Regularly grooming your dog helps reduce hair accumulation caused by normal metabolism, making the dog's fur stronger and smoother. Frequent grooming not only removes fallen hair, dirt, and dust, preventing fur tangles, but also promotes blood circulation, enhances skin resistance, and relieves your dog's fatigue.

　　Humans need to comb their hair every day, except monks and artists who pride themselves on an unkempt look. For dogs, regardless of breed, if they are kept at home, they require regular grooming.

　　Regularly grooming your dog helps reduce hair buildup from normal metabolism, making the fur stronger and smoother. Regular grooming removes dropped hair, dirt, and dust, preventing tangles, and also stimulates blood flow, improves skin resistance, and relieves canine fatigue. In fact, every time you groom your dog, you can remove a lot of hair. A gentle stroke of the brush collects plenty of fur. Imagine if you didn’t brush it out – the hair would naturally fall everywhere as your dog moves around.

　　Frequency is key when grooming your dog. Brushing once or twice a week is almost like not brushing at all. Spending some time brushing your dog every day is ideal. Scenes on TV showing wealthy ladies grooming their poodles come from real life! Spending about 5 minutes morning and evening brushing your dog yields great results. Just 10 minutes a day, not much at all.

　　There is a proper way to groom dogs. Besides choosing different grooming tools for different breeds, technique is very important. Brush quickly following the direction of the dog’s hair growth. Some owners only brush the surface of long fur dogs, neglecting the undercoat (down hair). The undercoat is fine and dense; neglecting it causes matting and can lead to eczema, ringworm, or other skin diseases. When grooming long-haired dogs, brush layer by layer, lifting the long hair to groom the undercoat.

　　Generally, start grooming a dog from the neck, moving front to back, top to bottom. Start from neck to shoulders, then back, chest, waist, belly, hindquarters, then head, finishing with legs and tail. Complete one side before moving to the other.

　　Indoor Dogs Shed More

　　Men who stay indoors constantly are called “indoors-men” (otaku), similarly, dogs that stay indoors without going out can be called “indoor dogs.” Indoor dogs tend to shed heavily. Daily outdoor exercise and good sunlight exposure greatly benefit a dog's coat health.

　　Outdoor Exercise Is Good, but Choose the Right Venue Carefully.

　　If the area is grassland, shrubs, or woods, your dog’s fur might get infested with mites, fleas, or intestinal parasites, all causing serious shedding. Check for black spots on the skin and white spots in feces. If these signs appear, don’t hesitate to medicate promptly.

　　Too Salty Food Causes Hair Loss

　　Dogs staying indoors idle often shed, and overly salty food also causes large amounts of hair loss. Dogs shouldn’t eat whatever their owners eat. Excess salt in dog food leads to severe or localized hair loss. Not only salt but sweet, spicy, irritating foods, and flavor enhancers can cause dog hair loss.

　　Dog food contains salt in controlled amounts to maintain muscular strength. Human food salt content is much higher and negatively affects the dog's coat over time. Dogs like to peek at owners’ bowls or pots, but if sharing food, it’s best to cook human food by boiling before feeding.

　　Dogs shouldn’t eat too varied a diet, but also shouldn’t eat only dog food; supplementing with nutrition products is necessary, or shedding occurs. Two-month-old puppies can have some cooked egg yolk and steamed carrots. Adult dogs can eat bones and pet-specific supplements that support fur. Nutritional deficiency definitely causes severe shedding.

　　Too Frequent Bathing Also Causes Shedding

　　Frequent baths can be as damaging as pulling hair! Overbathing destroys the dog’s natural protective skin oils, causing excessive shedding. Even in shedding seasons, bathing every seven days is quite frequent. To maintain hygiene, use a damp towel for quick wiping after outdoor walks.

　　The choice of shampoo matters. Dogs’ skin is neutral, while human shampoos tend to be alkaline. Using human shampoo on dogs dries their skin, making them vulnerable to bacteria and mites, causing serious shedding.

　　Warm Tips

　　Food Nourishes Dog Fur

　　The quality of fur directly relates to nutritional status, so to have good fur color, dogs must eat well.

　　Several nutrients can improve dog fur quality.

　　Protein: Adequate protein ensures good hair growth quality, making fur grow faster and stronger, and improves split ends. Especially for long-haired dogs, sufficient protein prevents hair breakage.

　　Vitamin E: Vitamin E has anti-aging and antioxidant effects, enhances immunity, protects cell membranes’ integrity and function, and maintains healthy skin and fur.

　　Vitamin D: Vitamin D is essential for normal bone calcification; it promotes intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorus, aiding the fur in absorbing and metabolizing nutrients.

　　Fat: Fat is the main substance ensuring shiny fur and helps absorb other nutrients. Lack of fat causes itchy skin, increased dandruff, and rough, dry coat.