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Permalink Reply by Barbara on February 21, 2009 at 5:01pm

He is getting what is supposed to be a blanaced diet. That is why I am thinking there is an additional diet need that is peculiar to Corgi's. I know my daughter put her cocker spaniel on breed specific food and it has helped her general health noticably. There is no breed specific food for Corgi's that I know of.

Shed-stop put Walker's shedding within an almost normal range - but he still sheds more than I think should be normal. This indicates something lacking in his diet to me. He has been on many of the more expensive brands of dog food. He sheds worse, has cronic diarreah, and smells bad on the commercial dog food. (yes - he has been checked and re-checked for parasites, giardia, and so on.) I get my pet food from a specialty shop - they have a lot more brands than petsmart or petco - and all within the same price range.

I am going to look at the supplements for pets at the Super Supplement store - I know they have a shelf dedicated to pet nutrition.

He is overall a healthy dog - and exceptionally sweet. He is lets me use the vacuum on him if I give him treats while the vacuum is running. He doesn't mind at all - he is afraid I will give the treat to the cat. What a personality.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara on February 21, 2009 at 10:25pm

Sorry for the confusiion. My dog is 2 years old. He has been on a mostly whole food diet for the last 4 months. Prior to that he was on dog food - a different one about every six weeks. On the dog food he had all the problems I mention earler. Now he only has the shedding problem. He still eats 20% commercial dog food. The rest is what ever I put together for hiim.

What I want to know is if you have tried anything to help your Corgi with shedding - and if you believe anything helped.

as far as dealing with the shedding - I do the vacuum constantly thing, and use a furminator brush.

Also - just as additional information - I don't think he has an undercoat - if he does it isn't like the undercoat of the collie I used to have. I wonder if that makes a difference. this is my first Corgi.

Shed-Stop has definitely helped a lot, but I still think he is shedding more than is normal.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara on February 22, 2009 at 10:03am

I have had dogs all my life and am fully satisfied that Walker is getting as balanced a diet as is reasonably possible.

I just wanted to know if you had had any success with slowing down the shedding with any specific nutritional supplements.

By the way - the photos were very interesting. I am going to say that Walker does not have an undercoat except on his hind quarters. I know he is supposed to - but there just isn't any undercoat.

Anyway - I bought a new bottle of some liquid vitamins specifically for the coat. I will keep using shed-stop because that has been very helpful. they were smart to put a photo of a Corgi on the bottle.

Have a nice day.

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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on February 21, 2009 at 2:25pm

Aloha! I had been thinking about you lately, wondering where you had been. Good to see you again!

I was wondering the same thing, if what a dog eats has an impact on the shedding or not. Sidney sheds, but not as much as I expected him to. He eats Wellness Super 5.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on February 22, 2009 at 10:52am

I certainly have to agree with all the info that Aloha has offered. Sadly many home made diets do not provide for the nutritional needs of dogs. Short of going to a canine nutrionalist I would be fearful of feeding my dog such a diet.
I would be inclined to do a complete blood panel on this dog if it were mine. I would also like a good heart to heart with my vet if he were mine. Corgi coats do have a huge range of expression from a tight short coat to a fluffy coat and everything in between. Perhaps his lack of undercoat is apparent from all the shedding he has done.
I do not know the ingredients of the shed stop products as I do not use them. It may be merely oils and vitamins to improve coat health. I am not inclined to feed a product to stop shedding as that is the normal process of dogs.
The furminator is a great tool but I also believe this strips out some healthy hair as well. Not a problem for heavy coated dogs as it does reduce the shedding but I do not think I would wish to use it on coats that are lacking good health.
Good luck to you, hope you find the cause. You may find "Spot Stew" to be a grand food. It is all natural and is supposed to provide a balanced diet. It is all human grade "I have tasted it" but comes with a price.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara on February 23, 2009 at 2:56pm

Hello all from Barbara.
I have found several web sites that insist that salmon oil or fish oil is very helpful in stopping excessive shedding. I am off to the store today to get a bottle.

My Corgi is an otherwise healthy, cheerful, dog with a nice temprament. His shedding is the problem.
Switching to a mostly homemade diet with the milk keifer and fresh ground whole grain has taken care of the chronic diarreah. He is now about the right weight. Previously, he wasn't able to gain weight, or go more than a few hours without a bathroom break - round the clock! Anyway - I read it takes around six weeks to see results.

Walker doesn't have any eye problems that I know of - but fish oil is helpful for dogs with eye problems.

I am going to keep using Shed-Stop.
I will let you know in a six weeks if I am seeing improvement.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara on February 23, 2009 at 4:42pm

I really want to try the extra baths - but I have some health issues that just won't let me do it now. Last time I bathed him at home he poked a hole in the tub! I can take him to the doggie car wash - but that is still exhausting and somewhat expensive to do very often. that does help. I use furminator shampoo when I give him a bath. He really smells nice after that.

Does your dog have an undercoat?

Walker really does not have it except on his rear end.

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Permalink Reply by Krysten Thompson on February 24, 2009 at 3:29am

I don't have any additional suggestions above the previous posts, but I might have some possible explanations. First, I can tell you my corgis (their bloodline) are renowned for having a TON of excess undercoat. During the spring I'll easily take a grocery bag full of hair off my dog every time I brush him! In the show circuit we would joke that they have enough coat for 4 dogs. And I've noticed over the years that corgi's hair tends to come out in clumps, not necessarily individual hairs. Second, dogs that are kept mainly inside will shed year round instead of seasonally, no matter what the breed. Because the dog is kept nice and toasty, not subject to the weather, they are constantly creating and shedding the undercoat.

You can try skin supplements like duck eggs, fish oil, etc. It might give you some relief! Just be glad you're not living in my apartment with my super-furry corgi!

P.S. The pic I have posted was taken in the heat of summer AFTER he shed all his undercoat and he has no conditioners or volumizers in his coat.

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