Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 6/26/2005

Question
I have an 8 year old female yellow lab.  She sheds all the time. Winter, spring, summer, fall.  I tried taking her to a groomer to see if that would slow down the hair release, but it seemed like it increased.  We love her a lot, but are hoping that there could be some kind of vitamin deficiency that would be easy to fix.  In the mean time we will just fire up the old vacume cleaner and clean the place up.  (Ellie has been on Iams weight control dog food, + Deramaxx, and triple flex, a glucosimine condroitin and MSM supplement.)

Thanks,
Dave Thompson

Answer
Excessive shedding can be a sign of hypothyroid disease.  Ask your vet if they can test for low thyroid hormone.  If there are low hormone levels, then a hormone supplement is needed.  Sometimes an Omega3 fatty acid supplement is needed.  Ask your vet about that,too.