normal coat their first winter so expect extra shedding.
When winter brings on brutal cold snaps I'll bring my Labs indoors to the coldest spot in the house which is my basement.
Once I thought this is a good opportunity to give them a bath. Wrong! It sparked a shedding spree. Now I use a dog deodorant. Just spray it on and towel it off.

[CrankinEyes]

I own 2 labs. They are outside during the day and inside at night.
They both have different shedding characteristics and they are mother & daughter.
Mamma sheds like mad all year and her daughter sheds normally. Asked a vet one time if there was something wrong with all the shedding, he said welcome to Lab ownership. She still hunts like a pup after 13 years.

[sandman469ss]

The sporadic weather is to blame for the shedding. It's 50 one week, which tells the dogs body to get the winter coat out, then 80 the next, which tells them to shed it. Good luck figuring out how to stop it.

I also read in a magazine somewhere, that a lab that stays indoors during the colder weather, will not be as good as one that stays outside and gets use to the cold. I agree with Surface Tension, you need to decide if it's an indoor or outdoor dog so it's coat is right for the season and what you're using him for. If it's going to be out in the subzero temp with you, it's gonna need the heavy coat.

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Takin it easy! & if it’s easy, I’ll take it twice!

[jeffyo45]

You can pour fish oil over the food. This helps reduce the shedding not eliminate it. It is just one more joy of owning a lab.

[Lowe]

The fish oil will help some, a tablespoon of peanut butter will do the same thing. It won't eliminate the problem, dogs shed hair continually, just like us - they just have a lot more of it.

Labs will shed more at certain times of year, which is due more to the angle of the sun than the temperature. All animals in temperate climates respond to photoperiod length (length of the day), regardless of weather patterns. When I used to trap it didn't matter much what kind of fall we had, the animals were prime around the same time every year. Nature's way of making sure the critters are prepared for winter, even if we have a long Indian summer.

[willowcat]

I picked up a bottle of shed control shampoo from Petco,It cut my dogs shedding in half. A dog bath 2 to 3 times a month, if possible helps alot also.