How often to brush a GSD? - Page 1

Don't know if this has been covered before, just thought I would ask........... my last dog, a lab/gsd/husky had no undercoat, I brushed her twice a year and that seemed to work good. My male GSD I got a year ago is 5, and it seems no matter how much I brush he has shedding all the time. So, should I brush once a month, week, or what? The heat really seems to bother him and I don't want him to be uncomfortable.

Daily. Or more often  :)

They do shed all the time, worse when the seasons change and they blow coat. Our three get a quick go-over with the undercoat rake every day, especially on the rump and withers. They swim every day, though, and I'm trying to minimize dog hair in the skimmer sock.

Daily grooming isn't possible for a lot of people but you should try to make it a weekend routine. Use an undercoat rake and so a very small area at a time, short little strokes over 2 or 3 square inches. Then you can use a slicker brush to give the coat a nice sheen.

i have a long coat and i brush him every day. the heat really bothers him too. he sheds constantly, but right now its not quite as bad as it was just a couple weeks ago. i'm getting small hills of hair, not mountains. i try to brush him before i swim him in our pool, cuz the last time, i didn't, and the next day my husband thought an cat had drowned in it. it was just dog hair! i especially target the rump and withers too, and his big bushy tail. even 5 minutes a day will help out.

My girl needs to be brushed constantly... especially now that she's blowing her coat.....even after brushing her you can still pull big hunks of hair out....the boy is not so bad; but they're both German Shedders! jo

I try to brush at least every other day, when the coats are blowing shedding blades work awesome!

I just brushed everybody last night. I usually have my daughter do it a few times a week, she isn't home this week. Last week the female was blowing. Last night it was my adult male. I could have brushed all night. Finally had to stop when his skin got sensitive to the pins in the brush. Yes he is a tit. I couldn't even get a brush full out of Baden. He has one of those slick easy to care for coats, that ain't so pretty.

Depends on whether you want to deal with a little bit of hair all the time or a lot of hair all at once. LOL If I let Rikka go a week without brushing I will get enough hair to build another dog.  I too like the shedding blade for her rump and chest especially, (she nearly swoons from happiness when I do her chest)  followed by the rake to remove hair loosened by the blade.  I also dose her daily with Linatone and one fish oil cap, this seems to cut down on the shedding.

I would also like to add that I look at the grooming as a sort of bonding ritual that my dog enjoys a great deal.  It is analagous to the pack behavior where the Alha is allowed to touch the other pack members wherever he or she wants.

Thanks everybody for your input. I will have to give those fish oil caps a try. I have heard good things about them before. It's been about a week since I brushed him and he's looking like I should again. I usually brush him when I have alot on my mind. Kind of calms me down and he lays there with "oh, look at handsome me" all over his face. His favorite part to have brushed is his neck where his collar is. Not real thrilled about his butt and tail which need it the most. When I brush him slowly for a long time he almost falls asleep on me. My pup is five months today. She just started shedding. Should I be brushing her, too?

If I don't brush mine every day, I'm going to have hair everywhere; i.e. in my mouth, my eyes, my truck, etc.

And my 6 month old just started shedding.  Yes, you will want to brush your 5 month old also.  This is actually a good bonding process also.  My dogs love it.  I also brush mine when they're not shedding heavily just to give their coat that shine and I love the time spent giving them their individual attention.  I believe they feel better afterwards, too.  I know they sure prance around like they know they're pretty.